Not to rain on your parade, but:

If you want to make a 220-240 V phase converter you are going to have to
invest in a transformer to power your motor. Likely, the transformer will
be fairly expensive unless you have "sources" and even then you will end up
with only a 2.5 HP idler. A 2.5 HP idler would make a good phase converter
for only about a 1 HP load. Also before proceeding it'd be a good idea to
have the insulation tested on the motor - another expense. Many years ago,
I bought a very old Wagner Electric 7.5 HP 3-phase motor and made a RPC from
it. It ran only for a couple of years before the insulation went completely
bad. I should have known better when I bought it because it had been stored
outside for a long time and had rotted through the pallet it was sitting on
and fallen down into the mud and snow. Old motors stored outside are not a
good idea.

Bob Swinney


"Christopher Tidy" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I couldn't resist the 2.5 hp motor I mentioned last week. It took a bit of
thinking and several hours work to get it out of the factory, but I got
there in the end. Today I was excited to discover that this motor was one
of the very first steel framed motors, built in 1931, so it's an
interesting historical item too. I might build a phase convertor with it,
or alternatively save it for driving a machine, but so far I haven't
decided.

Here are the photographs I took. The captions explain what is going on:

http://community.webshots.com/album/411757424ARMBqt

A couple of questios too (these are mentioned in the captions). I'm not
sure if the bearings on this motor are intended to be lubricated with
grease or oil. The tubes are currently packed with grease but there
doesn't appear to be any way of forcing it into the bearings, so I can't
see how the system works. See the second from last picture for a view of
the lubrication tubes. Also, I need to free the screws on the motor mount
which adjust the v-belt tension. These are really badly rusted. I don't
mind if I have to make new screws (they are simple threaded rods with a
little tommy bar through the end), but I don't want to damage the motor
mounts. Any ideas?

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Best wishes,

Chris