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Can this Baldor VFD run on single phase if derated?

eKretz

Diamond; Mod Squad
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Location
Northwest Indiana, USA
Picked up a pretty stout Baldor VFD for peanuts, want to use it to run a 5 HP lathe motor from single phase input. Anyone familiar with this model already and know if it is capable?

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Hmm. I found that the manual said a jumper needed to be changed on an internal circuit board for this unit to run on single phase. It calls out jumper 7 needing to be moved from pins 1-2 for 3-phase operation to pins 2-3 for single phase operation. So, found the jumper after a little searching. One problem: pulled the jumper off and there are only 2 sockets, not 3. No possible way to change the jumper setting unless it's just removed. Anybody run into this before? I did a search here and it looks like someone had an issue finding their jumper 7 but nothing much else. He never posted a resolution either. I've been searching to see if there is another manual for an updated version of the vfd but they are all the same in that respect so far.
 
In case anyone else runs into this, I got in touch with tech support today, apparently a company called Practec LLC is handling that now since Baldor has been absorbed by ABB. For anyone else who may need to contact support about one of these drives, their number is (425)881-8202. Told them about the situation and sent pictures of the phantom jumper. They are supposed to get back to me. Will update with any info.
 
I got in touch with tech support today, they are supposed to get back to me.

If they ever get back to you be sure to run right out and buy a Lotto ticket as you may be deemed the luckiest person alive! In my experience, no one returns calls or emails or anything anymore. How these businesses survive is beyond me...maybe overpriced sales with zero support. The new business model for sure.:rolleyes5:

Stuart
 
Well they called back an hour later but I was busy so I missed the call. So they left a voice mail and also sent an email. I'd say that's pretty good customer service considering I bought a used drive.

Anyway, apparently there are two Jumper 7s. The one I thought was the correct Jumper 7 was on the wrong circuit board. The manual is a little sparse on direction to that effect and the JP7 I actually wanted is pretty damn difficult to find. But I did find it and was just able to switch it with a pair of long needle nose pliers. So mission accomplished and a thank you to Brandon at Practec.
 
Good for you, both on the return call as well as the field change/jumper success. Brandon must have been tutored in the proper business ethics.


Stuart
 
That's a pretty hefty unit..will it dial down to the FLA of your 5 HP lathe motor to protect it? Often a large drive can only be programmed to motor parameters that fall in the approximate range of the drive size.

Stuart
 
Hmm. I found that the manual said a jumper needed to be changed on an internal circuit board for this unit to run on single phase. It calls out jumper 7 needing to be moved from pins 1-2 for 3-phase operation to pins 2-3 for single phase operation. So, found the jumper after a little searching. One problem: pulled the jumper off and there are only 2 sockets, not 3. No possible way to change the jumper setting unless it's just removed. Anybody run into this before? I did a search here and it looks like someone had an issue finding their jumper 7 but nothing much else. He never posted a resolution either. I've been searching to see if there is another manual for an updated version of the vfd but they are all the same in that respect so far.

In this manual there is no jumper 7. They say there is another jumper to be swapped for operating the cooling fan on single phase or three phase.
Well, maybe it's the wrong manual but it does say 15h.

BALDOR 15H SERIES 15H INSTALLATION & OPERATING MANUAL Pdf Download.

I like those hefty built VFDs. A catalog says that the model is from 2005.

The label says operating zone is 2.5Khz factory preset. And then says 8Khz for quiet operation. Are you going to choose the low or high side? Or something in the middle?
 
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Single phase setup varies based on the unit size. The 15h series has drives for something like 1 HP through several hundred HP. The different size frames have different procedures for changing to single phase input. Mine is a size C2, which requires JP7 to be moved and L2 to be jumpered with L3 for single phase operation. Every frame size is different.

I plan to run it at 2.5KHz, which is the default preset. Manual says it's adjustable from 1KHz to 16KHz. I don't think it will be necessary to change to the higher operating frequency, and from what I've read, it's preferable to run as low as possible.

After further reading it also turns out that my size unit is only derated by 40% for single phase operation. There is also a slight additional derating because I only have 208V available instead of the rated 230V. Still way beyond what I need. So my 25 HP drive just became a 13.5 HP drive.
 
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In case anyone else runs into this, I got in touch with tech support today, apparently a company called Practec LLC is handling that now since Baldor has been absorbed by ABB. For anyone else who may need to contact support about one of these drives, their number is (425)881-8202. Told them about the situation and sent pictures of the phantom jumper. They are supposed to get back to me. Will update with any info.
I was living in Seattle when Sweo Drives was bought out by Baldor, then a few years later, Baldor decided to move the production to Ft. Smith, Ark. Not one of the engineers from the old Sweo Drives group elected to move to Arkansas. I picked up one of them for my shop, that company called Practec was started about a year later by the rest of the holdouts. Now that ABB bought Baldor and jettisoned the entire older Baldor drive lines in favor of ABB, those guys are sitting pretty.
 
Interesting. What was the timeline of all of that? Hoping this drive will last me a good long time, especially since it will not be working very hard.
 

Not related to your question, anyway by now you know you have something more than capable.

Treat that keypad with kid gloves. You don't want to develop flaky membrane switches after pounding on them all day.
I connect external start/stop switches in three wire control and potentiometer for speed variation. Just something to
think about. People get frustrated with membrane switches and push harder on them when the the frustration level gets
too high.
 
Not related to your question, anyway by now you know you have something more than capable.

Treat that keypad with kid gloves. You don't want to develop flaky membrane switches after pounding on them all day.
I connect external start/stop switches in three wire control and potentiometer for speed variation. Just something to
think about. People get frustrated with membrane switches and push harder on them when the the frustration level gets
too high.

Yeah I plan on running a remote control on this one. I have a milling machine running on a Toshiba VFD that is already running a remote that I made myself. I've been reading up on what this one needs. Still debating whether I want to try to adapt any of the original controls or just run new stuff.
 
Picked up a pretty stout Baldor VFD for peanuts, want to use it to run a 5 HP lathe motor from single phase input. Anyone familiar with this model already and know if it is capable?

View attachment 271494View attachment 271495
I going to do the same exact thing with a 5 Hp motor. The choices:

1. Single phase input vfd rated at 5 Hp.
$1010

2. Three phase input vfd rated at 15 Hp.
$1016
$929 (10 Hp)

The Hitachi single phase vfds go up to 3 Hp. The documentation says that if you need more Hp then multiply your motor current by 2 and
select the three phase vfd model. The difference in price between the Hitachi 10 Hp & 15 Hp is $87. And they are the same size.
My thoughts are that getting more than capable VFD and it will not work as hard.

Your vfd is 25 Hp at Fs = 2.5k, 20 Hp at Fs=8k (Fs - switching frequency) That is 20% reduction for the sound of silence.
I'm still deciding what to do.
 
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