Hi Klein, thanks for watching! Check my other videos - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Agreed 👍

@@raphysoucy83 thanks Raphy!

Very helpful

Thanks for the comment Doug. The AEGIS rings are a life saver 👍

Thanks Brendan from Australia! - Keith

That is a great profile pic by the way.

Thanks @stohme! Glad the content was useful. - Keith

Hi Mel, thanks for the comment. Glad the video was helpful. You're right, there are still a bunch of non-inverter ready motors out there and it's important to check.

Thanks for the comment! - Keith

Thanks Pravin!

Thanks Bruce

Glad this was helpful!

Thanks Kuong!

Thanks for the comment!

I'd recommend using a shaft grounding ring to avoid that. Here's more info on: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pdKhgpOUt9y0lX0.htmlfeature=shared

Glad you liked it!

Thanks Ernest!

Hi Neil - thank you for the question. It would be worth checking if the motor is 400V only or if it's also wound to accept 200V. Otherwise, I'm not aware of any VFDs that will drive a 400V motor from a 200V supply without the motor being rewound for 200V.

Have a look if your motor can be configured to run in delta at lower voltage or Y for higher voltage.

If that is all you have back feed a 5kw transformer. 240/480. Reason for double size is doing so will cause alot of IR sqaure losses in Iron Stack and extra heating. Wont be very efficient but will get the job done. Set motor type to 50hz and motor voltage to 400. Single phase application will also require a line reactor size Full load motor amps plus service factor multplied by 1.73.

Thanks for the comment. Older motors are a bit of an enigma when it comes to VFD rating. A lot of them were manufactured to a very high standard of workmanship and incorporated insulation/magnet wire that would allow for safe operation under a VFD with sufficient thermal headroom for turndown but at the same time you have plenty of motors that weren't. The nice thing about purpose-built/tested inverter duty motors is the guaranty of safe operation under inverter power. A non-VFD-rated motor would likely have more to gain from a load reactor than a line reactor.

Thanks for the comment! We'd need more information on the motor to recommend a VFD. If you answer the questions on this form, I can make a recommendation: www.emotorsdirect.ca/request-quote

Thanks for the question. Running it till it's dead and then replacing with an inverter rated motor is not the worst idea. A shaft grounding ring is not the magic bullet solution to make a non-inverter-rated motor run on an inverter so it's recommended to buy an inverter duty motor. As for life span, due to a lack of standardization for older motors, it's nearly impossible to tell. Some will run smooth for years while others start chugging in weeks. Though from the limited Bridgeport inquiries I've dealt with, they have usually ended up lasting on the order of months. I hope this helps! Happy tinkering. - Keith

Great question. All industrial motors built in the last 10-15 years would be VFD rated, you would just need to verify the motor turndown is in the range that you are going to use. Some motors only come with 2:1, 4:1, or 10:1 turndown and you may want to go slower than that.

P P P

Great question. Technically you can. There are KZfaq videos out there that show how to do this. But it's not something we recommend as VFDs and single-phase motors were not designed to be used together in this fashion. It could burn the motor out or it could damage the VFD.

@@emotorsdirect thank you for your reply, i was looking for a VFD to add to my drill press motor, but might be better off with a 3 phase motor first , thanks 👍

@@NLDHGRockStaR 100%. Let us know if you need a hand finding the right motor or controller.

@@emotorsdirect will do, thanks 👌

Hi Lacovache, Based on your network voltage, you should go with a 220v motor and a 220v VFD. The voltage delta is too great.

Hi Scott, thanks for the comment! Wow that's steep - where are you located? The SINUS M series of drives would be perfect for this application. Any of the three phase drives we list, if sized correctly, would also work for a single phase application. Contact our tech team for more support there if needed: www.emotorsdirect.ca/contact-us FYI - we have a few single phase specific videos coming this year - hopefully you'll enjoy those. - Keith

Hi Scott, did some digging and it looks like this is a TEFC class B insulation motor. Some things to keep in mind: (1) Duty: fan-cooled motors will have cooling issues when slowed, however, the thermal mass of the motor can hold some heat before getting too hot so intermittent use can offset the thermal load. (2) Insulation: though insulation class is a purely thermal standard, it just so happens that when motor manufacturers put in better thermal insulation, they also put in better electrical insulation, so we generally recommend class F and up. Many class B motors will also run fine on a VFD, but it will likely take a toll on some of the mechanical components. (3) Required turndown: since you're considering VSD operation, I'm assuming you want some degree of turndown, but it makes a huge difference for operation if you want a 1:4 turndown vs 1:10 for example. I would say any of our lower-cost VFDs (ex. L510-202-H3-U) would work depending on how often it will be used and the degree of turndown. If you're working with a single-phase supply, go with a TECO Sinus M. This is an off-label application and thus performance and longevity are very application dependant. Your motor may develop a wabble over time, in which case, you could replace that spare motor for a few hundred dollars. Thanks for the comment!

