19-03-2011, 10:19 PM
Hi,
Here is a very useful project for those wishing to use good quality 3 phase machines from a 240V household supply.
Being fed up at bumping into machinery in my garage I decided to remedy the situation just before Christmas 2008 by selling four of my large industrial machines together with my 7.5KW 3 phase 415V static converter. I was sorry to part with all this gear but the space would be more useful.
I still retained my dust extractor and my wife Bronwyn bought me a huge Startrite Volent 24” bandsaw for Christmas both these on 3 phase 415V. My initial intention was to power these directly from the UK 240V supply using start and run capacitors; I have previous experience of this as I converted my Startrite combination woodworker about ten years ago. To run on three phase 240V is easy enough but requires the motors to be reconnected in “Delta” by doing this the machines run but on reduced power and are unbalanced giving similar performance to using a static converter.
[attachment=294]
Scrap transformer as bought.
On 6th. December 2008 whilst browsing eBay I came across three DVD’s for sale from a company called “Unique3phase” and these looked excellent value with a running time of six hours. The disc’s covered all aspects of installing high voltage 3 phase at little cost which immediately appealed to me; I viewed the sample video clips shown on the Internet and ordered the disc’s paying by PayPal. A week or so later the discs arrived and I couldn’t believe how good they were; they covered rotary, stator and transformer methods together with how to make a welder. I was amazed at how simple it all was. I ran the discs on TV taking a few notes then visited a number of contacts where I obtained a scrap 5.5KW motor to act as a donor giving me the laminations (stator) which would be the core of my new transformer. I stripped the motor and split the casing removing the stator; I then had a bit of a struggle removing the windings but ended up with a good clean set of bare laminations. At this point I thought that I would be smart and wound on the primary as one coil using the entire stator in similar style to a “Toroid”. I felt very proud at achieving this with so little difficulty until I plugged it into the mains and promptly tripped the 30A breaker?
[attachment=295]
Primary coil being wound.
The creator of Unique3phase Douglas Arndt in America was absolutely brilliant when I e-mailed him and over the next four weeks he was unstinting in his generous help and guidance. Doug had tried this way of winding a motor stator mentioning it on the disc but saying it hadn’t worked without giving a reason why; apparently the problem was the type of core; the laminations are stamped out of steel whereas the Toroid core is wound from one continuous strip and this is also twisted? I rewound as per Doug’s instructions and after tripping the breaker a few more times finally could power up to take instrument readings. Each time I tripped the breaker it took the central heating out as well. The best I could achieve with this stator was 0.8V/Turn which would have worked by using more wire on the secondaries but by now I was well and truly hooked on this project so decided to follow Doug’s example and obtain a much larger stator; I would now try to obtain a 25HP motor to strip?
[attachment=296]
Shuttle in use.
14 January 2009 I had tried my contacts to obtain a larger motor without success so decided to visit our local scrap yard high on the moors. As I searched the yard at 9.30 am I was blasted with horizontal rain due to the wind and it was absolutely freezing. There was a huge pile of stators but these had been burned to remove the copper wire; I also saw two small rough looking 3 phase transformers on the same pile but rejected them. I then walked across to a very high pile of scrap motors; I saw two suitable motors but the casings were cast iron and I would have to call the crane over to pull one out; I then noticed another 3 phase transformer near the top of the pile but it had no markings on it so was rejected. At this point I was soaked and frozen so went back to the car to decide what to do. I had taken a good selection of tools along in a plastic bucket but had left my gloves at home. The bucket had started to fill with freezing water and as I sat there I wondered what type of fool I was to be out on a day like this? I could go home and forget the whole project; I could get the big motor craned out and strip it then it suddenly struck me that the large transformer might be just the job as I could rewind it to my own specification?
[attachment=297] [attachment=298]
On test. Completed
I thought to myself don’t be such a wimp and get out there to do what you came to do!! I took along a tea towel from the car and climbed the pile of motors to the transformer; using the towel to prevent cutting my hands I eased out the transformer and very gently slid it down the pile all the time worried in case I got buried under icy motors which was a real possibility. As it sat in the icy mud I inspected it and then went to ask the price to be quoted a very fair £10. I rolled it over and over to a spot where I could reach it with the car and it took two of us all our strength to lift it into the car; it was extremely heavy. The car being a new Toyota Aygo was plane spotting all the way home and the traffic lights all at red and the road humps added to the stress. I removed the transformer on my own from the car using a short scaffolding plank taking a week to start talking normally again.
[attachment=300] [attachment=301]
Health and safety. Fully installed.
