Steam kettle 3 phase is it changeable?

[skipskip]

I have a steam kettle, for restaurant.

Basically it's a huge double boiler with a huge heating element in the base


JUN 227 by skipskip, on Flickr

The Id tag says its 208 volts 3 phase


JUN 229 by skipskip, on Flickr




I understand that 3 phase motors need to have a converter to run on single phase, but do heating elements need that also??

Can it be wired for single phase?

Do most restaurant kitchens run on 3 phase?

thanks

Skip

 

[Speedy Petey]

Yes, many/most restaurants have 3-phase.

Some appliances like this are convertible, but not all. Heating elements are all single phase. There is no physical way to make a 3-phase element. What they do is use multiple elements balanced across the three phases. What some ovens, etc will let you do is use a larger single phase circuit and place all the elements in parallel across the two legs.
Again, not all appliances will let you do this. check the manufacturer's listing.

 

[Speedy Petey]

Here are the manuals, but I don't see a "1963GM", even in the retired manuals.
http://www.unifiedbrands.net/index.php?id=54


Edit - I see now that the model is not 1963GM. Can you tell us what it says next to "model"? I can't make it out.

 

[Speedy Petey]

OK, I did find this:

Installation
Single electrical connection required. Specify 208/240
or 480 Volt, single or three phase. Standard unit shall be
shipped 208V / 3 Ph and be field convertible from three
phase to single phase operation. Remote steam source is
not required.

On this page:
http://www.unifiedbrands.net/assets/docs/groen/groenwebspecs/Table Top Kettles_1010_FULLSERIES.pdf

So you may be good.

 

[skipskip]

Thanks!! that's just what I had hoped to discover.

Skip

 

[Norcal]

You still have a issue w/ 208V input. But be glad you did not have this sticker inside.

***************** 208V 3Ø

 

[930dreamer]

OK, I did find this:


On this page:
http://www.unifiedbrands.net/assets/docs/groen/groenwebspecs/Table Top Kettles_1010_FULLSERIES.pdf

So you may be good.

This is new to me also, good information.

 

[PRH44]

By looking the manual it is likely they use the same element for 240 and 208 because the KW is less at 208. The KW rating at 208 is less because the resistance is the same.

 

[nehog]

Two thoughts.

1. It is only 6.3 KW, which for a heating device, is not a lot of power. But a converter makes no sense to me.

2. It is probable that this particular has elements that are 208 volts only, and will be *very* unhappy if powered from 240, so conversion to single phase is questionable (IMHO!)

OK, say you are willing to risk damage to it... You can get partial power (about half) by wiring it across a single phase. One element will get 240 volts, and the other two elements will get half (120) volts as they will end up in series. This means it may not get hot enough. Or you can possibly modify it, but as the label says: not recommended!

 

[Tscott]

I worked on these for a living in college. Can you make it single phase? Maybe. It can definitely be wired that way, although it will require a much larger circuit to feed it. As others have pointed out, the element may be OK to use at 240V, but only the manufacturer can verify this. If I had to guess, I would say the element is probably the same element they use for 240V units but there are some companies that have different elements for different voltages. I am not sure I have ever seen a steam kettle run on 1Ø. Most restaurants of any size are 3Ø. Steams kettles pull a ton of juice so be careful if you decide to proceed and also keep in mind the elements are not typically able to be changed in these things due to the base being a pressure vessel. Most of the time if the element is bad, the kettle is bad with no way to fix it.

Tom