The best phase converter video I’ve seen yet.

Exactly the series I needed! Open wire diagram and great explanation. Too many people complicate this and make it hard when it's not. Thanks very much. I have 3 phase in my shop now :)

This is a fantastic display of how a rotary phase converter works! This was very helpful for understanding how a RPC functions, one component at a time. Very well broken down. Nice work!

Wow! Breaking it down to the essential components was very helpfull. Thanks for taking the time to make this series.

Absolutely the best rotary phase converter series on youtube. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten us. I bought a used, homemade one, with no diagram, not connected to the pony motor, and i was pulling my hair out trying to figure it out. Thanks again!

This is how KZfaq should be done. Thanks for the efforts. They have been well received.

First off great video series, the most common sense explanation of a rotary phase converter build and testing on youtube.

I have to totally be honest with you Birdranch. This is the first video I have seen that totally goes over all the relevant points in down to earth language. I am wondering why others on KZfaq have not figured out how to be so simple and to the point. Frankly this is just refreshing to see and hear your explanations. Great job fella. You should get an award for being number one. YOU ROCK FOR SURE. VF

Re-watching this as I have one to build. Couldn't help but notice the old school Amprobe like the one that I have had since I was a cub. :)

Great video on sizing and methodology of inserting the capacitors. Everyone else just seems to gloss over this very important step. Well done!

What an excellent understandable tutorial you have put together for someone wanting to build their own converter! Wish I would have had this 20 yrs ago when I built mine and did all these very same steps as I figured out my start and run caps. You have made a seemingly complex subject very understandable for a first timer!! Kudos to you and all your efforts to help someone else you don't even know. Just Excellent!!😃

Doug I have read & watched so much crap over about three years trying to build one - this is by far the very best tutorial - you are a genius - I have to deal with trying to step up to 415v with a reverse wired transformer but your set up is ace.

Wow! Did I ever! It is the first time in all the time spent figuring out how to do this - that I feel comfortable! Thank you! Subscribed! And will watch the rest of the series.

Followed this Great Build making me a 10HP 3 phase for my shop! Works perfect for my Horizontal Milling machine and Grinder. Tuning Capacitors was lot of trial and error, Thank you from bottom of my heart I can troubleshoot and repair my own Unit! Randy

Best series of videos on this subject by far. Detailed yet clea well done

Hi It's Oliver again I really appreciate your quick response and explanation your explanation of the project is fantastic your make it look so simple compared to all the other videos Kind Regards and Thanks a lot Oliver

Thank you so much for your instructions. Now I can build my own with confidence. I was confused about amount of capacitors. Again, please keep us awake with anything news under your knowledge.

This is better than learning at some schools. Salute for the effort sir!

So far this was the best phase converter video I have seen. Thanks.

Awesome video, very good job of explaining the theory behind the concept

Thanks a lot for the diagram and instructions !! really appreciate it !! please do not be tired of posting education videos like this !!

Best explanation of a rotary phase converter build...well done!

This is one of the best video illustration and tutorial on the subject. Thank you

Probably one of the best, easiest video to understand. Thank you.

For my college course I'm building a 120v stepdown to 15v 1ph AC then making a 15v rotary phase converter... You have no idea how much this video helps.

Thank you. I just bought a 3 phase welder at a auction. At the time I had know idea it was 3 phase.

This is a well explained video. I watched other videos about these rotary converters but I never got a full explanation on how they work and how to balance them. Thank you. 👍

Well done! Thank you, SBR.

Thank you! I bought a Phoenix phase converter and it came from the factory out of balance. I didn't realize this till recently. They said to add capacitors to fix it and this was a great resource!

Just commenting again - this is exceedingly well done. I prefer this version over adding in yet another motor to remove the back emf resisting the initial start. Literally less moving parts.

Your video is the best I’ve seen on the subject matter. Great work, thank you. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇬🇧

It is the best video that I have seen on the internet, thanks for your time. I'm from Guatemala, Centroamerica and is difficult to find information about this system in spanish. You video is very good. Thanks.

Awesome video. It's all about tuning the phase shift via capacitors.

Been looking into making one of these for a While and this is the first video that makes it make sense. Awesome video!

Thank you so much that just taught me so much i had no clue before i watched this video your a great instructor. im subbed with thumbs up

ah thank you very much for this. i just got a big three phase motor and wanted to build a rotary converter but couldn't find instructions on balancing. couple dudes show their converters with a bunch of capacitors but don't explain how they determined what to use and where. also that document is suuuper helpful. thumbs up

Very good explanation. One thing you could do for your starter capacitor is to hang a centrifugal switch on the motor; that output shaft isn't doing anything else but spin anyways. That would be closed when the motor is off and open up as soon as it comes up to speed. No worries about a relay that might burn out.

