O great electron gurus,
Excuse my ignorance, but when I set up my Bridgeport about 7 years ago, a 1HP VFD for 220V 1ph to 220V 3ph was about the limit. I will plead that I was ignorant even then and just got lucky that the TECO unit I got, has served me well. At the time, I recall the rule of thumb was that a VFD de-rated the motor HP 75% and has never posed an issue. When I bought my 14x60 lathe, the 5HP motor left me with no option but to purchase a rotary phase converter. That worked great, although I still have no idea how I managed to successfully wire it up. Long story short, I just made a trade for a smaller 14x32 Takisawa, but it's still a 5HP motor (two speed). I realize I could just keep the RPC and not worry about a thing, but curiosity gets the better of me.
So as the title suggests, are VFD's successfully producing 220V 3ph output from 220V 1ph input to satisfy the power needs of a 5HP motor? I now see some VFD's listed that appear to perform this task, but since I have a distinct aversion to rampant electrons, my doubts exist that these can be trusted. This isn't a cost based question, just a matter of whether they exist and function. I am just running equipment for light duty, non-production work at home to feed my desire for making chips out of perfectly good metal. I will appreciate feedback for pros and cons, along with any known good manufacturers that work as advertised. I have tried several search terms here on the forum, but have yet to find a similar inquiry, so my apologies if this is a topic that has been clearly discussed.
Thanks
Mark
Excuse my ignorance, but when I set up my Bridgeport about 7 years ago, a 1HP VFD for 220V 1ph to 220V 3ph was about the limit. I will plead that I was ignorant even then and just got lucky that the TECO unit I got, has served me well. At the time, I recall the rule of thumb was that a VFD de-rated the motor HP 75% and has never posed an issue. When I bought my 14x60 lathe, the 5HP motor left me with no option but to purchase a rotary phase converter. That worked great, although I still have no idea how I managed to successfully wire it up. Long story short, I just made a trade for a smaller 14x32 Takisawa, but it's still a 5HP motor (two speed). I realize I could just keep the RPC and not worry about a thing, but curiosity gets the better of me.
So as the title suggests, are VFD's successfully producing 220V 3ph output from 220V 1ph input to satisfy the power needs of a 5HP motor? I now see some VFD's listed that appear to perform this task, but since I have a distinct aversion to rampant electrons, my doubts exist that these can be trusted. This isn't a cost based question, just a matter of whether they exist and function. I am just running equipment for light duty, non-production work at home to feed my desire for making chips out of perfectly good metal. I will appreciate feedback for pros and cons, along with any known good manufacturers that work as advertised. I have tried several search terms here on the forum, but have yet to find a similar inquiry, so my apologies if this is a topic that has been clearly discussed.
Thanks
Mark