Stainless Steel Washdown Electric Motors

October 16, 2023

Stainless steel washdown motors are ideal for applications that are regularly subject to high pressure water jets in food and pharmaceutical industries. Are stainless steel motors worth it? What IP rating is best for a washdown environment? What’s the difference between epoxy-painted and stainless-steel motors? We’ll cover these topics in this blog article.

Use the links below to jump to different sections in this article.

With the advancements in industrial automation and control systems, many companies are making extensive use of motors in applications that are sensitive to contamination, including food processing, beverage manufacturing, meat packaging, and pharmaceuticals manufacturing. Strict hygiene requirements mean that motors are operating in an environment exposed to high-pressure, high-temperature water, often combined with caustic cleaning chemicals. Stainless steel washdown motors provide the best characteristics for any application that requires frequent cleaning cycles with minimum downtime.

What Do Washdown Motors Do?

Contamination is a serious issue in any industry where electric motors operate in proximity to food and other biologically sensitive products. In the meat industry, where chicken, beef and pork are processed, equipment must be thoroughly cleaned to prevent opportunities for harmful bacteria such as salmonella and listeria to grow. Pharmaceutical manufacturing requires an even higher standard to ensure products manufactured in a sterile environment are free from impurities. These errors are disastrous for consumers, and the companies themselves must initiate costly product recalls resulting in massive revenue losses and lasting damage to brands and reputations.

Washdown Duty Motor Features

Washdown duty motors are designed to be pressure washed and cleaned in place. They’re typically IP65, IP66, IP67, IP68, or IP69, meaning they are dust tight and can protect against varying levels of water. They’redesigned to prevent moisture from entering the motor by including sealedbearingswith moisture-resistant lubrication and gaskets and oil seals that provide a barrier to liquids and moisture-laden air. Some motors even come with the windings fully encapsulated in a moisture-resistant potting compound as further protection.

Washdown Motor IP Ratings

The International Electrotechnical Commission, or IEC, provides the IP classification system. IP protects against three things:

  1. Protecting against accidental contact with the motors internals.
  2. Preventing solid objects from entering, like dust or small rocks.
  3. Preventing water from entering.

IP is expressed in two numbers. The first number is the protection against solids and the second number is the protection against water. In some cases, a supplementary 3rd digit will denote supplementary information, such as ‘oil resistant’ or ‘certain weather conditions’.

For example, a motor rated for IP54 protects against solid objects exceeding 1 millimeter in diameter AND splashing water. This enclosure could work in an outdoor application where it could be exposed to dust and rain, or, in a bathroom fan. IP54 is a common rating for a TEFC or TENV motor.

For additional protection against water jets, most washdown applications IP ratings will start with a 6. These motors are completely dust tight.

  • IP65: Protection against low-pressure water jets from any direction. This is a good option for outdoor applications where the motor won’t be exposed to extreme weather, such as flooding.
  • IP66: Protection against high-pressure water jets.
  • IP67: Protection against 30 minutes of immersion in up to 1 meter of water.
  • IP68: Protection against continuous immersion in water.
  • IP69: Protects against high pressure, high temperature water jets. These are ideal for applications with steam cleaning procedures. This is the highest IP rating.

The higher the IP rating, the more protection you’ll get, and ultimately the longer your motor’s life will be.

Ingress Protection Ratings Guide

First Digit

Solid Protection Description

Second Digit

Liquid or Moisture Protection

0

No protection

0

No protection

1

Solid foreign objects of 50mm and larger (i.e. hands)

1

Vertically falling water drops

2

Solid foreign objects of 12.5mm and larger (i.e. fingers)

2

Vertically falling water drops when enclosure tilted up to 15°

3

Solid foreign objects of 2.5mm and greater (i.e. tools)

3

Protection against spraying water

4

Solid foreign objects of 1mm or greater

4

Splashing water

5

Dust-protected

5

Low-pressure water jets

6

Dust-tight

6

High-pressure water jets

-

-

7

Temporary immersion in water

-

-

8

Continuous immersion in water

-

9

High pressure and high temperature water jets

Source: https://www.iec.ch/ip-ratings

Motor Controls Rated for Washdown Applications

You may have also heard of NEMA, which is the North American equivalent to IEC ratings. Typically, motor controls will have a NEMA rating. A NEMA4 is roughly equivalent to IP65 or IP66, so a control with a NEMA4 rating will work well in most washdown applications. A NEMA4X also provides protection against corrosion from hash chemicals.

Epoxy-Painted Washdown Motors

Even the best-painted washdown motors are limited in their ability to withstand the wear and tear of industrial environments, whether from scrapes and impacts or direct contact with corrosive cleaning chemicals. Ideally, a motor would not require a protective coating, but standard materials used to manufacture motors, such as cast iron and aluminum, are readily corroded when exposed to a washdown environment.

Stainless Steel Washdown Motors

The strict hygiene requirements set by regulators can mean significant downtime and loss of productivity. Measures must also be taken to prevent moisture and contamination from entering the motor through bearings and seals, corroding the interior surfaces and windings. Even with plenty of preparation, the humid, wet and corrosive environment often drastically reduces the motors' service life, requiring regular maintenance and parts replacement, resulting in significantly increased costs. The stainless steel washdown duty motor has been developed specifically to operate in this environment to meet this challenge.

In recent years, stainless steel washdown motors have favoured stainless steel's exceptional characteristics. It can resist both chemical and water corrosion, and it does not require any protective coating that may become damaged. With a shiny, smooth, paint-free finish, stainless steel washdown motors provide minimal opportunity for particle build-up and are ideal for applications where washing and cleaning are frequent. These motors also have laser-engraved nameplates to eliminate the need for attached nameplates that can trap bacteria underneath. Stainless steel washdown motors are generally more expensive than their counterparts; however, some applications require such a high level of sanitization that stainless steel is the only viable option.

Buy Washdown Motors Online

Shop our selection of washdown duty motors from Baldor, Leeson, Marathon, Max Motion, Nidec, and TECO Westinghouse.

Browse Washdown Motor Inventory.

Have questions? Get in touch with our experts.

Connect with our expert team via email or phone.

1-800-890-7593
customerservice@emotorsdirect.ca

Share:

Questions? Contact Us

Related Articles