I probably should find something else to do with my life, but I'd like to measure three things inside my old GE FiIter Flo machine:
1) Motor shaft speed, I don't care about the direction
2) Clutch bell speed
3) Tub speed
I want to collect some data on clutch and belt slip. I took the clutch apart (2 speed clutch) and it's a fairly simple device, but replacement parts are too expensive. I want to figure out if I can replace the shoes with some sort of friction material.
Looks like the clutch is the part that wears out first (after 10-15 years) but is also the part that would be easiest to fix myself.
I did notice that the belt generates a residue that gets sucked into the clutch bell as it runs, and eventually ends up covering the outer clutch shoes in rubbery goo. Then the clutch slips way too much and the machine can't spin up. There is plenty of shoe material left under the goo. Resurfacing with 220 grit sandpaper works great.
So anyways, what's the way to do this? Magnets and reed relays? Given all the metal and electricity and vibrations and stuff, is this OK?