Over the years, I have noticed that most of the problems that occur on treadmills requiring expensive repairs could be avoided by adopting three simple behaviours:
1) Always start with your feet on the side footrests and only after the belt has started (at minimum speed) step on the belt. This simple behaviour prevents the motor from starting with the rotor locked. This condition requires quite high inrush currents and the high current can damage the electrical wires that make up the motor. Furthermore, especially for American type treadmills (Weslo, Healthrider, Nordick Track and some Decathlons), in certain operating conditions the electromagnetic field caused in this condition, in a few milliseconds, can interfere with the permanent magnets and partially demagnetize the magnets of the engine.
2) Regularly clean and lubricate the running table
This is something very often forgotten: as time passes, dirt accumulates and dries up the light layer of lubricant that facilitates the sliding of the belt on the table, increasing the friction factor. Since double the friction is twice the effort (and wear) of your treadmill, this condition can lead to permanent damage to the motor, controller, or both.
3) Check the motor temperature from time to time and contact a service engineer if it becomes hot as further maintenance may be required.
Most failures and maintenance problems give out a strong signal before something breaks: the motor will start to warm up. Therefore, checking the temperature from time to time at the end of the workout will allow you to verify that everything is okay. Temperatures of the external motor casing above 45°C indicate that further maintenance operations must be carried out or that there is some problem to be solved. Temperatures above 50/55°C are dangerous because if the temperature on the casing reaches those levels the internal temperature exceeds 100°C, a value at which the insulating resin that surrounds the wires of the motor begins to deteriorate and small short circuits begin to form which can damage the motor in a short time.
If you need spare parts or lubricants, please visit www.partsfortreadmill.com
