Winter Is Coming: 5 Motor Maintenance Steps to Winter-Proof Your Operations
Cold weather exposes weaknesses in motor systems. Motors that survived hot summers may struggle under freezing temperatures, condensation, or drafty ambient conditions. If you wait until mid-winter for repairs, you risk costly breakdowns, emergency stops, and cascading downtime. October is the time to get ahead of it. Below are five practical steps to prepare motors—and your plant—for winter stress.
1. Verify Insulation & Enclosure Integrity
Low temperatures and humidity can lead to condensation inside motor housings. Moisture inside windings or terminal boxes is a fast path to insulation degradation and corrosion. Before winter sets in, inspect seals, gaskets, and enclosure hardware (TEFC or washdown models).
Motors that aren’t properly sealed may see internal water vapor freezing and expanding, damaging insulation or shaft components. EASA’s “Good Practice Guide to Maintain Motor Efficiency” emphasizes that avoiding moisture-related breakdowns is essential for preserving motor life and performance.
For motors stored during off-season, EASA’s recommendations on “Special Care Needed to Preserve Stored Motors” include controlled humidity, periodic rotation, and protective covers to prevent ambient moisture intrusion.
2. Lubrication & Bearing Checks
Cold temperatures change lubricant viscosity, which can slow bearing response or even starve bearings of protection. Use greases rated for low temperature, and apply lubrication according to manufacturer guidelines before severe cold arrives.
While greasing, listen and feel for signs of stiffness or roughness in bearings, which could indicate internal wear or moisture ingress. For motors with sealed ball bearings, review whether additional bearing heaters or anti-condensation systems are advisable.
3. Alignments, Couplings & Unbalance Correction
Thermal contraction can shift shaft alignment or stretch couplings. Before the first freeze, check alignment tolerances, coupling condition, and correct any misalignments.
Even slight misalignment increases vibration and stress under cold-start conditions, which reduces lifespan. If vibration analysis reveals resonance peaks near operating speeds, plan to program skip-frequency zones in VFDs or adjust operating points.
4. Heat Tracing & Warming Options
For motors in exposed or externally mounted positions (outdoors, on pump skids, etc.), consider heat-tracing or installing small heater pads to keep the motor windings and bearings above dew point.
Insulated jackets or controlled warming can prevent condensation ingress during startup, which protects windings from electrical overstress. During very cold startups, it’s often better to warm the motor to near ambient before applying voltage to avoid excessive inrush or mechanical shock.
EASA’s AR100 and Technical Manual stress the importance of thermal management when considering rewinds or rebuilds, and similar logic applies in ambient temperature planning.
5. Evaluate Upgrade Opportunities and Backup Readiness
Winter is also a great time to audit your motor fleet for units that are risky candidates. Use criteria like age, maintenance history, vibration/temperature trends, and duty cycles to identify motors due for replacement or upgrade.
For example:
Motors nearing 15 years may no longer meet modern efficiency or insulation standards.
Motors exhibiting repeated bearing issues or trips may justify swapping to inverter-duty or permanent magnet designs.
Investing in a timely upgrade during good weather is almost always cheaper than emergency replacement in the cold.
Also ensure you have spare motors, shaft couplings, and necessary parts in inventory—when snow or ice hits, lead times and shipping delays tend to increase.
Wrap-Up & Resources
Winter doesn’t wait. The steps you take now can mean the difference between smooth operation and costly emergency downtime in the cold months ahead. Following these five steps—insulation inspection, lubrication, alignment, heating strategy, and fleet audit—gives your systems resilience for what’s coming.
As EASA members ourselves, we rely on their resources and encourage you to explore them too. Their Good Practice Guide to Maintain Motor Efficiency is a valuable reference for repair, maintenance, and rebuild practices. And their guidelines on motor preservation and repair standards are open to the public.
If you want help evaluating which motors in your plant should be winterized, upgraded, or replaced, our team is ready to assist you