Century 3hp 3ph motor found (free!) - Good find?

Well except for the DP (drip proof) enclosure it would turn a belt pretty darn good. But it is a big deal being an open frame motor. Build up steel dust in there and short out across the coils would be bad. I think that would need somewhere around 2cubic feet of air space to be enclosed totally. But you want TEFC type for dirty grinding work.


-Xander
 
You obviously paid too much. Well, you will once the doctor bills come in for throwing your back out trying to lift it.
 
Hmm. Is there a way to build an enclosure for it? I suppose I'll start researching that now.


tryppyr said:
You obviously paid too much. Well, you will once the doctor bills come in for throwing your back out trying to lift it.
Click to expand...

You ain't kiddin.
 
The downsides I see are

The open frame
The 3 HP VFD's are a fair bit more $ than the 1,5 or 2 HP ones
The heavier breaker and wiring needed to run it, probably 220 single phase 12 amp double breaker
The larger shaft needs a pulley, probably a standard size, but check it.



I would try do advertise it on Kijiji, Craig s list whatever
Try and do a swap for a 3 phase TEFC
2 hp if you have 220v
1.5 hp if you have 110v

That sort of swap is pretty unlikely it may take a long time to find that.


You can find other motors at decent prices 50-100 will get you a nice motor
Shiipping is high for the weight, local is nice
 
Everything I read (some being from this very forum) advise against using an open frame motor and holding out for a TEFC. I'm a bit upset now because I thought this was going to be the diamond in the rough haha.

12345678910, your advice seems to be pretty logical given my situation. I'll see what I can do.
 
photos:

426268_3172625885526_1561909122_2991053_1366418919_n.jpg


426268_3172625925527_1561909122_2991054_1988446520_n.jpg


426268_3172626085531_1561909122_2991055_1429497745_n.jpg


I am saving this one for a special project, probably my powerhammer when I finally build one. And you ain't kiddin' on the weight! I paid 60$ did I do ok?
 
That motor only runs 10 amps at 220. You wouldn't need that big of wire for your 3hp VFD. I find the extra wire and breaker are well worth the power yield. I run a 3hp 3phase Baldor motor with an open frame on my big grinder, I blow it out with the compressor fairly often when I blow down the grinding area. It's been running for almost two years with no problems. I use the TECO FM50 203, which is a very good Nema1 3hp VFD- last I checked it retails for under $200 from Factorymation.

That motor is nearly identical to what I have on my powerhammer. When I needed v-belt sheaves for the motor to run the hammer, Grainger had what I needed, no prob. I do recommend you shop at surplus center as well for the sheaves, if they have what you need it will likely be much cheaper than Grainger.

I'd use it for sure.
 
I can't say that this works, because I have never had to do it.....
But, I was told that some folks have taken the fiber element from a HVAC filter and wrapped one layer of it around the vented end of the motor with rubber bands. It won't be the same as TEFC, but supposedly keeps some of the heavier dust out. Just don't overly block the air flow .
 
When I was doing my grinder build I had a chance at a Baldor 3hp 3ph TEFC motor for free. Once I priced the VFD for the motor I bought a 2hp 3ph TEFC motor for $100 from a motor repair company and saved money in the long run. I would try to sell that one and put the $$$ toward a different motor.
 
Salem Straub said:
What VFD did you price? They do vary widely in price. What was the NEMA rating?
Click to expand...

I can't remember the name Salem this was over a year ago. I looked at so much information on VFD's and motors I was about going crazy. I know it was a nema 4 enclosure, and it may have been a genesis, but not sure. I think it was over $400.00.
 
Yeah, NEMA 4's, while nice, are expensive. My budget was limited for my build, I just adapted the NEMA 1 to the situation- works well so far, didn't break the bank. Not to sound smug, there's always a chance I'll be on here later crying about how it fried on me.

I think this may be relevant enough not to be "thread drift"...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top