Theres more to motor shoppin than pointen and sayen 'gimme one of those'...
When visiting a couple of the other local motor stores there is one universal. Ask for a 1&1/2 DC variable controlled motor and you get a blank look at first and then some comment about how expensive it is going to be. Then you get into a discussion about 220v, amp pull, 1 phase or 3 phase. This is all, of course, while your eyes glaze over.
Here's what I've found out so far for the benefit of those that will go through this later. A plain ol' 1hp 110v motor will need a 20amp circut and they run around $100 to $150 depending on the brand. You can find them for much less with off brands.
Moving up to 1&1/2hp 110v, the motor guru's say a 30amp circut is better but you might get by with a 20amp circut if your breaker isn't too fussy. Throw in GFI (ground fault protection) outlet or breaker and probability goes up you will need a 30amp circut. That's all pretty easy really.
Looking for a variable speed motor gets you referred to the shop expert. A DC variable 1&1/2hp is going to (usually) require 220v circut. Amps never came up but the assumption is that the typical 220v circut will handle the amps required. A new Baldor 1&1/2hp DC motor costs $800 (at least from the one little shop I got a quote from), a controller will cost you another $200. This, apparantly, is an unusually high horsepower DC motor to sell for the typical non-industrial dealer. Several wanted to talk me down in horsepower. (I
gritted my teeth and held my ground though)
A couple of the motor guys reccomended sucking it up and running 220v into my shop (my garage) and getting a more efficient 220v motor. Probably not bad advice but you can get by with 110v if you need to. One guy said just use a cord from my electric dryer outlet to the garage. I explained that the wife only appreciates so much of my eccentricities as it is and messing with her dryer outlet wouldn't put me on her popular list. He knowingly understood this. I didn't ask why.
Background tidbit on:
Household current coming into the typical house is 1 phase. In *some cases* you can get 3 phase brought into your house but only with a 4 or 5 thousand dollar bill. Probably best to save that for beer money.
Background tidbit off:
There's hope. There is something called a VFD controller or Variable Frequency D-sumpinorother. This pricey little box takes in your 220v 1 phase power, converts it to 220v 3phase and spits it back out the other side to your motor. While the power is getting converted in the box, you can, via touch pad with LED readout, adjust the frequency to control your motor speed up and down. Cool beans. Two different boxes I priced, Delta and Megatron, were $450 and $425. The 1&1/2hp motor now drops to around $150. Both boxes had several vent holes and a small cooling fan so you would have to mount the box away from the grinder to keep metal filings from getting inside and shorting out your $450 beauty, but this isn't a big problem, just something to be aware of.
The subject of torque comes up and here is where I heard conflicting information. A DC variable motor allows you to dial up or down around 30% of the base speed with out a lot of loss in torque, after that it drops off rapidly. A VFD setup maintains your torque through a much broader band with less loss in torque. I didn't feel real good about either statement but I didn't know enough about the whole thing to do more than nod my head. Maybe someone can give us the real skinny on this part of it.
When I click on the dealerselectric site I get a company called Chris Cross Foods.
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