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Brent Controller Woes-Well Not Really


Mark C.

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I had a post about wearing out my 1982 CXC wheel head bearings last fall. I did not mention the controller has had a few hiccups in speed control for about a year or two. It likes to jump around a bit. I have just worked with it for the past years until today.I thought ok I'm fixing it.

I had bought a circuit board a year ago to fix it but ended up using it in another wheel last year so today I took it apart and took some photos.This is the wheel I have used full time since 1982 along with my 1970 model C I bought in High school.

Seems whenever I want a Brent part they never have it in their photos-today was no different. My controller which is original from 1982 (which is written under my deck  when I bolted the new head on a few months ago) it not want to come apart-so after some Dremel grinding I got it all apart and noticed it did not match any of the control box photos on Amaco/Brent website. Alas I will have to call on Monday and order the controller-I did notice for about $50 more you can get a whole new controller vs just the board. Lets see what they say. Most of the new folks there where not born yet when they made this wheel so finding someone who knows what it is is key. I will add that 35 years full time of using this wheel it as held up well.

The motor is about all that left to quit working.I'm going to use stainless screws to reassemble .The steel ones go away after 35 years with rust.

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Your not old, they just don't know how lucky they are to have you explain how things got to be so simple for them. I cherish wisdom in others. 

That is a great review for Brent!
THe young people thought reminds me when I went to Sears for a new chuck for my drill. THe young man didn't know what it was. THey have only seen the twist tight drills. geez, it's tough to be old.
marcia

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Brent wheels definitely have great longevity, there's no denying that, but I think most wheels last a good long time. I've got 15 years on my personal wheel with no repairs, and 12 years on my 10 classroom wheels that take a beating with just a couple of minor repairs. I've still never changed a belt on any of them. 35 years ago Brent and Shimpo were just about the only wheels on the market, so we see a lot of them that have been around a long time. I think Brent's design was superior to the old Shimpo cone drive for sure, which was never very smooth, although they both last a long time. I imagine that in another 15 years we'll all be saying the same thing about the longevity of our Skutt, Bailey, Pacifica and Shimpo Whisper wheels. They're just such a simple system that there's not a whole lot that can go wrong.

 

I get that there's only so much you can do with a motor controller, but what bothers me is that after 30 years of putting different controllers on their wheels, Brent is now back to the old 'Classic Controller', there still aren't any fine tuning adjustments other than the high and low dial on the pedal, and yet they're the most expensive wheel on the market. A complete control box assembly is $365 if you're replacing an existing one, $478 to upgrade from a different box. The pedal potentiometer is $65, or $98 with the cord. By comparison, you can get a complete Skutt/TS control box for $180, and it has 5 adjustments on the controller so you can dial in exactly how you want your wheel to feel. You can get the complete Skutt/TS SSX control box, their upgraded system, for only $280. A Skutt/TS potentiometer with cord is only $20. It feels like Brent is really making a killing on parts for old wheels.

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Well after tweeking my foot pedal (original electronics inside )I may have fixed it-I need to throw some pots to know for sure.That will be on Tuesday as its a glaze cycle now. I have a spare foot pedel electronics new in a bag ion I need that.

Neil my new controller would be the $223 (still high) one on their web site not that overpriced classic.. Ever since Amaco bought out Brent they have charged a fortune on parts. I view it as an Amaco deal-Brent used to be super reasonable when they where they own company. I had great service -free motors and controller parts. Even when the old timers where 1st at Amaco I still had great low cost service. When they retired it all went sideways.

My beef is Amaco

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Part of my issue with Brent wheels is the older ones are nicer. A new one eases to a stop -- very annoying when trimming. I guess their R&D team (fired long ago???) cared about was the centering capacity and longevity.

The color leaves something to be desired too.

 

So yeah, used Brent wheels are great but I would pass on the new purchase.

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