Has anyone seen or experience when to replace the brushes on a DW611 based upon brush length. All I can find is various and different recommendations on number of hours.
I did see one guy show his brushes against new ones that were almost 1/2 the original length. So I am assuming they can last at least that much but cannot find anything more.
Any experience or knowledge on this among the community. I hate to replace them too soon but dont want them to burn out in the middle of a carve either.
Replacing the brushes is extremely easy, only takes 15 minutes, if that.
If you are seeing any amount of arcing then it’s time to replace them. This will only lead to a lot of electrical noise and the dreaded disconnects. Don’t know what to tell you on the number of hours though.
I got these, a pack of 4: Amazon
I bought a pair of replacement brushes from Amazon for when my brushes wear out. To your point of when to replace them it would seem that half way through the brush length would be a reasonable point. There is a spring with a wire attached to the brush on one end and the connection point of the electrical on the other. So the spring presses the brush against the rotor and makes the circuit that makes the armature turn. So if you let the brushes get too short you may get intermittent stoppages because the spring does not have enough force to allow the brush to make good contact with the armature.
The hour measure to replace is impossible to measure unless you hooked up an hour meter to your router when it was new. So I think the wear of the brush should be the deciding factor in replacement.
I know how to replace them and inspect them just not sure how to decide when to replace them. I have the brushes ready for the day to replace them.
Thanks for the replies. Hope there is some guidance on length to replace them.
Now that is something I should have done to my router. Wouldn’t be that hard to add to my external relay switch.
I was trying to find out the runout specifications for the Dewalt 611 but found nothing. But what I did find on a Vetric forum was that the Dewalt brushes are limited in travel. So when the Dewalt brushes get to their minimum length they do not touch the armature any more and the router stops running. Also in the same Vetric post it is recommended that every 100 hours you send the router to the authorized service center and have the brushes replaced. I found that interesting but the design of limiting the brush protrusion saves the armature from being worn by the brass end on the end of the brush. Strange what you can find. The Vetric forum was people complaining about the premature failure of the Dewalt brushes after 80-90 hours of run time. So keep that in min and keep a pair of brushes on hand.
Does anyone see the need to put a boot, such as women’s hosiery, over where the air intake to keep dust out? I know that sawdust cuts the life of the brushes as well.
Just a thought.
@RichCournoyer is a notable advocate of a filter for the router for the sake of the brushes.
It’s a good thought.
I have been tying a knot in my socks that develop a hole in the heal; saving them for something. (Find someone to darn old socks … priceless! 
)
Now I have an unlimited supply of router booties. Just cut off the tubular part below the heal, burn the edges to keep them from fraying and put it over the end of the router.
PS. I know you didn’t need THAT much information, but some folks do.
I save them (old socks) in the rag bucket for rubbing off a finish — lint free, hand-sized (more-or-less), absorbent, but usually patent enough to keep hands and wrists clean.
Thanks Will, and that’s right fellow Shapeoko users, I am now starting year 4 with the original brushes (my est. is that I have somewhere in the 5000 hour range on this router). Looks ugly, works amazing!
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