Duane Bozarth wrote:
Nova wrote:

Bob wrote:

An electric motor HP rating is what its capable of putting out. If
you do not stress it, it does not produce any more HP than your
existing motor. The only way to make it produce the full 2HP is to
really load it up.

I wish my electric meter believed that.




What a testament to the failure of science education in the general
populace (Bob, not you Nova)...

Well...... ;-) I made it 2/3 rds of the way to a mechanical engineering
degree before switching to computer science. As an "inganeering" student I
lernt alot about "conservation of energy" and the like. ;-)

If you hook up a 1 HP motor and it turns the band saw at "X" FPM, and then
you hook up a 2 HP (or 10 HP or 100 HP or 10M HP) motor and it also turns
the saw at "X" FPM, what is the larger motor doing to consume more
electrons? Radiating heat? Shooting arcs in the air? Writing its
congressperson? It takes the same amount of power to spin the same machine
at the same speed, so if there is a difference in electrons sacrificed by
the different sized motors it has to be due to efficiency differences in the
motors and/or the motors sending the electrons off to do other things.

When my 14" Jet BS is running but not actually cutting wood, I haven't
noticed the motor housing glowing red, or sparks jumping out of the motor,
or letters to congresscritters coming out of the motor. Therefore I have to
conclude that the motor is consuming only enough electrons to keep the the
band saw mechanisms turning at a constanst speed against the forces of
friction in the bearings, the unwillingness of the band saw blade to be bent
and unbent, and the link belt groaning and complaining as it is bent and
straightened. If you ignore internal differences in motors and hook up a
100 HP motor to the same Jet 14" band saw and it also drives the BS at the
same speed, it is impossible for the difference of a single electron to flow
through my electric meter -- unless the larger motor is shunting additional
electrons elsewhere.

When idling at a stoplight, I'll bet a Chevette and a Corvette are
*producing* basically the same HP, even though there is a substantial
difference in their maximum HP. ;-)

-- Mark

P.S. Those who finished engineering degrees are invited to correct my
mis/mal understandings. ;-)