Pump enigma.

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Pommie

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I need to power an air pump. I measured the static resistance at 1.2Ω. It's a 12V pump that takes up to 35A. When the pump is powered (12V) under no load it draws 18A. I thought the static resistance would give me the startup/stall current but obviously not. What is wrong with this picture?

Thanks,

Mike.
 
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Probably a dirty or tarnished commutator adding to the resistance, or the meter is not good accurate enough at low ohms readings.

Edit - typo..
 
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Post a pic of the pump name plate or datasheet or part number or characteristics.

Physically how big is the pump ? A pic....


Regards, Dana.
 
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Touch your test leads together and subtract out the resistance of your leads (there is no way a 12v potential can push 18 amps through 1.2 ohms unless you broke Ohms law).
 
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Tony Stewart said:
The operating V/I can never be lower than the DCR unless the measurement was faulty.
Click to expand...
The contact resistance between the brushes and the commutator will not be constant. The movement when the motor runs can result in completely different effects than what happens when a low-current source in a multimeter is used.
 
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Nigel Goodwin said:
As from back in post #2, a multimeter is no good for attempting such measurements as this.
Click to expand...
With 0.1 Ohm resolution as stated in #4 the probe resistance can be subtracted from the lowest static armature reading. It will change with rotation angle.

There is no reason given for this type of DMM reading to be "no good" to read a 1 Ohm range result.

But it is possible there is an armature commutation short.

 
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I can't remember the make of the meter but I'm sure it was a good one.
We checked two different pumps(can't get picture) and the rating plate said 12V up to 35A.

Mike.
 
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Pommie said:
I can't remember the make of the meter but I'm sure it was a good one.
We checked two different pumps(can't get picture) and the rating plate said 12V up to 35A.

Mike.
Click to expand...
Even a "good meter " can have 0.4 to 0.8 ohms of resistance in the leads plus contact resistance of the sharp point contacts (or narrow dull, slightly oxidized tips.
 
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0.8Ω would tie in nicely with the results. That would make the static resistance 0.4Ω which would give a start/stall current in the region of 30A. I'll see if I can find a better way to measure it later this week. The 35A could be with the battery at ~14V. Actually, those figures tie in very nicely.

Mike.
 
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I bought a 6-digit Fluke bench meter from a guy off Craigslist for under $100 after some good negotiation. I don't know where it came from or how he got a stack of 6 units but he seemed happy with the deal after all was said and done.

Anyhow, the 4-wire ohms measurement is quite good because the excitation current is in different wires than the measuring probes. Really good for low resistance measurements. You can build your own constant current source of about 200mA to 1Amp (not enough to turn the motor but enough to measure the IxR voltage drop with 0.4ohms voltage. You'll get about 80 mV range. Use more current to get a bigger voltage range.
 
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What is the pump technology?
For example a common Radial centrifugal type will show max load current when intake and output are open, and unconnected.
When output load resistance Increases. load current Decreases.
 
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