Is this wired correctly?

C

cgcwmec627

Registered
Registered
Joined
Nov 21, 2023
Messages
53
A year and a half ago I bought my South Bend 10 inch heavy from an estate sale.
Previous owner had a degree in electrical engineering and had numerous examples of his prowess throughout his home,including a functional tesla coil.
The lathe has a VFD and it ran fine at the shop were i bought it from,so i removed the VFD and junction box,brought it to my garage shop set it up,ran it and it's been fine.
I plan on putting VFD'S on a couple more machines so I open up the electrical box to see how it's wired.
What I see is the ground wire connected to a hot wire,that can't be right to my less than professional electrical knowledge.
Does anyone understand this?Is it correct or not?
 

Attachments

  • 20231123_110514.jpg
    20231123_110514.jpg
    266.5 KB · Views: 59
As you've discovered, all EEs are not created equal. It is hard to tell from the picture what you have going on there or what the intent was.

There are plenty of EEs that have never (and should never) touch anything over say 5 VDC.
 
The only hope i have is that the PO ran out of green wire to make a ground wire and used a red instead :oops:
 
It looks like the centre conductor in a 3 conductor flat cable. Probably ground at the plug in. Check it with a meter.

Greg
 
Stay away from his Tesla coil!
 
I would remove it all and rewire it with the correct type of cabling and connections. I assume this is 120VAC, and what size VFD's do you plan to add, what is the size of the current VFD?
1. It looks like they used a white lamp cord, the center is usually ground, but do not assume anything, you need see what how it is connected at the other end. I would replace it with SJOOW or SOOW cord sized for the proper amperage/breaker.
2. It looks like you have a white wire from the cable entering from the top connected to ground, this is against electrical code, bonding may only occur at the service panel.
3. Refer to the VFD manual(s) as to wiring gauge, breaker size, etc.
 
Highly advised to wire correctly. 3 wire for 120v 4 wire for 240v. Twist locks are great and not that spendy on Amazon.
 
Double E's know electrical theory (and electronic) like nobody's business. Unless the guy was hands on, you cannot trust his wiring - these guys know little about codes or practical matters. I had an EE Prof at a local University hire me for some work in his house. (I'm a retired electrical contractor.) He had tapped off his knob and tube wiring all over his basement, and insulated all of the splices with masking tape. Paper tape has a high dielectric rating, but the glue had dried out by the time I got to his house and the tape was loose on the wires.

Tear his wiring out and do it correctly. BTW, your tester should be the first tool you wear out from use.
 
Looks like I'll be contacting an electrician and having it redone by someone that is licensed to work on electricity.Cost more money but saves potential expensive disaster.
Glad I said something.
Thanks gents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top