110/220 Shop Equipment

[Bannawk]

Hello All;

I have several 110v shop tools (drill press, table saw, compressor) all easily switchable to 220VAC. Question is....they're all powered by single phase, capacitor start & run, electric motors. What about the capacitors?? I recall the various capacitors being rated at 125VAC, etc. Do these need to be changed, and if so to 1/2 the capacitance since the volts have doubled?

Regards,

Bob P.

[Mobaan]

Hello All;

I have several 110v shop tools (drill press, table saw, compressor) all easily switchable to 220VAC. Question is....they're all powered by single phase, capacitor start & run, electric motors. What about the capacitors?? I recall the various capacitors being rated at 125VAC, etc. Do these need to be changed, and if so to 1/2 the capacitance since the volts have doubled?

Regards,

Bob P.

Hi Bob,

Just found this old thread.

What do you mean by "all easily switchable to 22o VAC"??

How would you go about that ? are you talking about using transformers?

I am planning to bring a table saw next month (13 Amps) and have been advised against using transformers ,because of the different # cyles.

Did you find a good solution to the problem ?

Please let me know ,I am really interested to find a good way out .

Jay

[soundman]

220 to 110 step down transformers are readily available in a variety of sizes at most hardware stores.

[elkangorito]

Let's ignore the frequency shall we. It is so cumbersome.

[Bannawk]

Hello All;

I have several 110v shop tools (drill press, table saw, compressor) all easily switchable to 220VAC. Question is....they're all powered by single phase, capacitor start & run, electric motors. What about the capacitors?? I recall the various capacitors being rated at 125VAC, etc. Do these need to be changed, and if so to 1/2 the capacitance since the volts have doubled?

Regards,

Bob P.

Hi Bob,

Just found this old thread.

What do you mean by "all easily switchable to 22o VAC"??

How would you go about that ? are you talking about using transformers?

I am planning to bring a table saw next month (13 Amps) and have been advised against using transformers ,because of the different # cyles.

Did you find a good solution to the problem ?

Please let me know ,I am really interested to find a good way out .

Jay

Jay,

By easily switchable I mean, all the larger motors have a daigram to switch a couple of wires to accept 220. It's usually behind the plate covering the power cord attachment point. I found out later, that the capacitors don't care about the voltage, and all the equipment I've switched runs fine, actually better. I was told that these things "like" 220 more than 110 and it seems to be true. Please be careful about grounding your equipment properly.

Cheers,

BP

[lopburi3]

Unless your motor is specifically rated 50/60Hz you are asking for trouble running 120v equipment on 230v/50Hz power. Do not believe most American sold (cheap price) equipment will be rated for 50Hz.

[Gary A]

I think you would be ahead to take just the motors to an electrical shop and either buy new or possibly have them re wound for 240 volts. 60 cycle motors running on 50 cycles will run hot and eventually burn up. The 240 volt service here is single cycle so changing the wiring to the US 240 volts will not work. Transformers are expensive and not efficient besides having the 50 cycle problem.

[david96]

The most economical way is to replace all your 110/120 volt 60hz single phase motors with 220/240 volt 50hz ones.

You should always check the voltage and frequency of the country before going to the cost of importing electrical equipment from places like the USA.

Some electrical equipment is designed to operate on dual voltages but with induction motors one will always have the problem with frequency.

Rewinding can be an expensive option but may have to be used where the motor is a non standard type.

[chownah]

I've look on the net for a site that discusses the ins and outs of the issues around 50hz vs. 60hz motors and what it takes to convert them or even what will happen if you don't convert them etc. etc. but haven't found a good one.....has anyone found one they would like to share?

Chownah

[soundman]

I don't know if motors burn out quicker when they are not specd. for a particular frequency, but on checking all the motors (at least fifty of them ranging from 0.3kw - 20kw) in my workshop, most are specd. to run on either 50Hz or 60Hz with the only difference being the rotational speed.

Soundman.

[lopburi3]

First post seems like a good overview:

http://www.engineersedge.com/wwwboard/posts/6717.html

Using "60Hz motor on 50Hz" in a Google search will bring up a number of threads/papers. I have not read them so don't know if they are "good" or not (or that I would know what was good or not) but looks like there are enough to keep you busy for awhile.

[chownah]

First post seems like a good overview:

http://www.engineersedge.com/wwwboard/posts/6717.html

Using "60Hz motor on 50Hz" in a Google search will bring up a number of threads/papers. I have not read them so don't know if they are "good" or not (or that I would know what was good or not) but looks like there are enough to keep you busy for awhile.

Lopburi3,

Thanks for that...I tried it and as you say there is alot of relevant info. I have already found disagreement in the opinions expressed but there are enough places with equations I should be able to compare equations and eventually come up with a good understanding of how this works.

So far what it seems to be saying is that when running a 60hz motor at 50hz you will have a slower speed and more heat....and that for many applicatoins it is a doable thing so long as the application can still be met with the reduced power and that you do not get overheating. This makes me think that power tools which are used intermittenly should be ok if you remember to check for overheating periodicallyl but will lose some performance. I'm not sure on this stuff because as I said there is some disagreement among the various sites I looked at but they all mostly seem to indicate this.....it will take some more reading and comparing of opinions for me to be more certain of what should be expected when switching frequency.

Thanks again for the search tip,

Chownah

[Gary A]

I have that very problem right now with a high end sewing machine. My wife hates to use it because it lacks power and doesn't run fast enough to suit her. I will look for a new motor one of these days. I bought a larger transformer than it needs because I thought it might help. The other transformer was too small and got as hot as the motor. I think for what I paid for the transformers, I could have bought a new motor.