220 volt motor

[darcyh]

Hello:

I am considering a cabinet saw. Most are wired for 220 / 240 volt.

What's the difference between a 1 phase and three phase 220 volt motor?

I am guessing a 1 phase gets straight 220 volts via the black and red wire (plus ground) off a dual gang breaker. The 3 phase will require three connections plus ground; black, red, neutral white and ground. Same dual gang breaker.

Is this correct?

Thanks very much.

Dave

 

[Norcal]

Nope. But too lazy to explain it, BTW 220 is obsolete, unless your in a 3rd world country & then it's 50 Hertz.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Nope. But too lazy to explain it, BTW 220 is obsolete, unless your in a 3rd world country & then it's 50 Hertz.

Why is 200 obsolete?

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

This might help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase_electric_power

 

[Norcal]

Why is 200 (EDIT: 220)obsolete?

The voltage has been increased over the years, 1st to 230V & currently 240V, 208Y/120V is common in larger multi-family residential, & commercial buildings. 200V is the current rated voltage (NEMA standard) for motors intended for a 208V supply.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Assuming this is for home use, the main thing is that three phase power is generally not available - in the US and Canada, virtually all residential electrical services are single phase. You'll need to buy a phase converter or a variable frequency drive (VFD) to run a three phase motor at home.

 

[Delta74]

RANT WARNING-- ignore the its 240 not 220 volt arguments, there pointless, call it either, dont like it, stuff it. depending on the time of day I can read anthing from 221 to 238 volts.
ok RANT Over i think.

now as Stuart in MN said, most residential area's in north america are single phase. that means there is 1 set of hot leads, A and B leg. where 3 phase has three hot wires, depending on area, and owner or supplier there usually colored as Red ( A), Black or yellow (power company thing ( B leg )) and Blue ( C leg ) you get the 3 phase from 3 pairs of the legs, A to B, B to C, and C to A.

depending how the power is supplied by a Delta or Y setup, you can get 120/240, or 120/208 volt. and tons of other weird and outdated voltages like 480 volt

the 200 volt is still used in a few ( very rare ) places, and 208 is a very common tap for light commercial use, ( 347/600 volt more common) .

anyway to answer your question, if its a 3 phase motor you will need a phase converter OR change the motor to single phase, you cant run a 3 phase with just the 2 wires or stuff a third under one of the breaker lugs. huge difference in how the motor works between single and three phase. hope that answeres your question.

 

[darcyh]

Thanks for the answers. The wiki link was very useful. I'll make sure it is a single phase motor.

Thanks again...

Dave

 

[Mmfh]

Thanks for the answers. The wiki link was very useful. I'll make sure it is a single phase motor.

Thanks again...

Dave

You might keep your eyes open for a cheap phase converter, they do come up on Craigslist and in the paper. You can also build one for fairly cheap, especially if you are willing to shop around some and stop by surplus places.

3 phase machines usually can be had much cheaper than their single phase counter parts. That's a big advantage when looking for a nice machine that a lot of people don't think they can run.

Anyway, Good Luck!

Mm

 

[PRH44]

The one concern between voltages such as 208 versus 240 is the actual motor rating versus nominal supply voltage. 208/120 is the most common low voltage in the three phase configuration. However there are a lot of 240/120 delta system with the high leg at 208 in existence in older manufacturing facilities.
480/277 has taken over in this capacity for the most part. Some systems are rated at 460, 440.
Single phase 240/120 is very common in the residential realm.
208 can range depending on the transformer tap setting.
Always follow the manufactures recommendation on voltages. Most motors have a range normally plus or minus 10 percent of the rated voltage.
Actual 220 volt rated motors will function on the mid to upper limits of 208 with out any issues.

240 volt rated motors do not like to function at this level as it will over current and under horse and can result in damage to equipment.
One can always use a buck boost or auto transformer to make up the difference between 208 and 240. The transformer will only need to be sized
use the percentage difference in voltage to calculate the KVA. So it will be smaller than the HP you are trying to power.
However this is expensive and not as efficient as proper voltage.

Phase converters or "roto-phases" can be used to convert single phase to three phase.