Thread: Converting Woodfast 10" jointer from 3ph to 1ph

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Originally Posted by StevenManos

Hi everyone,

I've just joined this forum site, and I'm located in Melbourne, good to meet you all

I've managed to score myself a Woodfast 10" jointer for $500 in perfect working order along with a few spare blades thrown in.

It's currently 3ph and I'm looking into getting a 1ph motor put in. I've spoken to the very helpful Woodfast peeps in Adelaide, and a new motor (1500W/2hp) + switching and cabling will cost somewhere between $350 and $500 or so..

Firstly welcome aboard.

For ~$150 delivered you can get a 3HP - 1Ph to 3Ph VFD that means you may not need to change the motor and will give you a heap of additional features like variable speed at the turn of a knob.
Do a search for VFD on the forums and all will be revealed.

Originally Posted by BobL

For ~$150 delivered you can get a 3HP - 1Ph to 3Ph VFD that means you may not need to change the motor and will give you a heap of additional features like variable speed at the turn of a knob.
Do a search for VFD on the forums and all will be revealed.

Awesome, thank you!

It's this sort of thing that you mean? [ $250 ]

1 5KW 2HP Single TO 3 Phase VFD Freq TO 400Hz Motor Control VSD Dual Display | eBay

Steven.

Originally Posted by StevenManos

Awesome, thank you!

It's this sort of thing that you mean? [ $250 ]

1 5KW 2HP Single TO 3 Phase VFD Freq TO 400Hz Motor Control VSD Dual Display | eBay

Steven.

Yep - except isn't yours a 3HP (2.2kW) motor?.

They really are awesome devices.
Soft start is an option that may not even required a 15A GPO which is usually required on most 3HP machines .
Some will even brake the motor after shutoff and slow the blade down very quickly -ie added safety.
But you can also vary the speed which will be nice to be able to do on a jointer.

Originally Posted by BobL

Yep - except isn't yours a 3HP (2.2kW) motor?.

They really are awesome devices.
Soft start is an option that may not even required a 15A GPO which is usually required on most 3HP machines .
Some will even brake the motor after shutoff and slow the blade down very quickly -ie added safety.
But you can also vary the speed which will be nice to be able to do on a jointer.

Yes you are correct it's a 3HP motor. This all sounds really good and it sounds like the path to go down for only $300

2 2KW 3HP Single TO 3 Phase 0 400Hz Variable Speeddrive VSD Dual Display | eBay

Thanks for your help!

Steven.

You need to be able to connect your existing motor in Delta. A 3 HP 3ph motor will most likely be connected in star. It could be as simple as changing a couple of links in the terminal box or the motor may need to be taken to a motor rewinder to have the star point brought out to the terminal box.

Originally Posted by StevenManos

Yes you are correct it's a 3HP motor. This all sounds really good and it sounds like the path to go down for only $300

2 2KW 3HP Single TO 3 Phase 0 400Hz Variable Speeddrive VSD Dual Display | eBay

Thanks for your help!

Steven.

There are cheaper ones available from China but they are probably not as good a quality as that one plus you have the added benefit of dealing with an OZ distributor.

Oh one important thing before you buy.
The 3Ph motor should be configurable as a DELTA wiring, mostly they are STAR configured and not all motors are user reconfigurable and you might have to get a motor rewinder place to do this.
It is usually possible to tell if the motor can be made into a delta by looking at the motor ID plate or removing the connector covers and looking for an arrangement that looks like this.

If the motor is not DELTA configurable it may even be cheaper to buy a used 3Ph motor than get it rewired for DELTA. You can usually get a used 3Phase motor very cheap and as they are rugged and simple and last a long time so it's not like they wear out very quickly.

OK thanks! I will be picking up the unit next week so I'll have a better idea of the wiring arrangement then. All I know so far is that the motor is a 'T 90 S2' Elektrokovina type.

Thanks to everyone's help on this. I ended up purchasing a 3HP VSD unit. It really is amazing, soft start built in to the unit by default. The two 3phase motors were very straightforward to change into delta configuration as well. All running smoothly now! S.