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Haas mini mill in my garage?

Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Location
Sylvan Lake, Alberta
Can anyone tell me if I can install a Haas Mini Mill 2 single phase machine in my garage if the requirements are 195-250 VAC/50A OR 366-425 VAC/20A? My home has a 100A main breaker, so if the machine is a 7.5hp motor..which is 5.6kw max, why is the electrician telling me it might draw too much power? One of his concerns was it might also draw too much from the transformer that supplies my home, which means the neighbours will notice it too...frick!! I'm not wiring up a 300hp motor!!

I did call the electrical company to see how much power was supplied to my lot, and they told me 200A. But than the electrician tells me he doesnt think so, he thinks its just 100A, and he's guessing the wire that was put in might only be big enough for 100A....just great!

The reason I choose to do this is in my garage is...I cant afford to pay $1000+/month for rent, machine payments, and all the other crap that comes with starting a small business right off the start, I still need to keep my job to make sure I can make my payment even if I struggle with finding work for a while.

I would love to hear back from anybody that has done this or has any advise as to how to go about this...I still think think this has to work!
 
That spindle is variable speed, shouldn't it have soft-start?

If the machine has soft-start, or you can option a soft-start, you don't have any problems, except that knucklehead electrician.

What sort of electrician cannot tell you the ampacity of your service? I think he's hating on you for having some initiative, and starting a business.

Or worse, he's trying to sucker you into a service upgrade you may not need.

If the electrician is judging the service drop from the pole to the weatherhead, that doesn't matter. Just melt it down, and call the utility.

Your knucklehead electrician can't take a look at the size of the wires in your electrical panel??

He can't call the utility and have them pull the meter long enough to see what size wires are in there?

He can't look up at the weatherhead and see the wires entering your building??

My educated guess is that Haas has built-in power monitoring, and if your line volts goes below a specified level, the machine throws up a code and shuts down.

190 volts is far below 240 volts.
 
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Check into using a VFD to reduce the starting acceleration of the motor. That might make all the difference on your starting surge.
 
You shouldn't have any problem, my Vf-1's been running off my home 100 amp service for the past two years.. my only issue was finding an electrician that knew the differences in rotary phase converters tuned for cnc's over one's that services arrigation pivots for agricultural use.
 
I agree .... sounds like you need to find a electrician that has a clue!

If the service was inspected then the wire is fine for your 100 amp service.

Not sure how the electrical is there but here last time I talked to the electric company, the women on the phone knew what size wire was buried to the house, what size transformer is sitting on the pad by the house. She also told me just how much amp draw the transformer would handle. In other words they pretty much knew what was what, and ware it all was.

If your area is all underground service, and power company said there is wire for 200 amp at your house then it is very possible should you need to upgrade it would be pretty easy. If over head .. as said just run it and worse case is you melt the drop. Power company will just replace with bigger wire then. I did a double service upgrade years back. Was a duplex house with 60 amp in both apartments. Upgraded to 100 amp each for a 200 amp drop. Electric company used the same drop just said if it melts then they will upgrade it. Far as I know 15 years later its the same drop up there.
 
I totally agree, its as if he really wants to find an excuss not to do the work, he came by my house only once to see where my wire was supposed to go. With the replys I've gotten, I will find a didnt electrician for sure...one with a little more knowledge and drive.

I will contact Haas here in Edmonton and see if they havent done that in the past, I'm sure they can get me a whole boat load of info.
 
Hey Midnight, keep at er!

I was going through that exact same thing a few moths ago. I'm starting my own shop in my garage too. Starting with a TL-2. I was confused as all shit until I talked to Haas head office support.
I also had an electrician come by to quote me on running 220 to my garage, long story short, he doubted that I could handle a lathe on my service.
I have the same thing. 100A.
More than enough!

Good luck.

And who are you buying the machine from?
 
