Show us your VFD conversions/installations

[MKSJ]

If you have the name/picture of the VFD, then some guidance could be provided as to programming.
HY VFD's
PD003 Main Frequency 60.00
PD004 Base Frequency 60.00
PD005 Max Operating Frequency 60.00
PD075 Higher Analog Frequency 60.00

The issue is a VFD is not a 3 phase power source to run electronics and control circuits, the output is PWM and is designed to power motors not electronics. You would need something like a Phase Perfect or a RPC, and the latter will be much less expensive. If using an RPC you need to not use the wild generated leg to power the electronics/transformers, otherwise it may run erratic and damage the semiconductor controls.

 

[laser3kw]

If you have the name/picture of the VFD, then some guidance could be provided as to programming.
HY VFD's
PD003 Main Frequency 60.00
PD004 Base Frequency 60.00
PD005 Max Operating Frequency 60.00
PD075 Higher Analog Frequency 60.00

The issue is a VFD is not a 3 phase power source to run electronics and control circuits, the output is PWM and is designed to power motors not electronics. You would need something like a Phase Perfect or a RPC, and the latter will be much less expensive. If using an RPC you need to not use the wild generated leg to power the electronics/transformers, otherwise it may run erratic and damage the semiconductor controls.

Important fact ^^^^^

 

[u3b3rg33k]

That makes sense, but the washer agitates both ways and has a high speen spin. It uses three contactors and I think I'd rather sell it and buy a single phase unit before I cut up and modify the wiring that drastically. I'll see if I can reprogram the VFD to 60Hz and see how trat goes first.

Thanks

You wouldn't change much - leave the old wiring alone, motor goes directly to the VFD. one contactor is probably for forward, one for reverse, third for spin?

plenty of drives have inputs that would allow for that.

a single phase unit is probably wiser.

 

[goingtoarizona]

U3B3RG33K:

The way I see it, I either need to figure out how to connect the contactors to the vfd input, which seems possible, but not particularly easy. The other would be to run the computer off regular line voltage, which seems much, much simpler. I'd probably have to run the timer and drain valve off line voltage while I'm at it.

I got my VFD from Ebay and the instructions were so poor I just tossed them. I've seem Youtube videos from Teco that show what is supposed to be comprehensive instruction manuals. Any recemendations?

A funny side note: I have a Rotary phase converter that I used at another location to run four large 3 phase washers. I really don't want that thing running 24/7 just for one washer and I really don't want to rewire that whole assembly.

 

[u3b3rg33k]

i was saying the contactor signal would tell the VFD what to do - you don't want to be switching the VFD's input or output power if at all possible, unless it's rated for that.

I try to buy non "china" VFDs - by that I mean I'll happily buy a used baldor/invertek or hitachi before I touch a no-name that's "new".

 

[bggrnchvy]

Older Delta drill press that was 208v 3ph when I bought it. I added a cheap hall effect sensor for RPM readout and a 3 way switch for forward/rev. The original power switch just supplies power to the VFD enclosure so it is not hot all the time it is plugged in.

 

[Hal]

My installation is a little different from most of yours. I replaced the two ancient furnace blowers that provided combustion air to my maple syrup evaporator. The new blower is a Dayton 1.5 Hp. unit specified by a manufacturer for their similarly sized evaporator. I upgraded the VFD to a WEGO washdown unit, which is way overkill as far as features. All I really need is on/off and speed control.

I got a friend of mine, who is a retired industrial electrician, to do the wiring. I told him, " I could wire it myself, but it would look like I had." The installation is all done with PVC conduit and rain tight/ liquid tight enclosures and connectors.

 

[Ecosta777]

Recently finished this for my Clausing 5914 lathe.
I only really wanted the For / Rev sticker. I ended up adding the power on / off procedure sticker because when drilling the hole for the power switch, the hole saw jumped and scratched the box, and I needed to cover it up.

Teco L510 3HP, using an external forward and reverse switch. Circuit breaker and line filter. I am only using it as a phase converter, the lathe has a clutch and its own variable speed. So I just use it to run the motor and I then engage the spindle with the clutch, and change speeds with the lathe speed controls.

I really like this model because it only "runs" when its turned on. If there's power supplied it does not turn the fans on or have a HZ reading. Once the external switch is turned to forward or reverse, it kicks on and the fans come on and is actually running. This way it doesnt get to hot inside the enclosure.