Best video series on Homemade phase converter.

Finally a video that explains things , is well made and complete. good job. Thanks

Excellent hands on demonstration! Thanks for sharing!

Its OK to have a sense of hummer. Some video makers think they have to burn up tools just for the show. That's OK if you are just entertaining . I see you're video as educational. That's why I clicked to watch it and I did learn from it. Ty

Great , Man , you are so strong teacher , thank you so much , i really learned a lot with easy Method.

This is so perfectly explained, I think I’ll be making one for my lathe, thank you!!!

Awesome 🤩 video, thanks, I needed to know the capacitor values and you showed me!

great explanation great thank you

Gracias amigo es exelente y pedagogico me sirve de mucho sobre todo el modo de enclavar el contactor sin contacto auxiliar. very good.

Excellent video, keep up the awesome content!

Very nice videos, I was wondering if this same set up will work with a larger pony motor, I have a 15 hp cnc mill so would I need a 30 hp motor? And will 100 amp 220v power be sufficient?

Good morning from Trinidad W.I. I recently acquired a delta 10" unisaw for my home workhop. The tablesaw is powered by a 5hp 3ph motor. I have since been pondering if to change the motor to a 1ph. Studying this video series. You make this so easy that I am gonna try this. Thanks for an excellent demo.

i see these made for running 3 phase motorized tools how would this setup work with say a welder or plasma torch.

Thank you so much. Excellent video series. Best on KZfaq. Actual guide

I watched your videos on this and it worked perfect! I built one using your instruction video. Thank you!!! Excellent video

This answers so much. Sir, you are a boone upon other tradesmen.

Thanks for taking the time. Awesome video

Quick question : how much ball park would this system cost to build? I just bought a surface grinder with three 3 ph motors in it and dont want to buy 3 vfds. Haha

Very Educational. This has clarified a lot of my questions. I need one to run my 3hp 3ph lathe.

Good job , what is the proper voltage Capacitors we need to use on this Project is it 240 V , or can use 440/370 as well Thank you

This guy is brilliant .followed everything step by step and it is working better than my 5.5kw vfd

Superb video.

I would like to thank you very much for a great and easy to follow video. By following the videos I was able to build a 10 hp rotary convertor and it works great. If its ok and somebody is interested, I will list the cap values for the 10 hp.

Hi I live in Australia and only have single phase 240v. I have an old Tyre balancer and its got digital display it has a 4 pin plug and runs on 415v 3 phase. there is a 415v transformer on the motherboard. Would this work as all phases need the 415 v. Thanks Nick

Sir your experience very very well thanks

As you said, this gives a much clearer idea on the capacitor use. One thing that has always confused me and you get all kinds of different answers on forums is the phase differences. You have an input power that that is 240 volt single phase where the two 120 lines are 180 degrees apart. Your pony motor and output power are 240 volt three phase but the phases are 120 degrees apart. So, is what your saying here is that using the capacitors are actually electrically moving the phases so they end up close to 120 degrees apart. I guess I am having trouble visualizing how you can start a 120 degree motor with 180 degree phasing power. Thanks, Tom

Superbly explained and great reference document. One concern I have about rotary idler phase convertors like this is that the phases are +/- 90 degrees instead of +/- 120 degrees as in utility-supplied 3-phase systems. The L1 and L2 inputs are 180 degrees apart. 120 volts each (to ground and the power company's neutral) and 240 volts between the two phases. The synthesized idler leg driven by the pony motor and capacitors is right between L1 and L2, thus 90 degrees to each one. You will notice that if you measure your "ghost" voltage to ground, it will be about 240 volts rather than 120 volts like L1 and L2. This means ground isn't in the middle of your Wye any more. There are three phases and the voltages between them are all close to 240 volts, but they are not equal amplitude with respect to ground and they are not 120 degrees of offset between phases. Because of this, motor magnetics will not be optimally aligned and you should de-rate motors driven by this compared to the same motor driven from a true, 120 degree, 3 phase power supply.

Best ever video and explanation. Well done. I am faced with powering a 550V motor( two speed lathe) so I am assuming that a step up transformer(230V up to 550V 10KVA) connected to your three phase outlet and then to the lathe motor will do the trick. I appreciate any input. Thank you in advance.

Can I also use multiple of this 200uF 250uF 250V 450V AC Appliance Motor Start Run Capacitor CD60 Air Compressor Capacitors Heavy Duty Electric Motor Starting

If a second idler is added do any of the capacitors need to be changed or any additional components besides a timed relay or a manual switch for the idler?

Great job......nicely put together and thank you.