Midnight

Without getting into the bullshit of electricians vs. real life, here is a fact.
One of my customer is running a Brigeport, two Prototracks, a Haas TM1, a Haas TL2, LebLond manual lathe, single phase bandsaw and a B&S#2 grinder in any combination in his basement
while his wife and married doughter are doing ... well whatever they're doing on the daily basis for over 4 years now.
Not once a blown circuit in the house.

Does that help?
 
I have a Super Mini Mill 2 running on a three phase converter in my garage along with a surface grinder, belt grinders, and heat treating furnaces. I will rarely have a problem when one of the electric heaters kicks on, but that's easy to manage.

The shop I'm building now will have three phase 600 amps which raises some eye brows at the city.
 
That's not 7.5hp/cont for one thing. maybe 4-5. 100amp is more than enough. I run my 20hp PP on a 100amp here and have my First2412(real 7.5hp/cont) and 7.5hp screw compressor both hooked up on it, and its got room to spare on power.
 
Slap a 50a two pole breaker in there, run the wire and be done with it. That thing might see 50 if you bury the spindle to a stall, in which case the breaker trips.

Tell the electrician (if you still want to call him that) to pound sand.

Brent
 
Slap a 50a two pole breaker in there, run the wire and be done with it. That thing might see 50 if you bury the spindle to a stall, in which case the breaker trips.

Tell the electrician (if you still want to call him that) to pound sand.

+1!!!

I have a TM1 (same electrical requirements as your mill) in my home shop. Single phase 240V, 50A breaker. When I first got the mill, I was in a different shop temporarily, and fed the machine from a 30A, 240 breaker. I have never had an electrical supply issue, in either case.

Sadly, I think the fact that these machines sip the power, is evidence that they just don't produce the advertised HP at the spindle. Oh well, great machines, and you will love having one sitting in your garage!

And, as already stated, that electrician is an absolute tool!!! I wouldn't trust him to change a light bulb.
 
Your electrician is an idiot. Most homes have a 50 amp 240 VAC service going to the electric range/oven. Your mill will draw no more than that. It may mean you can't grill your steak and machine a part at the same time. Go buy a $20 hibachi grill and start flickin chips...
 
This week I have installed my Mini in my garage, single phase on a 40 Amp main breaker, ( one wire in the L1 connection and the other in L3 connection, leave the L2 free ), run perfect.
 
The electrician may be right about the transformer being overloaded (which would result in the neighbors noticing/complaining), depending on what the local power company has in your neighborhood. Down here they regularly underestimate the draw from home, undersize their infrastructure, and overload transformers. I have had blown transformers at a shop and at two homes I owned.
HOWEVER, what the electrician is missing is that you are not responsible for power company screwups. Hopefully if there is a problem the neighbors do complain, because that may actually force the power co. to upgrade their infrastructure. That's what happened in my case.
At any rate, don't worry about hooking up your mill. You are paying for 100A supply to the home - how you use that is up to you.
 
I have a Haas VF-0 20hp, Bridgeport, 6x18 Harig grinder, Milltronics Partner 2, and electric quartz heaters, running on a seperate 100 amp 240 v. service. There is a 20hp Roto Phase cnc converter, and a 10 hp rotary converter for the tools beside the Haas. The rotary converters will heat the shop in January! No problems since 1998. As a one man shop I may run two machines at a time. A turning center with a heavy chuck/workpiece will dim your lights.
A residential elctrician is not prepared for this job. I was lucky, a neighbor, and a buddy worked as electricians in a steel mill, in Cleveland.
May you be happy, and support the tax collector!! ;-)
Bob
 
I got mine put in a few weeks ago with no problems. I did all the electrical myself. Haas required a 50 amp breaker at the panle, but the breaker it hooks up to inside the machine is only a 40 amp breaker.

Make sure and run the number 8 wire that Haas recommends so you do not bottle neck the voltage/ampacity flow, especially if your any good distance from the panel.

In the next few weeks I will put my amp probe on the machine while its running to see what it's really drawing. I can't see it drawing any more than the 75% of the 40 amp main breaker in the machines panel, so an estimated 30 amps give or take.

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