@eMotors Direct Thanks. The motor will be used extremely intermittently, like 5 minutes on and 30 minutes off. And even then, only a few times each day. This is not for a continuous use application. I'll likely only be slowing it to around half speed, maybe a little less, when I do slow it down, and that won't be often. I suppose I could have included all of that in the beginning, but then I may have missed out on some of the info you just shared. Thanks again!

@@Chromevulcan Awesome, good luck with your VFD Scott!

Hi Sorin, thanks for the comment. Yes, that is sound of the VFD output's switching frequency. There is really no fix for this outside of isolating the VFD in a box to reduce how much sound gets out.

These old mechanical variable gearbox motors are non-standard and very old. A VFD would probably work but it's uncertain how long. Since these motors are likely difficult to replace I wouldn't recommend it. You could bypass the J head varidrive entirely and throw in a newer motor however I'd need more details on the project to be sure.

Thanks for the question Rusty! Based on the catalogue number, you are working with a DC motor. To control a DC motor, you'll use a DC drive. VFDs are used on AC motors. Here's an overview of our DC drives available in Canada and the US: www.emotorsdirect.ca/controls/dc-drives

@@emotorsdirect Thanks. Any recommendations for a controller?

@@rustyshackleford9066 For sure - your options will depend on where you're located. Do you mind sharing that? Thank you

GTA Ontario. Thanks @@emotorsdirect

@@rustyshackleford9066 the KB Electronics KBWT-112 would be a good solution for low end torque: www.emotorsdirect.ca/item/kb-electronics-kbwt-112. However, before buying I would first check if this motor has a drive built in. One of my coworkers is a VFD specialist (Ahsan). If you give him a call, he can help you confirm if the motor has a drive built in. He can be reached at 1-800-890-7593 ex 108 and I shared your project details with him.

Hi Anas, thanks for the question. VFDs are sized by current. Manufacturers will generally add a horsepower rating with a decent safety factor. Check the FLA on the motor and the rated output current. If the latter is the greater of the two you're doing great.

Thanks for the question. Whether any brand would offer a 2000 HP VFD would depend on input voltage. If you want to individually speed control the motors, you will need to use one VFD per motor. If you want to speed control 6 motors on an individual level from a single interface, you will need 6 drives in a master/slave topology with a single drive playing the role of master and controlling the other 5. The only series of drives in our LV(230V-600v) catalogue that WILL DO 2000kw is the cfw11 series: www.emotorsdirect.ca/search?keywords=cfw11

Hi Tigalana, thank you for the question. A VFD cannot control how much current a motor draws. Without going into detail, a motor will draw as many amps as it needs in order to turn the load. Under normal running conditions the amp draw is a function of the torque required which often scales proportionally with RPM. The only way I can see a VFD controlling current output is via speed control. VFDs often include current limiting circuits and thermal overloads. So they can stop the motor if amperage exceeds a set amount. I hope this helps!

Hi Basrawwi, thank you for the comment. Most motors built within the last 15 or so years will operate fine on a VFD as higher insulation classes and inverter grade magnet wire are standard practice among higher end manufacturers in the industrial space. The problem here is that I don't see an explicit rating for this particular motor, so its impossible to say how much turndown the drive can handle. Typically at this point, I'd reach out to the manufacturer of the motor to confirm. Siemens may be able to answer this question for you with more certainty if you reach out directly. Siemens recently sold their low voltage line to ABB, so they may also be able to help you out.

@@emotorsdirect Thanks alot Sir, really appreciate your help. actually i tried to get confirmation from Siemens 3 days ago, but i didn't get it yet, may be i need to send them a reminder. Thanks a lot again...

