Having Single Phase Converted To Three Phase Electric – Which Is The Best Way To Achieve This?
I rent a small workshop that has a single phase electric supply, but I want to use a vacuum pump which needs a three phase supply. I’m thinking that there are two options available. Either I get the workshop wired up by an electrian or I buy a single phase to three phase converter. The trouble is I know absolutely nothing about these converters. Is it that simple just to buy a converter and that’s it? I notice that these converters have am HP rating. e.g 5HP or 25HP. What does this mean? I’m just going to be running one piece of equipment which is a vaccum pump for my CNC router vacuum table. Would I need to buy a converter with a high HP rating. How can I work out which converter would be suitable?
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in all legal senses, and practical application, have 3 phase brought in. 3 phase is also going to be higher voltage, typically 460 or 480 volts. single phase is maxed out at 220volts and such. call in a electrician. this way you can consider 3phase for new equipment and they run cheaper then 120volt or 240volt machinery. That is a debate for another question some would say, but Higher voltage is less amps, and well, frankly to sum it up Amps is what you pay for, or amp hours.
You need to find a local company that will install a three phase converter.
I have installed then in Florida and Tennessee for small machine shops.
A service upgrade to Three Phase could cost thousands,and you would still have to pay for a machine hook-up.
The three phase converter only a few hundred,plus the electricians material and labor.The price will depend on size,distance and man-hours to hook-up.
Get approval from the landlord,for a new circuit disconnect.Then what you hook to the disconnect is yours.
Hope this help and good-luck!
I believe the key to your question lies in the second word of your question…..you “rent”.
It is quite possible that the space you are occupy may already have had some 3-phase wiring at some time.
Contact your landlord to find out.
As a tenant, you have certain responsibilities. One of which would be to “do no harm” to the property. Don’t attempt to complete any modifications without 1) the approval of the landlord, and 2) professional (i.e. licensed electrician) assistance. Any changes you make without both of these could result in you, personally, being responsible for any damage (fire) that may ensue.
Do the right thing. It may seem a little expensive, but in the long run, it will be a good investment. You might even be able to recoup some of the money through your lease agreement.
The simplest solution by far would seem to be to get your three-phase motor replaced with a single phase one, you could try contacting the manufacturer of the vacuum pump to see if one is available as a replacement part.
Just to clarify what several other people have said, domestic power supplies are nearly always single phase, running at around 240 volts in the UK. Each phase of a three phase supply is also 240 volts with each of the three phases being 120 degrees out of step with each other (in terms of their sinusoidal waveform). this give at any one point a potential difference of about 415 volts between any two phases. as far as I am aware, there is no such thing as a two phase supply.
Ok, I’ll try to answer this: Going from single phase to three phase is a relatively simple thing. The system uses a bank of capacitors, which robs a small amount of electricity from one leg of your single phase, slowly building up the charge in the capacitors, which will act as the third phase when charged. All of these capacitors are arranged in series, which depending on the mF of each capacitor, which is added as each capacitor is added, will give you the voltage you need for your aplication. Do a search for “add a phase” systems.
Don’t do this yourself, get a professional, those capacitors can knock you on your butt…
Hope this helps.
You either BECOME a qualified, licensed electrician -OR- You CALL a qualified licensed electrician.
Reason 1 – You admit that you don’t know what you’re doing
Reason 2 – even if you knew what you were doing, Noone else can connect you to the power company’s lines.
a sparky cannot just do this, it will need the utility ( scottish power or whatever) to bring the 3-phase to a breraker unit…we are talking thousands ££ here.
The single to 3 phase converters are just self contained units and yes, you will have to get one rated higher than your piece of equipment. Check the input current, 100 Amps is your limit on a domestic single phase supply so you might not be able to drive a large inverter anyway..
Go into a decent electrical wholesaler and they can advise. Take your machine rating with you. Its not something they will have in stock
my lathes adn dust extractor have 3 phase motors and i drive them from our single phase supply via an inverter no problem.
CNC Router…can i have a play ??
whatever the answer it is of no use you have to have it done by a qualified electrican in any case illegal otherwise
I’m guessing that the vacuum pump is quite powerful hence *needs* that 3 phase supply. You can’t get a much power from single phase as 3 phase, so a converter might not be enough.
There phase is not (almost never) available in residential areas. You have 2 phase 220 volts available. The converter is your only bet. You just determine the HP of your motor.
It might be easier to replace the motor you are using with a 220V one.
The HP stands for Horse Power.
You will need to look at the rating plate of the pump motor which should have it’s horse power stated on it. If the rating on the pump motor is in kW, have a look herehttp://www.isomatic.co.uk/BoosterPriceLi…
for equivalent ratings or 1HP = 745.7 watts
Hope this helps
It may be cheapest to change the motor for a single phase one rather than mess about trying to make single phase into three. You should be able to run a 5 HP motor from a single phase.
Look on the plate on you existing motor for HP and revolutions/minute.
RoyS
Check with the power company to see if 3 phase is available for a new service. Get a price on the new service and internal wiring.
Check the horsepower of your motor and get a price on wiring in a converter.
Check the price of replacing the motor with a single phase motor.
When I last looked on line, all electric is fed as 3 phase down the supply cables, the distribution box is what turns 3 phase into single phase so if you call your electric supplier and ask them for a 3 phase supply, they may try bull sh*tting you about having no 3 phase supply in the area and need of a line to be put in and quote you a couple of grand, so get on the search engines and do some research and ask around the area until you find someone who is on 3 phase so you can then judge for yourself.
3 phase is simply a single phase that has been stepped by 1/3rd of a cycle .
See examples below.