I couldn’t use the transformer as it was because it was soaking wet so chopped through the coils totally removing them leaving the laminations and three fiberglass formers intact. I wiped it as dry as possible then let a fan heater warm it up for a couple of hours. I followed the instructions on the discs and wound the primary coils using 2.5mm stranded copper insulated conduit wire; Doug stresses that it pays to get this part right so I spent some time experimenting with the number of turns and found that I could achieve 1.8V/Turn but with increased idle amps so I added turns bringing it down to 1.5V/Turn and now the amps were very impressive giving me 0.8A at idle. This was perfect for me and I then wound on the secondary coils using 1.5mm Stranded copper insulated conduit wire. With a bit more experimenting with the number of turns I obtained perfect voltage readings and had myself a fully working single phase transformer wound as per Doug’s instructions that would now give full power at 415V with the use of capacitors. Each machine would be switched and phase balanced to the transformer. I bought a selection of capacitors shipping them in from America from a company called Surplus Center and they worked out cheaper than buying new in the UK even with the high shipping costs.
[attachment=302]
Capacitors from the states.
Doug has indeed come up with something “unique” in his methods of supplying 3 phase power; with the DVD’s explaining in great detail each stage it is hard to go wrong although I managed it a couple of times but Doug was very prompt at helping me out. I tried his stator method which avoids the problem of trying to find a 3 phase transformer and I also tried his transformer method both of which work. The methods are incredibly versatile as you can control fully the voltage you need for the 3 phase whether it be 240V or 680V in my case I wanted 415V which is exactly what I now have. Due to copyright I haven’t gone into great detail regarding how the 3 phase is achieved indeed it wouldn’t be fair to Doug. In basic terms though to use the stator method you wind both primaries and secondaries from scratch onto the bare laminations (covered with insulation) but if the transformer method is used and a suitable transformer is found this saves a lot of work and wire. Both methods involve winding as a single phase transformer but Doug’s unique method then converts them to full 3 phase. I’ve wound mains and output transformers in the past for wireless work but never seen anything like this. I spent a month on this project but could have completed it much quicker had I not been hampered by doing it in the middle of a Yorkshire winter.
At times the project has been hernia and pneumonia inducing requiring real will power to continue but what a learning curve it turned out to be; the final test of my stamina was to locate the finished transformer in a safe place in the garage; to this end I welded up a pair of very heavy duty brackets fixing them near the ceiling in the garage with large anchor bolts. Getting the transformer into position almost put my light out permanently. It was pure pleasure to run a ring circuit to the machines and see them burst into life at a touch of a button; balancing the phases to each motor has to be tried to be believed; by putting capacitors in and taking capacitors out it was just incredible to watch the volts and amps change and was so easy; this system puts the static converter to shame; my dust extractor used to take ages to wind up with the static converter but now with the transformer it’s immediate. Running costs are low compared to a rotary converter. Briefly to run a 10HP motor through a rotary converter you would in fact be running something like 30HP due to the required idler motor; my transformer is brilliant and idles at 0.8A it is also silent in operation. For safety and to let me know it is switched on I fitted a panel indicator lamp.
[attachment=303]
Perfect 415 Volts from 240 Volt supply.
I hope Doug doesn’t mind me mentioning but when I first saw his DVD’s I thought he was producing bird’s nests as the wiring was all over the place also his method of winding the wire is totally different to mine. Doug lets his son run the wire out using a pulley system taking the two of them to wind. I work on my own and winding the wire was a real problem I faced; I lay awake most of one night in bed trying to think up a solution that would work for me. I came up with my “shuttle” idea which is so simple but very effective in use. I used an off cut of 3/8” plywood 44” long by 3” wide, at each end I cut out a rectangle leaving a pair of horns 1” long by ¼” wide this would prevent the wire slipping off. This was sanded smooth as it would be handled a lot. I found I could get a full 100m coil of 2.5mm wire on the shuttle taking care to wind the wire on neatly by turning the shuttle end over end so that no twists were introduced then with a little practice I could wind 2 turns per minute onto the transformer. I would wind on about 7 turns; place the shuttle down freeing both my hands then I could gently arrange the wire pulling it tightly before clamping the loose end with a spring clip to prevent it from springing loose. One point is that I would now put a first aid sticky plaster around my finger to pull the wire tight with as I opened up a wound that really made me jump when I washed my hands in soapy water.
Costs; in all I had change out of £120 with my transformer, this included the capacitors, brand new wire and scrap transformer. The only downside was our UK climate some days it didn’t get light at all and as I tried to take pictures of work in progress the flash would wash the picture out whereas a normal picture came out dull but then I wasn’t considering writing this up as an article until my friend Martin Scobie suggested it would be of great benefit to other members wishing to install 3 phase into their workshops. With 7.5KW static converters costing in the region of £600 new and rotary converters costing in the region of £1,000 new this transformer method is an absolute bargain for those willing to put the time and effort in. I found this project to be addictive and very interesting.
