It seems the originator has settled on his supply. I'm not going to argue the point.
But I do want to bring up a few points about the reduced voltage supply. First of all, 30 amps is 30 amps, regardless of voltage. For a 30 amp load, the NEC requires Nr 10 wire. However, there are some conditions, particularly that the wire is fully enclosed (as in conduit, 3 or more cunductors) and has no cooling air. If the wire is mounted outside, in open air, the current rating goes up, way up. I think turning the lathe at speed will be considerably more than 30 amps. It's just a reference point.
Now, on point; A few years ago I built an electric powered bicycle, using winch motors. Small ones, they were only rated 1 HP. In truth, I would suspect them to be somewhat smaller, say ... ... 1/2 or 3/4 HP. I run at low speed, both the motors in series. On level ground or a very gentle slope, they run 40-60 amps. For high speed, I run them in shunt (archaic for parallel) That places them both across the line, and current goes up, 80-150 amps. I also use high speed to pull hills, as power is also doubled in shunt. And this town has some hills. Nothing like San Francisco, but for an old man on a bicycle, steep enough.
The point being, they run
constantly (or nearly so) at 40-65 amps. The overloads are rated at (I think) 75 amps. Since the overloads are thermal, it takes a couple of minutes for a heavier load to trip one. At that point, when it trips, I put my hand on the motor shell and it doesn't blister my hand. An old school rule of thumb I was taught in Electrician's school, way back in '69, if you can lay your hand on the motor for 30 seconds it isn't too hot. What that all comes down to is that "winch" motors, like any DC equipment, will overload but
keep running with that overload if you can provide cooling. In winch service, they are grossly overloaded. To the point of 200 amps or more.
The motor wiring is Nr 8 RUH 19 strand(or is it RHU). I would rather have had Nr 6, but Nr 8 was all I had at the time. The wiring provided in the kit was Nr 10 RU. I used a 200 amp meter shunt, calibrated to the meter. The whole point being it
can be done. You must use overloads, and appropriate sized motors. But, it can be done. If anyone wants more details, drop me a line. I haven't posted it here because it's an electrical stunt more than machining.
That "old military" truck simply had an output from a PTO, same as a tractor. The PTO can be used for whatever load you want to handle. For some trucks, a winch. For others, (like mine) a dump bed. Or a bucket truck. Or even a generator. On a tractor, the hydraulic pump for a bucket or back hoe.
Bill Hudson
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