The motor line’s voltage-selector switch allows the installer or user the ability to easily select the motor input voltage equal to the incoming line voltage—either 115 or 230 V—for appliance applications such as domestic water system pumps, commercial and residential booster pumps, and lawn sprinkler pumps, Eric De La Garza, senior application engineer for Emerson Motor Technologies, tells APPLIANCE.

“The line voltage from the power source is constant—the motor’s voltage selector switch must be set to the power source voltage,” he points out. “This is accomplished by sliding the selector switch to the appropriate voltage setting.” Mr. De La Garza also notes that the motor wiring is completed at Emerson’s manufacturing facilities so no wiring needs to be performed in the field. “The installer or user just needs to set the proper voltage,” he says.

The new motors also feature a ventilation system that reportedly directs splashing water away from motor windings. The fan pulls air away from the fan into the motor on the end opposite of the pump, and then exhausts the air on the pump end, Mr. De La Garza explains. “The internal motor fan directs the water from the pump away from the windings,” he says.

Designed to meet the National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards, those who use the pumps “should feel confident that these motors will provide the proper fit for their NEMA applications,” Mr. De La Garza notes. The NEMA square-flange and 56J mount two-compartment motors meet UL778-Approvable Waterproof Protection specs. They also are said to have a five-point mounting surface on a square-flange bracket for extra pump support and a positive positioning snap-fit actuator that is approved for more than 500,000 cycles.

“It also has an easy access cover,” Mr. De La Garza says. “You only need to remove one screw for the user to have full access to the starting switch, capacitor, shaft, terminal connections, and voltage-selector switch.”