Safety is a major consideration on this project and I only offer my experience having completed both stator and transformer methods successfully. Anyone wishing to have a go does so entirely at their own risk as dangerous voltages are ever present together with large fully charged capacitors. Capacitors should each be fitted with a discharge 2W resistor and the resistor should not be fully trusted; it pays to double check by bridging the capacitor terminals (power turned off) with an insulated handled screwdriver; take extreme care when handling capacitors. Work slowly and unplug before handling anything; my transformer is silent just waiting to put me on my back and the high voltage and amps will kill without warning. If in any doubt whatsoever do not attempt this project.
I can’t thank or praise Douglas Arndt enough for creating Unique3phase and for all his help during the project. I will be happy to help anyone who buys the DVD’s from Doug and can be contacted by e-mail at; c.wood340@ntlworld.com
The DVD’s cost me a total $25.52 USD at the time this converted into £17.76GBP
By Post: Douglas Arndt. 10671 N.Idaho RD, Post Falls, Idaho. 83854 USA.
By Internet:
http://www.uniquethreephase.com/
Wire in the UK; Screwfix.com
The transformer has now been supplying 3 phase into my garage faultlessly for over two years; I can run single or multiple machines simultaneously from it up to the maximum output of estimated 10KVA. Once the machines are phase balanced to the transformer all I have to do is switch on the transformer then use my machines just as if they were supplied direct with 415V; the machines run on full power; I installed a second start button so need to press two buttons to start each machine; one button is the normal three phase starter the second is to put the start capacitor on line and once the machine starts up I release both buttons this ensures the start capacitor drops out leaving the machine to run as normal.
A friend in Wales wanted to install 3 phase 415V to run heat pumps into two large detached farm houses and was quoted just over £17,000 by his local power supply company; for this application a transformer such as mine could be housed in an oil bath to keep it cool for a fraction of the cost.
I can buy industrial 3 phase 415V machinery as scrap and rebuild it giving me superior machines for less money than a tinny DIY machine; it works for me but there was time and effort involved; I think it was well worth it.
Kind regards, Col.
Here is a very useful project for those wishing to use good quality 3 phase machines from a 240V household supply.
Being fed up at bumping into machinery in my garage I decided to remedy the situation just before Christmas 2008 by selling four of my large industrial machines together with my 7.5KW 3 phase 415V static converter. I was sorry to part with all this gear but the space would be more useful.
I still retained my dust extractor and my wife Bronwyn bought me a huge Startrite Volent 24” bandsaw for Christmas both these on 3 phase 415V. My initial intention was to power these directly from the UK 240V supply using start and run capacitors; I have previous experience of this as I converted my Startrite combination woodworker about ten years ago. To run on three phase 240V is easy enough but requires the motors to be reconnected in “Delta” by doing this the machines run but on reduced power and are unbalanced giving similar performance to using a static converter.
[attachment=294]
Scrap transformer as bought.
On 6th. December 2008 whilst browsing eBay I came across three DVD’s for sale from a company called “Unique3phase” and these looked excellent value with a running time of six hours. The disc’s covered all aspects of installing high voltage 3 phase at little cost which immediately appealed to me; I viewed the sample video clips shown on the Internet and ordered the disc’s paying by PayPal. A week or so later the discs arrived and I couldn’t believe how good they were; they covered rotary, stator and transformer methods together with how to make a welder. I was amazed at how simple it all was. I ran the discs on TV taking a few notes then visited a number of contacts where I obtained a scrap 5.5KW motor to act as a donor giving me the laminations (stator) which would be the core of my new transformer. I stripped the motor and split the casing removing the stator; I then had a bit of a struggle removing the windings but ended up with a good clean set of bare laminations. At this point I thought that I would be smart and wound on the primary as one coil using the entire stator in similar style to a “Toroid”. I felt very proud at achieving this with so little difficulty until I plugged it into the mains and promptly tripped the 30A breaker?
[attachment=295]
Primary coil being wound.
The creator of Unique3phase Douglas Arndt in America was absolutely brilliant when I e-mailed him and over the next four weeks he was unstinting in his generous help and guidance. Doug had tried this way of winding a motor stator mentioning it on the disc but saying it hadn’t worked without giving a reason why; apparently the problem was the type of core; the laminations are stamped out of steel whereas the Toroid core is wound from one continuous strip and this is also twisted? I rewound as per Doug’s instructions and after tripping the breaker a few more times finally could power up to take instrument readings. Each time I tripped the breaker it took the central heating out as well. The best I could achieve with this stator was 0.8V/Turn which would have worked by using more wire on the secondaries but by now I was well and truly hooked on this project so decided to follow Doug’s example and obtain a much larger stator; I would now try to obtain a 25HP motor to strip?