 

[c7z06]

I mounted KBC-27D 2 h.p. capacity VHDs on both my Bridgeport mill and my 2" x 72" belt grinder.

 

[Steve from Socal]

Here is a very basic VFD installation. These two Fuji "minis" are controlling ventilation fans I put in the gable of my big building. The building had three roof top ventilators that are 50+ year old with seized motor shafts etc. The cost to crane the old ones off the roof were several times the total cost of the new fans. These may not be as effective as the three peak fans IF they worked but, it is WAY better than no working fans at a reasonable price. The fans are 48" driven by 5HP3 phase motors. There are shutters on the outside of the building and, the fan frame is pallet racking as seen.

Steve

 

[cretedog]

VFD on a Buffalo No. 21 I redid some years ago. Still haven't gotten to wiring the remote pushbutton/speed control station... Works great.

 

[Indexmill]

That Buffalo No. 21 is cool as hell.

 

[DaveT]

That Buffalo No. 21 is cool as hell.

I will second that. SO COOL!!!

 

[laser3kw]

Here is a very basic VFD installation. These two Fuji "minis" are controlling ventilation fans I put in the gable of my big building. The building had three roof top ventilators that are 50+ year old with seized motor shafts etc. The cost to crane the old ones off the roof were several times the total cost of the new fans. These may not be as effective as the three peak fans IF they worked but, it is WAY better than no working fans at a reasonable price. The fans are 48" driven by 5HP3 phase motors. There are shutters on the outside of the building and, the fan frame is pallet racking as seen.

Steve

FYI - it is not uncommon to run two motors off one VFD. Caveat is the motors have to be the same hp, voltage etc and the vfd has to be up sized to handle both motors. In light to moderate continuous load (like your fans), you could use a 7.5hp VFD. If the motor demands were more severe (acceleration,load), a 10hp or even a 15hp VFD would be needed.

 

[Steve from Socal]

FYI - it is not uncommon to run two motors off one VFD. Caveat is the motors have to be the same hp, voltage etc and the vfd has to be up sized to handle both motors. In light to moderate continuous load (like your fans), you could use a 7.5hp VFD. If the motor demands were more severe (acceleration,load), a 10hp or even a 15hp VFD would be needed.

While that is true, several factors favor the individual drives in this application. I have four of these fans that ventilate different parts of my shop. Because the ventilation packages are these dual fans a single inverter could drive each fan pack. For redundancy as one factor the fans are separate, a single inverter could disable both fans or, one fan motor could disable the whole set. These are 5HP fans I usually drive at 30~40Hz with a single drive when I need very low flow the fans would be at speeds that could impact cooling the motors. Last; I bought 4 of these little Fuji drives for around 700.00 brand new. They are nice and compact, a couple of bigger drives would have been at least as costly. Having the fans and inverters all independent gives me the flexibility and redundancy to control each fan. I would loose that with paired fans, I agree that in "other applications" the single drive strategy is a good option.

Steve

 

[cretedog]

I will second that. SO COOL!!!

Thanks Dave & Index.

 

[fair1345]

Everything looks great, thanks for sharing, I don't have that kind of tool but I'm encouraging myself to buy one.

 

[shawhite]

Any of you VFD gurus want to figure out what I am doing wrong with my vfd install. I hear the motor vibrate but it doesn’t spin

 

[bggrnchvy]

Any of you VFD gurus want to figure out what I am doing wrong with my vfd install. I hear the motor vibrate but it doesn’t spin

Do you have a frequency output greater than 0 selected?

 

[shawhite]

I believe it is set to 60. I was given this vfd to replace a KB that stopped working. The new drive is a cheap HY so the manual is non existent.

