What to Do With My Latest Score

[freudianfloyd]

Today at work the maintenance guys were clearing out their storage room by throwing away anything they haven't used in the past few years. Anyway, I have a reputation for saving good stuff from being wasted, and today was no exception.

My haul today consisted of a trunk load of brand new in packages 3 phase electric motors. The hp ratings range from 1/3 hp to 5 hp. Only thing I need to figure out now though is what to do with them.

I don't have 3 phase power, but I couldn't just let them go in the trash.

I thought about making a small phase converter with the 5 hp motor, but with a possible 3 hp max output, I'm not sure if it is worth it. Other than that I have no idea what to do with the motors.

Besides selling, do these motors have any practical use?

 

[NUTTSGT]

BNIB 3 phase and they are getting tossed, wow.

If you were closer, I'd pass along a phone number to a guy (co-worker) that puts up grain bins that might be interested.

 

[freudianfloyd]

BNIB 3 phase and they are getting tossed, wow.

If you were closer, I'd pass along a phone number to a guy (co-worker) that puts up grain bins that might be interested.

You would not believe the stuff I have been given at work that would've been thrown out. Almost daily I get something. Cabinets, carts, lathe, spot welder, fridges, weld tables, saws, literally tons of steel and stainless, rolls of wire, computers, tool boxes, etc. They seem think it's cheaper to throw it out then to sell it.

They have an unwritten rule that if it hasn't been used in 2 years it gets thrown out.

 

[manrmark]

If you can't find a use for them or a friend that could use them sell them on ebay.

 

[Alan Douglas]

That's one thing I miss after retiring, along with the discounted UPS and Fedex shipping, the endless stream of stuff being thrown out. Once you become known for willingness to take stuff away quickly and discreetly (and sometimes to give things back if the need arises), and to help them out, they would rather see stuff saved than trashed too.

You could make a single-to-three-phase converter with one or two of the motors. A small one would be fairly easy to start with nothing more than a phase-shifting capacitor, and once it's running it would start a larger motor.

 

[freudianfloyd]

That's one thing I miss after retiring, along with the discounted UPS and Fedex shipping, the endless stream of stuff being thrown out. Once you become known for willingness to take stuff away quickly and discreetly (and sometimes to give things back if the need arises), and to help them out, they would rather see stuff saved than trashed too.

You could make a single-to-three-phase converter with one or two of the motors. A small one would be fairly easy to start with nothing more than a phase-shifting capacitor, and once it's running it would start a larger motor.

They started giving things to me mostly for the fact that I could get a truck big enough to move anything they have and usually the same day. My father owns a construction companywith any size truck I could need. Most of the city slickers here at work only have compact cars.

 

[gungatim]

yeah it helps to have the truck and space to store that kind of stuff. early in this past winter, was perusing the back alley dumpsters behind a farm store. see a half pallet of wood pellets next to the dumpster, torn bags, some wet, stop to grab em (driving SUV). guy drives by stops and says how many you taking? I say, i'll split em with you if you want, 9 bags each. He says no I don't want any, i'm the ast. mgr. I have 30 more pallets stored of wet pellets we can't sell. can you take em all?

unfortunately, no way to haul a semi load or nowhere to store them or I would have taken em....the 18 bags I had burned just fine once they dried out...

 

[wyliesdiesels]

See them!