[attachment=296]
Shuttle in use.
14 January 2009 I had tried my contacts to obtain a larger motor without success so decided to visit our local scrap yard high on the moors. As I searched the yard at 9.30 am I was blasted with horizontal rain due to the wind and it was absolutely freezing. There was a huge pile of stators but these had been burned to remove the copper wire; I also saw two small rough looking 3 phase transformers on the same pile but rejected them. I then walked across to a very high pile of scrap motors; I saw two suitable motors but the casings were cast iron and I would have to call the crane over to pull one out; I then noticed another 3 phase transformer near the top of the pile but it had no markings on it so was rejected. At this point I was soaked and frozen so went back to the car to decide what to do. I had taken a good selection of tools along in a plastic bucket but had left my gloves at home. The bucket had started to fill with freezing water and as I sat there I wondered what type of fool I was to be out on a day like this? I could go home and forget the whole project; I could get the big motor craned out and strip it then it suddenly struck me that the large transformer might be just the job as I could rewind it to my own specification?
[attachment=297] [attachment=298]
On test. Completed
I thought to myself don’t be such a wimp and get out there to do what you came to do!! I took along a tea towel from the car and climbed the pile of motors to the transformer; using the towel to prevent cutting my hands I eased out the transformer and very gently slid it down the pile all the time worried in case I got buried under icy motors which was a real possibility. As it sat in the icy mud I inspected it and then went to ask the price to be quoted a very fair £10. I rolled it over and over to a spot where I could reach it with the car and it took two of us all our strength to lift it into the car; it was extremely heavy. The car being a new Toyota Aygo was plane spotting all the way home and the traffic lights all at red and the road humps added to the stress. I removed the transformer on my own from the car using a short scaffolding plank taking a week to start talking normally again.
[attachment=300] [attachment=301]
Health and safety. Fully installed.
I couldn’t use the transformer as it was because it was soaking wet so chopped through the coils totally removing them leaving the laminations and three fiberglass formers intact. I wiped it as dry as possible then let a fan heater warm it up for a couple of hours. I followed the instructions on the discs and wound the primary coils using 2.5mm stranded copper insulated conduit wire; Doug stresses that it pays to get this part right so I spent some time experimenting with the number of turns and found that I could achieve 1.8V/Turn but with increased idle amps so I added turns bringing it down to 1.5V/Turn and now the amps were very impressive giving me 0.8A at idle. This was perfect for me and I then wound on the secondary coils using 1.5mm Stranded copper insulated conduit wire. With a bit more experimenting with the number of turns I obtained perfect voltage readings and had myself a fully working single phase transformer wound as per Doug’s instructions that would now give full power at 415V with the use of capacitors. Each machine would be switched and phase balanced to the transformer. I bought a selection of capacitors shipping them in from America from a company called Surplus Center and they worked out cheaper than buying new in the UK even with the high shipping costs.
[attachment=302]
Capacitors from the states.
Doug has indeed come up with something “unique” in his methods of supplying 3 phase power; with the DVD’s explaining in great detail each stage it is hard to go wrong although I managed it a couple of times but Doug was very prompt at helping me out. I tried his stator method which avoids the problem of trying to find a 3 phase transformer and I also tried his transformer method both of which work. The methods are incredibly versatile as you can control fully the voltage you need for the 3 phase whether it be 240V or 680V in my case I wanted 415V which is exactly what I now have. Due to copyright I haven’t gone into great detail regarding how the 3 phase is achieved indeed it wouldn’t be fair to Doug. In basic terms though to use the stator method you wind both primaries and secondaries from scratch onto the bare laminations (covered with insulation) but if the transformer method is used and a suitable transformer is found this saves a lot of work and wire. Both methods involve winding as a single phase transformer but Doug’s unique method then converts them to full 3 phase. I’ve wound mains and output transformers in the past for wireless work but never seen anything like this. I spent a month on this project but could have completed it much quicker had I not been hampered by doing it in the middle of a Yorkshire winter.