 

[shawhite]

Ok I think I figured it out. It appears the drive is 120v 3ph out. Motor is 230v 3phase. Not going to work. So any suggestions for a new vfd. Motor specs are 230v 60hz 3.8/4.8A 1710/3420 rpm 0.8/1.1 KW and if possible I would like to power this with 120v

 

[u3b3rg33k]

Ok I think I figured it out. It appears the drive is 120v 3ph out. Motor is 230v 3phase. Not going to work. So any suggestions for a new vfd. Motor specs are 230v 60hz 3.8/4.8A 1710/3420 rpm 0.8/1.1 KW and if possible I would like to power this with 120v

it should still spin up unloaded just fine. I've tested out 460V motors with 120 1P in, 230 3P out drives plenty of times.

more detail on your install would be helpful.

this is what I can find:

ODE-3-210058-1042

www.driveswarehouse.com

ODE-3-210058-1042, 1.5 HP, 5.8 Amp, 110-115V AC INPUT, 230V AC Output
don't expect it to like a GFCI.

 

[Firebrick43]

Ok I think I figured it out. It appears the drive is 120v 3ph out. Motor is 230v 3phase. Not going to work. So any suggestions for a new vfd. Motor specs are 230v 60hz 3.8/4.8A 1710/3420 rpm 0.8/1.1 KW and if possible I would like to power this with 120v

What, does 3 phase 120 exist any where in the world?????

 

[JLCinark]

What, does 3 phase 120 exist any where in the world?????

Reliance made a VFD with 115V 3 phase output and a 115/230 3 phase inverter rated duty motor. HP was 1/2, 3/4 and 1. This was over 20 years ago. Controler was 115/230 single phase input. They worked good but calls about no such thing.

 

[Firebrick43]

I

Reliance made a VFD with 115V 3 phase output and a 115/230 3 phase inverter rated duty motor. HP was 1/2, 3/4 and 1. This was over 20 years ago. Controler was 115/230 single phase input. They worked good but calls about no such thing.

Interesting. I have seen single phase input inverters(i personally own 4) but in all my 15 plus years of working with 3 phase motors in cnc machinery and pumps I had not seen or heard of 115 output.

What application did reliance push these to?

 

[JLCinark]

I

Interesting. I have seen single phase input inverters(i personally own 4) but in all my 15 plus years of working with 3 phase motors in cnc machinery and pumps I had not seen or heard of 115 output.

What application did reliance push these to?

I think they intended for the home/hobby market, Drill, lathe saw, but the cost is one per use. Really no advantage to 115/230 3 phase, special motor cost more. Cheaper to use VFD with 115 single phase and 230 3 phase output and motor is easy to find. Reliance model SU11001 and motor P56X1424R, found both on Ebay. We had a prototype/Demo with the VFD built onto the conduit box. Any way you turned it either could not reach control or in the way.
Retired from the conveyor business for 11 years, am sure VFD are better and cheaper.

 

[Duker]

I have a project that where I am in an area way over my tips so to speak so wanted to see if I could pick the brains of the group. The background is that I have a lathe that is being powered by a transformer stepping up the power to 460V 3 phase. The lathe currently operates only in forward mode but I would like to see if I could find away to reverse it for tapping etc. I wont be getting too crazy with reverse as its a L1 mount and I would like to avoid it slinging it towards me! Can I get away with using a VFD to reverse or do I need to add a reversing starter as well? As I mentioned this is not my area of expertise so any help would be most appreciated.

 

[laser3kw]

Can I get away with using a VFD to reverse

yes. you have to use the terminal fwr / rev functions as directed by the manufacture. You may also have to play with the parameters to get the best accell / decell for your application. This is very common and is not hard to do. Keep us posted

 

[Steve from Socal]

I have a project that where I am in an area way over my tips so to speak so wanted to see if I could pick the brains of the group. The background is that I have a lathe that is being powered by a transformer stepping up the power to 460V 3 phase. The lathe currently operates only in forward mode but I would like to see if I could find away to reverse it for tapping etc. I wont be getting too crazy with reverse as its a L1 mount and I would like to avoid it slinging it towards me! Can I get away with using a VFD to reverse or do I need to add a reversing starter as well? As I mentioned this is not my area of expertise so any help would be most appreciated.

Duker,

The L1 spindle has a key that prevents the chuck from turning. With the spanner nut just snug there is no chance the chuck will unscrew. Threaded spindles are directly threaded, an L taper is perhaps the best of American design.

Yes you need to reverse the motor at the VFD, most have provisions to use a reversing drum switch or push buttons. My 13EE has a joystick that works like a drum switch for spindle rotation.

 

[Duker]

Duker,

The L1 spindle has a key that prevents the chuck from turning. With the spanner nut just snug there is no chance the chuck will unscrew. Threaded spindles are directly threaded, an L taper is perhaps the best of American design.

