Kerbside call — 30 seconds
Every Fisher & Paykel top-loader on the trailer is a decision. This tells you which ones stop being scrap.
The cog test — the only field test that matters
Pull the back panel, grab the magnet ring, turn it slowly by hand.
Back-up check: count the magnets bonded around the rotor. 36 or 42. And the year letter in the serial narrows it — Phase 1–5 machines (1991–2001) are 42 pole; the 36 pole arrived with Phase 7.
Watch for the aluminium ones
A 36 pole stator printed AL 60 190T has aluminium windings, not copper — April 2007 onward, MW and GW compacts. Real and sellable, but lower output and worth roughly a third. Always say so in the listing. Buyers in this world talk to each other; being straight about it is worth more than the extra fifty dollars.
Tools — buy once
Strip-down, in order
What you keep
Bench test → grade → price
The absolute resistance varies between versions, so don't chase a target number. What proves a good stator is that the three readings match each other. Anything wildly out, open circuit, or near zero means a damaged winding.
Pass / fail thresholds
| Check | Good | Marginal | Reject |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resistance spread across the three pairs | ≤3% | 3–8% | >8%, OL or ~0 |
| Insulation to frame at 500V | ≥10 MΩ | 1–10 MΩ | <1 MΩ |
| Spin test | All pairs rise together | — | Any pair dead or low |
A rejected stator is still not scrap steel. Copper windings run 1.5–2.5kg at $9–13/kg. Strip it and weigh the copper in separately — that's $15–30, not the $1 you'd get for the whole thing as light steel.
Stock on the shelf
Cores
Listing generator
Off-grid buyers don't buy on photos, they buy on numbers. This puts the numbers first.
Where the buyers actually are
The one 25 minutes up the road
What this is worth to you
Put in your real numbers. Nothing here is a promise — it's arithmetic you can check.
The price ladder you're sitting under
PowerSpout in New Plymouth sells reconfigured units at these prices (ex GST). You're the tested-used tier beneath them, and your input cost is below zero.