At times the project has been hernia and pneumonia inducing requiring real will power to continue but what a learning curve it turned out to be; the final test of my stamina was to locate the finished transformer in a safe place in the garage; to this end I welded up a pair of very heavy duty brackets fixing them near the ceiling in the garage with large anchor bolts. Getting the transformer into position almost put my light out permanently. It was pure pleasure to run a ring circuit to the machines and see them burst into life at a touch of a button; balancing the phases to each motor has to be tried to be believed; by putting capacitors in and taking capacitors out it was just incredible to watch the volts and amps change and was so easy; this system puts the static converter to shame; my dust extractor used to take ages to wind up with the static converter but now with the transformer it’s immediate. Running costs are low compared to a rotary converter. Briefly to run a 10HP motor through a rotary converter you would in fact be running something like 30HP due to the required idler motor; my transformer is brilliant and idles at 0.8A it is also silent in operation. For safety and to let me know it is switched on I fitted a panel indicator lamp.
[attachment=303]
Perfect 415 Volts from 240 Volt supply.
I hope Doug doesn’t mind me mentioning but when I first saw his DVD’s I thought he was producing bird’s nests as the wiring was all over the place also his method of winding the wire is totally different to mine. Doug lets his son run the wire out using a pulley system taking the two of them to wind. I work on my own and winding the wire was a real problem I faced; I lay awake most of one night in bed trying to think up a solution that would work for me. I came up with my “shuttle” idea which is so simple but very effective in use. I used an off cut of 3/8” plywood 44” long by 3” wide, at each end I cut out a rectangle leaving a pair of horns 1” long by ¼” wide this would prevent the wire slipping off. This was sanded smooth as it would be handled a lot. I found I could get a full 100m coil of 2.5mm wire on the shuttle taking care to wind the wire on neatly by turning the shuttle end over end so that no twists were introduced then with a little practice I could wind 2 turns per minute onto the transformer. I would wind on about 7 turns; place the shuttle down freeing both my hands then I could gently arrange the wire pulling it tightly before clamping the loose end with a spring clip to prevent it from springing loose. One point is that I would now put a first aid sticky plaster around my finger to pull the wire tight with as I opened up a wound that really made me jump when I washed my hands in soapy water.
Costs; in all I had change out of £120 with my transformer, this included the capacitors, brand new wire and scrap transformer. The only downside was our UK climate some days it didn’t get light at all and as I tried to take pictures of work in progress the flash would wash the picture out whereas a normal picture came out dull but then I wasn’t considering writing this up as an article until my friend Martin Scobie suggested it would be of great benefit to other members wishing to install 3 phase into their workshops. With 7.5KW static converters costing in the region of £600 new and rotary converters costing in the region of £1,000 new this transformer method is an absolute bargain for those willing to put the time and effort in. I found this project to be addictive and very interesting.
Safety is a major consideration on this project and I only offer my experience having completed both stator and transformer methods successfully. Anyone wishing to have a go does so entirely at their own risk as dangerous voltages are ever present together with large fully charged capacitors. Capacitors should each be fitted with a discharge 2W resistor and the resistor should not be fully trusted; it pays to double check by bridging the capacitor terminals (power turned off) with an insulated handled screwdriver; take extreme care when handling capacitors. Work slowly and unplug before handling anything; my transformer is silent just waiting to put me on my back and the high voltage and amps will kill without warning. If in any doubt whatsoever do not attempt this project.
I can’t thank or praise Douglas Arndt enough for creating Unique3phase and for all his help during the project. I will be happy to help anyone who buys the DVD’s from Doug and can be contacted by e-mail at; c.wood340@ntlworld.com
The DVD’s cost me a total $25.52 USD at the time this converted into £17.76GBP
By Post: Douglas Arndt. 10671 N.Idaho RD, Post Falls, Idaho. 83854 USA.
By Internet:
http://www.uniquethreephase.com/
Wire in the UK; Screwfix.com
The transformer has now been supplying 3 phase into my garage faultlessly for over two years; I can run single or multiple machines simultaneously from it up to the maximum output of estimated 10KVA. Once the machines are phase balanced to the transformer all I have to do is switch on the transformer then use my machines just as if they were supplied direct with 415V; the machines run on full power; I installed a second start button so need to press two buttons to start each machine; one button is the normal three phase starter the second is to put the start capacitor on line and once the machine starts up I release both buttons this ensures the start capacitor drops out leaving the machine to run as normal.
A friend in Wales wanted to install 3 phase 415V to run heat pumps into two large detached farm houses and was quoted just over £17,000 by his local power supply company; for this application a transformer such as mine could be housed in an oil bath to keep it cool for a fraction of the cost.
I can buy industrial 3 phase 415V machinery as scrap and rebuild it giving me superior machines for less money than a tinny DIY machine; it works for me but there was time and effort involved; I think it was well worth it.
Kind regards, Col.
