Robert Swinney wrote:

Well! Knock me over with a rubber dick, err, make that rubber duck. Seems
to me that ought to work. Id'd bet it is kind of tricky to get the right
belt, or gear, ratio between the pony and idler. I suppose, though, it
would just refuse to "generate" if everything was not properly sized. BTW -
how would you know if it was functioning as an induction generator ? If
the load motor was running at greater than its normal synchronous speed -
it'd be generating, right??





Actually it is dead easy to get it adjusted. Just monitor the current
going to the " pony " motor. Adjust the pulleys so the current is at
or slightly below the rated full load current on the nameplate. The
pony motor is then putting out its rated horsepower. Where is it going?
Got to be going into the three phase motor. With the three phase "
idler " connected to the mains, you won't notice much if any
difference in speed. Most four pole motors run at about 1750 rpm when
they are being used as a motor. 50 rpm slip. To drive at 1850 rpm,
-50 rpm slip, would take the same horsepower going in as the motor is
rated to put out. Actually a bit more to take care of windage and
other losses. So the drive ratio is very close to 1 : 1


Dan