Hi Jay, thanks for your question. Some single phases motors can be run on a VFD when sized appropriately. However, cap start induction motors like the Leeson 131534.00 cannot, the motor starts on a capacitor and has a switch that bypasses the capacitor at around 80% RPM. This means that if you under-speed it past about 80% the capacitor is brought into the circuit and since the capacitor isn’t rated for continuous operation it will burn out.

Hi Travis, thanks for the question. Due to the way that VFDs reconstruct the power waveform they produce large voltage spikes, these spikes can overwhelm the winding insulation, short them out, and start arcing. The arcs produce heat that further damage/degrade the windings. A similar phenomenon may happen across the bearings. Most manufacturers now use inverter grade magnet wire as standard and this neutralizes the winding arcs. Bearing discharge remains a problem but you can always get a grounding ring. A further consideration is that VFDs are so much cheaper than running a 3 phase line or a rotary converter that you could burn out and replace your existing motor with an inverter grade motor and still have saved money compared to the other options.

@@emotorsdirect Thank you very much for the reply. That clears up my confusion.

Happy to help @@travisthompson1679 ! That's what I'm here for.

I would recommend running a three-phase motor as single phase output VFDs can be expensive and most modern 3 phase VFDs can't run a single phase load due to phase-imbalance-trip circuitry being standard. As for the intuition on not needing to oversize the generator, you are correct that the VFD would reduce inrush. But on the converse, you'd still have to oversize the generator for the harmonic distortion the VFD would produce unless you paired it with line filtering. If you'd like the particulars on any of this, please email us and we can help iron out the full package of things you would need in either scenario.

I couldn't find much information on this motor. I'm assuming this is a discontinued OEM motor. Because it looks older and is ODP, I'm guessing it's not rated for VFD use. It may not have the cooling capacity required to use with a VFD.

Hey Tony, thanks for the question. This will depend on the rating of the VFD. Take this example of this KB drive (www.emotorsdirect.ca/item/kb-electronics-kbda-27d), it is rated for either 115V or 230V input but will always provide a 230V output since it has a voltage doubler for the 115V line. For a drive like this, it can take 115V input and output three phase 230V for a 230 V motor. If your drive doesn't include a voltage doubler, then you will need to provide a 230VB input. I hope that answers your question. - Keith

They do have bleed circuits. If this is about letting a drive rest a bit before opening it up to inspect it, the prohibition regarding rest time is to allow the bleed circuit to reduce the stored charge to safe levels.

Hi Joseph, here's another one of my videos that covers PWM: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i72jrJCAkpa8loE.htmlfeature=shared&t=226

​@@emotorsdirecthi emotors direct, this is quite useful for me because I know see that vfd's utilize pwm themselves. Thank you

@@josephdaquila2479 Glad to hear it! Releasing a few more VFD videos in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Hi Jonathan, thanks for the question. You can use a VFD to operate at a higher or lower frequency, but there are some limits. In your case, this should work fine.

VFDs have overloads built into them and will fault out when too much current flows. It's not recommended to use an overload/contactor on the output of a VFD. Thanks for the question!

Unless the nameplate has some reference to VFD or inverter rating, it is unlikely the motor is rated for VFD use. However, some non-rated motors just happen to be built with inverter grade magnet wire and can function just fine under inverter power with the carrier frequency set low. Unless the motor is somehow uniquely valuable, throwing a VFD on it will restore operation. But this might burn out the motor. A lot of motors made these days are VFD rated, but since it's an older drill press, it's hard to say. Most VFDs will come with a wiring diagram that will walk you though how to hook up the motor.

Hi Roger, thanks for the question. 3HP is too large a motor to run on 120 single phase assuming 100% efficiency. A 3HP motor would need 19 amps and most home breakers will be 12 or 15 amp The wiring will be matched to the breaker size. If you are okay with using current limiting on their VFD to effectively turn the motor into a 1.5HP motor then this can work. 120V->120V VFDs don't exist. Most 120V VFDs output 230V through a doubler circuit. Let me know if you have any follow up questions!

Yes

I'm not familiar with that motor. Although I noticed that model number is used for a specific tank. That's outside of my wheel house.

I'm not familiar with that motor. Although I noticed that model number is used for a specific tank. That's outside of my wheel house.

Hi Alex, thanks for the comment! Yes, generally speaking, VFDs can be used with three phase motors. Where are you located? I can point you in the right direction from there.

Hi Rodolfo, Thanks for the tip. You can use the little gear icon and then click 'playback speed' to slow down the speed of the video - I hope that's helpful.