Hey Peter,

I checked within the last year, and here it was going to cost $8500
Cdn (approx 6500US or 9300AUD). And that was for the utility
company's work only. I'd still have to run in from the "pole", and
change the service entrance at my house, and my panels. And it would
have been 3 phase at 600 volts, so I'd need a transformer(s) to get
440-308-220-208 three phase, and 110-220 single phase.

So I have a bag of capacitors and an idler now. It works fine for the
lathe and mill, but it dropped out something on the CNC which I have
not taken time to troubleshoot yet, and I have not tried the surface
grinder yet either, but at least I'm sort of "back in business".

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario, Canada.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On 29 Aug 2004 16:44:25 -0700, (Peter Wiley)
wrote:

Old Nick wrote in message . ..
On 26 Aug 2004 20:06:25 -0700, (Dan Caster) vaguely
proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

If you can't find cheap three phase motors, you probably are not
looking in the right places. Try the scrap yards. I mean the yards
that supply steel scrap to steel mills. Not salvage yards.

Actually I just a 30" circular saw that I am going to drive from my
tractor, and it has a 6hp 3PH motor attached, which I don;t need. I
also remembered I have a 3PH motor in the other shed. However that
one's 20 HP! and I believe they suck juice just to run.

If you weren't so far away - you're in WA, right? - I'd give you a 3HP
3 phase motor to play with. I got quite a few over the years but I'm
on the east coast. Nearly every tool I have is 3 phase.

Frankly I think all this to-ing and fro-ing about faking 3 phase is
fine & undoubtedly necessary for people living in the USA - their 110V
power sucks and their tariff rates do too. Here in Australia - just go
get 3 phase power put on and stop screwing about. I've had it put on
to 3 separate places over the last 30 years without any dramas, just
varying costs :-) I've got 3 phase 415V 90A per phase coming into my
place and I can plug reverse a 7.5HP motor with only a momentary blink
on the light circuit. It also means that I really, really don't need
to worry about what size welder I want to run.

Paying the power bill hasn't been an issue - so far.

PDW