Thread: Help With Bed Motors

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I have had 2 medical beds with motors each has 2 motors one for head and one for feet along with 2 masager motors. I would really like to use these on some props but have a few questions that I hope someone here can help with.

1st from what I get from reading the motors they appear to be all ready AC so I don't need a converter, right? The main motors have written on them: 115 volt AC - 1.4 Amp - 60Hz - 1/10 HP - 19:1 Ratio.

2nd: How do I make it reverse? they have a controller that makes it go up or down but both motors are tied to the same controller and if I disconnect them for different props then they would not be tied to the same controller plus I don't want to have to press the button to trip it either up or down. On the motor it has this:
White - L1 White - L1
Red - L2 Black - L2
Green Green
C.C.W C.C.W
Not sure what the C.C.W stands for I assume this is the grounding? and one column is for up and one for down.

3rd - The shaker/ masager motors I figure I would just put them to make something rattle with either a timer or a motion detector.

I am thinking of not really using them with the metal frame but saving that for a different prop using pneumatics
So, does anybody have any experience with this?
I have 2 beds so 4 motors hate to see them just go to the scrap yard.
or is it not worth the effort and just scrap them.

I know they are slow but I thought they would have good torque and could be used to raise something up at a creepy rate.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Here are some pictures

CCW stands for Counter ClockWise. I would imagine if you opened the junction box in the center of the bed frame you will find a circiut board ? that controls the foward and reversing functions of the motors. Usually this is done using a capacitor and a relay. To make it reverse automatically you would need some limit switches ,relays or a controller.I would remove the back of the hand held controller and trace the wires from the up and down switches to the junction box and see how they are connected ,then replace the up /down switch with limit switches. If you're not familier with wiring 120 volts ac , you should get someone who is ,as this can be fatal if you shock yourself.

Yeah there is probably not a single circuit board in the motor portion.
You can use a simple switch like it is hooked to right now to make it swap forward and reverse. (cw ccw)

Can you take a picture of the motor label with all the info on it??

Here is a simple reverseable motor control using two relays:

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/...or_control.gif

L1 white would be the neutral L2 black would be the hot and green is typically ground unless otherwise specified. i would have to agree with bfjou that the ccw is counter clockwise. Most of that equipment has a schematic available online. if nothing else look at the motors and find the manufacturer nameplate. look it up online and see what they say as to how it should be hooked up to achieve the desired motion. also sometimes they put a wiring diagram into or on the junction box. If you need more help feel free to message me. some slightly larger photos (closer to motors/controls with nameplates) would help too

Thanks for the help so far. I will take a closer picture of the motor tomorrow (they are at my office). I would really like to figure out how to use them, hate to see stuff go to waste.

L1 is the hot lead -black , L2 is the neutral -white, this is the industry standard. Check the junction box ,that may be where the wires change color and labels,unless there is a misprint on the data plate. One way to find out which is hot measure ac voltage from each wire to ground , the wire without voltage is the neutral. If you want the motor to reverse automatically, in addition to limit switches, and relays you will need a time delay, you don't want to reverse a motor while it is still in motion, it needs to be stopped first. Hope this helps.

If I had to guess, you'd hook the white to neutral, the green to ground, and either the red or black to hot - black would make it turn one way & red would make it turn the other.
If there's a label on the control box (the metal box that was under the bed) please post a pic of it, too.

I am using identical motors in some of my stuff. Cut the wire feeding the motor. You will have white-ground black-one direction red-the other direction and green neutral.
On my axworthy I only connected one of the power wires. It turned for a while then shut off. On the back of the motor is a switch keeping it from turning too long. Remove the round cover and pull off the plastic cam that operates the switches. That will allow it to run continuous. They have a low duty cycle though and will only run continuous for 4 or 5 minutes and shut down from heat.
On a trunk I connected it so the motor opens and closes the trunk. I used a 3 way switch from a house. One single pole switch to the power in on the 3 way, one wire out to the black and one wire out to the red. The single pole switch is the main power, the 3 way controls the direction. The problem came with the ground, it has to be connected permanantly.

The vibrating motors are simple, they can be connected to a regular plug in and run off outlet power.
I came up with 2 of these beds. They each had 3 motors, one to lift the bed one to lift the head and one to lift the foot. Then 2 vibrating motors. I believe one of mine is a hospital bed the other is a craft matic or similar. The hospital bed has a handheld remote while the other uses a wireless remote that was missing.
If there is any confusion in what I say let me know, I can send you a video of the wiring. I won't be home until sunday night though.
By the way, these are great motors. Slow moving but powerful.
They run like a jack on a trailer hitch, they have a long threaded shaft attached to screw and unscrew the assembly causing the in and out motion.

Here is a link to some of the stuff I have been working on. One of my projects shown is the axworthy or flying ghost I made from one of these bed motors. No closeup of the motor but you can see what it can do.
A few props I have been working on

I am camping out this weekend with limited internet and a low battery until tomorrow when I can kick the generator back on, but will try to help with any questions on these motors when I get more power and better signal.

Originally Posted by Deputydog

I am using identical motors in some of my stuff. Cut the wire feeding the motor. You will have white-ground black-one direction red-the other direction and green neutral.
On my axworthy I only connected one of the power wires. It turned for a while then shut off. On the back of the motor is a switch keeping it from turning too long. Remove the round cover and pull off the plastic cam that operates the switches. That will allow it to run continuous. They have a low duty cycle though and will only run continuous for 4 or 5 minutes and shut down from heat.
On a trunk I connected it so the motor opens and closes the trunk. I used a 3 way switch from a house. One single pole switch to the power in on the 3 way, one wire out to the black and one wire out to the red. The single pole switch is the main power, the 3 way controls the direction. The problem came with the ground, it has to be connected permanantly.

The vibrating motors are simple, they can be connected to a regular plug in and run off outlet power.
I came up with 2 of these beds. They each had 3 motors, one to lift the bed one to lift the head and one to lift the foot. Then 2 vibrating motors. I believe one of mine is a hospital bed the other is a craft matic or similar. The hospital bed has a handheld remote while the other uses a wireless remote that was missing.
If there is any confusion in what I say let me know, I can send you a video of the wiring. I won't be home until sunday night though.
By the way, these are great motors. Slow moving but powerful.
They run like a jack on a trailer hitch, they have a long threaded shaft attached to screw and unscrew the assembly causing the in and out motion.

Thanks for the help, I am also out with an overnight with the scouts and have a couple of pressing things to take care of early next week. I'll look at the info you posted, I figured someone around here would have used these.

I also acquired 2 of these beds so 4 motors and 4 vibrating motors, kept looking at them for years and finally got around to breaking them down. I have the curse of hating seeing stuff go in the dumpster if I think it could possibly have a use and having too much space for storage, it is amazing how much stuff one can accumulate!

thanks again.