American rotary phase convertors ?

Personally, I think that's a wise choice. I have zero complaints with mine. Do you still want me to send you the model number/specs on mine?

Regards,
Terry
Yes that would be helpful
 
If you are going to run a surface grinder and want mirror finishes I would go with a Phase Perfect RPC, spendy, but ordinary phase converters that have a wild leg with voltage hi or low will likely give you less than optimal surface finish. I know more than one person who turns on every machine the RPC will handle at one time to balance the load some and get better surface finishes, or you can just pay the bucks and buy a Phase Perfect. My one friend who has one gets better surface finishes with his SG than he did with true 3 phase in his old shop. If you don't need mirror finish this level of cool is not needed but if you want it or need it the Phase Perfect rotaries are in a class by themselves.
 
Yes that would be helpful
Sorry for being slow. Hopefully, not TOO slow for your use. My phase converter is an AR10. That makes it a 10 hp converter. I remember when I was doing the research, I was advised by American Rotary and a friend who helped me install it (a real pro - no joke - this is the kind of stuff he does for a living), you should get a converter that is at least twice the horsepower of the largest piece of equipment you plan to run on it. I have a 3HP lathe, so I figured I might as well go a little stronger just in case I ever got something in the 4 - 5 HP range. That will probably never happen, but this is a case of 'buy it right the first time and you only buy it once'.

In any event, I've had excellent use out of mine. Never had any overheating or overload problems. That may be a function of the 10 hp model, so you might want to consider spending a little more on that - call it sleep insurance.

Hope this helps, and let us all know what you end up buying.

Regards
 
Sorry for being slow. Hopefully, not TOO slow for your use. My phase converter is an AR10. That makes it a 10 hp converter. I remember when I was doing the research, I was advised by American Rotary and a friend who helped me install it (a real pro - no joke - this is the kind of stuff he does for a living), you should get a converter that is at least twice the horsepower of the largest piece of equipment you plan to run on it. I have a 3HP lathe, so I figured I might as well go a little stronger just in case I ever got something in the 4 - 5 HP range. That will probably never happen, but this is a case of 'buy it right the first time and you only buy it once'.

In any event, I've had excellent use out of mine. Never had any overheating or overload problems. That may be a function of the 10 hp model, so you might want to consider spending a little more on that - call it sleep insurance.

Hope this helps, and let us all know what you end up buying.

Regards
Thanks for the help
 
I've had the AR 7.5 for around three years. My experience with the brand is similar. Works perfect. Zero issues. My electrician does commercial work for hospitals & manufacturing. He has a lot of experience with phase converters in those settings. He said it was the nicest one he ever installed. Push button start and instant 3-phase power to my shop. Five different dedicated outlets. I can run any one machine or all the machines at the same time without any change in the low hum of the motor/converter. Beautiful finish on parts whether it is the surface grinder, mill, or lathe. I also added the recommended cut out switch between the outlets and the converter. Very inexpensive safety feature.
My recommendations:
1. Get one.
2. Get several sizes bigger than you think. Wish I now had a 10.
3. Install using conduit along the base of the walls or whatever. Much easier to change/move outlets when you add or move machines. I had mine run thru the walls before insulation and sheetrock went up. So a lot more work to modify the circuit.
4. If you really want a fine rpm control on a machine, then add a VFD to that specific machine. But beware of overheating issues if you slow some of the motors down too much. Additionally if the VFD goes out it is probably cheaper to throw it away than to try to troubleshoot/fix.
 
I've had the AR 7.5 for around three years. My experience with the brand is similar. Works perfect. Zero issues. My electrician does commercial work for hospitals & manufacturing. He has a lot of experience with phase converters in those settings. He said it was the nicest one he ever installed. Push button start and instant 3-phase power to my shop. Five different dedicated outlets. I can run any one machine or all the machines at the same time without any change in the low hum of the motor/converter. Beautiful finish on parts whether it is the surface grinder, mill, or lathe. I also added the recommended cut out switch between the outlets and the converter. Very inexpensive safety feature.
My recommendations:
1. Get one.
2. Get several sizes bigger than you think. Wish I now had a 10.
3. Install using conduit along the base of the walls or whatever. Much easier to change/move outlets when you add or move machines. I had mine run thru the walls before insulation and sheetrock went up. So a lot more work to modify the circuit.
4. If you really want a fine rpm control on a machine, then add a VFD to that specific machine. But beware of overheating issues if you slow some of the motors down too much. Additionally if the VFD goes out it is probably cheaper to throw it away than to try to troubleshoot/fix.
Thanks for advice I think I will get one have heard nothing but great things about them. And would like to use it for all my machines. Dont want to buy 4 VFDs And have old motors that VFDs dont like . Dont need speed changes have Vari-speed on machines already
 
Thanks for advice I think I will get one have heard nothing but great things about them. And would like to use it for all my machines. Dont want to buy 4 VFDs And have old motors that VFDs dont like . Dont need speed changes have Vari-speed on machines already

Give them a call. They might be having a sale for the Thanksgiving weekend shopping frenzy.
 
I've got the AD10. I had an AR5 but had to upgrade when I got my 13 x 40 Clausing Colchester lathe. I run my mill, lathe and surface grinder along with the power feed on my radial arm saw. They work great and I've never had any issues with them.
 
I got board last winter and started building balanced RPC's. It's not hard to do...
 
I got board last winter and started building balanced RPC's. It's not hard to do...
Yes, I made rotary 3 phase converter for myself. I plan to add VFD in the future, not replacing the RPC. I also plan to make additional RPCs so I don't have to move things around, and also it's very easy and cheap.

I heard for VFD, it should be much larger size, but I never own one, and if I do, I will go with the cheaper route, which adds risk.

For RPC, I read somewhere that you can go over the size. However, I would suggest buying a bunch of smaller run capacitors (to add/remove) and have volt/amp meter to monitor things and add them to balance things out on load to make it almost perfect.

Even for a same HP rating motors, I found they uses a little bit different capacitor sizes. So a little tinkering is needed. Whatever you do, be safe with all that high voltage.
 
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