This video's very educational and will explain ,very thought out and well planned. But What is the wiring configuration on Terminals inside the Enclosure head of the motor?. I'm guessing you have about 9 leads Inside the enclosure head Of the motor.

Thank you very much Great information It really helps clear the view of how to accomplish a build God bless you n your work

❤thanks much for that video i follow it and made a rotary converter to run two peices of tools did as you said just have to balance the legs still alittle lost on what are the requied voltages per leg but it is the BEST❤❤❤

"Admittingly missing some safety options" , I giggled at that. Almost everything I own is missing safety options . Borrowed time is my motto i guess. Nice video !

Love your in depth explanation of this convertor build. my question is what size start capacitor do i need to start a 20HP motor? I see the biggest most places supply is 1000-1200 MFD. I think i would need more than that if 70mfd per HP. Thanks!

I'm trying this with a new 7.5 hp motor and although I can get 235V on L1-L3 and L2 to L3, I cannot get above 200V on L1-L2. Also the motor is getting quite warm which suggests some phase angle issues. Would you have any insights?

Is the ghost leg always the center leg because of phase shift in the power company supplied legs is always L1, L3 in a standard 3 phase sinusoidal wave form? Hope that makes sense. It almost doesn't to me when I read it back. lol. Tryin to figure out if the 2 legs provided by the power company are they always the L!, L3 sin waves?

How do I calculate what capacitors I can use for a 30 HP phone motor? I need to power a compressor with a 10 HP motor and a heater ventilation system. Great video. Thanks for sharing.

Awsome! Iam starting to get the picture! I only need to power a 2hp 3 phase motor on my clausing lathe. What's the difference between useing a poney motor and the large phase converter?

On the last capacitor added to control amps. Is that amps coming in or for better amp output? And what was your reading Supposed to be on that?

Super helpful! I've been using a 5hp phase converter for years. Problem is, it will not start a 7.5 hp motor in my 18" planer. Using this set-up to run my 7.5 means that "the board" becomes a "static" converter and my 7.5 will run at about 5hp output--which is plenty; it replaced a 3hp motor in a planer. Totally concise, and I have not even glanced at the paper you linked to.

Great great video love it question how do you size your supply power coming from your breaker panel for your rotary phase converter I plan on building one like yours but 20 horse so breaker size is my question thanks

How does one calculate the starting cap value? I have a 20HP motor. I can't seem to find any guidance other than the general rule of 7uF per HP

Does it matter if you use more capacitance that is needed? I slapped 240 uf(all I had laying around) on my first legs and it balanced within 1v.

Thanks for the video ...very helpful and informative concepts...salute to the content creator....

Wow great job Sir ...!!!

Great Job! Thank you for all explanations....

Your video helped me 4 years ago when I built my first RPC. Been utilizing it again to rebuild a new and improved version of it now that I moved. I was having trouble somewhere so I pulled everything out of the cabinet and screwed it all down to a piece of plywood so I could see everything and what do you know, worked perfectly. Any time I need to learn something or have questions about something, KZfaq is one of my first resources. After 10 plus years of utilizing YT I think your video here is probably the best video I’ve ever watched. As far as making something that seems so daunting, become easily achievable. (And I put some thought into that statement before posting it) Anyways, Thank you for the resource! I may account for 200 or so of the views. 👍

That was awesome

This is fantastic.

Can you tell me what size start capacitor I need to begin a converter build with a 20 hp motor and the information you used in your video where can I get it thank you

Dear sir will you please share us pony motor electric connection I am confused whether is it connected in star or delta??

how much HP power can it generate with your current setup? If we want to add more HP then can we use bigger pony motor?

I wanted to run my 3 phase 1hp, 0.75kw, 420V motor to single phase motor 220V,, please can you tell me what capacitor's value shall i use.

On your board, I believe you have the 3 phase output switched around? It should be labeled A-Ghost-B, not A-B-Ghost right?

very nice tutorial, can you use any 3 phase motor as a ghost motor., how much Ams can you generate .

Nice vid, but why do you want such high voltage? Why are you not checking phase to ground and why are you not looking for 120/208 like true 3 phase power?

In this video there are 120 v × 2 L used to get 240 V input, is there any video and document for layman for UK 240 V 50 Hz single LINE and neutral to 380v/400v/415 v output rotary phase converter? Any suggestions will be great help. These 3 parts are no waste of time and blessings for people who have 120 v × 2

Great video, very understandable, thanks for making it

Gr888 series 👍 one question thou, can this method applied to a 2 phase input power l1 and l2 instead of a single phase 220 v??

Thanks and hello from Las Vegas millwrights

Hi thanks for a very informative and interesting vedio I want to power up a 10 horsepower motor can you give me info on this please many thanks