Yes you need to reverse the motor at the VFD, most have provisions to use a reversing drum switch or push buttons. My 13EE has a joystick that works like a drum switch for spindle rotation.

yes. you have to use the terminal fwr / rev functions as directed by the manufacture. You may also have to play with the parameters to get the best accell / decell for your application. This is very common and is not hard to do. Keep us posted

Thank you guys! I appreciate your replies. The VFD will make wiring a whole lot easier as well I can make a new switch plate with the reverse included. Steve I like the joystick as an option, I might have to explore that some more.

 

[737mechanic]

I made a video of my VFD I have been using for 5 years to power my 3hp vertical mill.

5HP VFD powering my 3HP Vertical mill

 

[u3b3rg33k]

I made a video of my VFD I have been using for 5 years to power my 3hp vertical mill.

5HP VFD powering my 3HP Vertical mill

You probably already know, but if you get a better drive/Vector drive, you won't have the issue of having to use the speed pot like a throttle to hold a desired RPM (within torque limits). that or change the gear ratio on the mill.

 

[shawhite]

I made a video of my VFD I have been using for 5 years to power my 3hp vertical mill.

5HP VFD powering my 3HP Vertical mill

How do you have your forward/reverse switch hooked up

 

[Kpaige]

Looking for some help in this area.
I am building a belt grinder. I gutted a commercial treadmill for the motor. To my surprise I now have a 110 volt input single phase to 230 volt output 3 phase wired to a matching 3 phase motor.
Wondering if there is anyone that could assist me with figuring out how to eliminate the treadmill stuff and just control with the vfd

 

[laser3kw]

To my surprise I now have a 110 volt input single phase to 230 volt output 3 phase wired to a matching 3 phase motor.

*usually* vfd"s do not boost input voltage. I would investigate more, I am suspecting it is a 240 vac single phase input. It may have a plug that looks like a regular 120v. Post a couple of pictures of the wall plug and any product tags on the vfd, control board and motor.

 

[Kpaige]

*usually* vfd"s do not boost input voltage. I would investigate more, I am suspecting it is a 240 vac single phase input. It may have a plug that looks like a regular 120v. Post a couple of pictures of the wall plug and any product tags on the vfd, control board and motor.

Actually it is verified and tested 120 single phase input 230 3 phase output here is the info from the service manual. I have all the wiring diagrams and such also

"The Motor Controller PCB is a single phase AC input PWM variable frequency three(3) phase AC output motor controller. Specifically the controller input is configured as a full wave bridge for 230 volt AC input, and as a voltage doubler for 120 volt AC input. The resultant DC bus voltage is processed through a microprocessor controlled six switch DC to AC inverter. The output is three phase power with pulse width modulation of both voltage and frequency."

 

[Firebrick43]

*usually* vfd"s do not boost input voltage. I would investigate more, I am suspecting it is a 240 vac single phase input. It may have a plug that looks like a regular 120v. Post a couple of pictures of the wall plug and any product tags on the vfd, control board and motor.

UM there are a LOT of sub hp vfd that will take 120v and output 240v

 

[laser3kw]

Actually it is verified and tested 120 single phase input 230 3 phase output

I see... it is similar to my tig unit that will run on 120v or 240v.
Is the vfd a separate unit? Is there a manufacture name and model number for reference? Basically, we have to figure out what the terminal inputs are being used and re-wire for your use.

 

[Kpaige]

I see... it is similar to my tig unit that will run on 120v or 240v.
Is the vfd a separate unit? Is there a manufacture name and model number for reference? Basically, we have to figure out what the terminal inputs are being used and re-wire for your use.

Here is some of the info. I have a manual in pdf and its large but has everything.

 

[laser3kw]

from the info ^^^, it looks like the motor control board operates like a vfd, but is not like the conventional vfd as seen and used in this thread. The motor control board is being commanded via plug 3 (P3) and is using data tx (transmit) and data rx (receive) as well a a bus request. This means it is using serial communications from the other modules to regulate motor speed and power according to the way the user operates the control console / push buttons. The motor control board also has a "speed sensor" that feeds back through the communications bus for regulation.
On the surface, I'd say you won't be able to use this as you are thinking.