Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Industrial Toys]

Rotary Phase Converter. I should put it on a timer. So everyones UPSs beep at the strike of midnight!

 

[daugen]

RPC, sure, sounds like something that creates local black holes...or melts wiring in a fiery display.
Big boy equipment coming home...
I can see the problem, how do you turn it on? 5kw inverter and some huge batteries?
You'd need welding cable to hook that up.'
but I of course would like to watch. :thumbsup:

 

[Industrial Toys]

I never did get the starting circuit right. I reach into to all the live wires and touch a momentary switch until the unit is up to speed. The huge start up current is only for a fraction of a second. Not nearly long enough to have ever taken out eh main 200 amp fuses or even 60 amp breaker the thing is on.

 

[TractorGuy]

Mine gets a monthly run and check over but I drug it out for a little TLC over the weekend.

I discovered some clogged radiator fins a while back that I missed when I acquired it. I pulled the top off to wash the radiator out. It had never run over normal but might as well let it cool at maximum efficiency.

It was also sucking leaves up in it so I put down some pavers to sit it on and covered the lower openings with 1/4" hardware cloth to keep the leaves, squirrels, and rodents out. I had a squirrel playing around it lately. If it keeps hanging around my equipment I will have to send him to the great reward.

 

[downsizingnow48]

what is it for? The RPC I mean.

 

[Fallon]

RPC, sure, sounds like something that creates local black holes...or melts wiring in a fiery display.
Big boy equipment coming home...
I can see the problem, how do you turn it on? 5kw inverter and some huge batteries?
You'd need welding cable to hook that up.'
but I of course would like to watch.

It's really nothing special, especially given this thread. It's just a generator that is powered by an electric motor instead of a gas motor. If you can get it started you can even have a 3 phase motor act as the motor & generator. The single phase will run the motor & the other winding will produce the 3rd phase. You either need a starter circuit (slightly more complex, but basically the same as the start capacitor on most single phase motors) to get it going or you can even pull start them in some cases.

Pretty much a single phase input & a 3 phase output. It let's you run 3 phase equipment when you only have single phase service. They are less common these days as you can get a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) for the same price or less. A VFD is just an inverter, but you can trivially mess with the output frequency and/or voltage with software. That means you can mess with motor speed via a dial or software instead of changing pullies or gears.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Here's what my RPC looks like,

I use it to run my metal lathe and a BIG drill press that I have in the shop.

SR

 

[daugen]

Here's what my RPC looks like,

I use it to run my metal lathe and a BIG drill press that I have in the shop.

SR

very cool, nice piece of machinery Rob.
like a pony motor starting up three phase

thanks for dumbing it down for me Fallon but didn't handle any of these at my Radio Shack store...
Three phase is usually commercial industrial and most of us don't fool with it.
Until we bring the big toys/tools home.
Look Martha, I made the valley dim...

I have a 1968 Cub Cadet with a motor generator starter, this started sounding familiar.

 

[Industrial Toys]

How did you know I lived in a Valley? I'm spooked!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

One reason I like my rotary, over a static is, I can run more than one machine, all at the same time, with one purchase...

IF, I add another 3 phase machine, all I have to do is wire it in, nothing more to buy.

SR