Thread: Hammer/Felder 4400 update please

Originally Posted by mat

That spec of 3.5hp has been on the website for some time, well before I bought mine. To the best of my knowledge all single phase machines sold have been and are 3kw 4hp
Our local woodcraft guild recently bought a N4400 it is also 3Kw 4hp
From memory my invoice said 2.5kw 3.5hp but the machine is definitely 3kw 4hp

The local chap has one in stock - I'd best go and inspect the motor too!
Cheers,
Gav.

Could the difference between 2.5kW and 3kW not boil down to the difference between 220V and 240V? As far as I remember, Europe is on 220V and Aussie is on 240V.

At 220V, a 2.5kW motor will draw 11.36A, and have an impedance of 19.36 Ohms.

19.36 Ohms at 240V will draw 12.4A, giving 2.98kW.

For clarity sake, let's start with the measurable - the full load current of the motor = 13.5A, and assume that is crrect, as a starting point. Using 220 volts single phase operation, this is equivalent to 3 kVA. Assume fully loaded motor runs at 0.8 power factor, the motor draws 3 x 0.8 = 2.4 kW of input power from the electrical network.

Remember that the function of a motor is to convert electrical input energy to mechanical power.

Using 1 hp =746 watts, this motor draws 2.4 / .746 = 3.2 hp. This is the input energy / power the motor runs at.The induction motor is only about 85 - 97% efficient, so the actual mechanical output that this motor can deliver is really only 2.7 to 3.1hp.

Also perhaps be aware of the initial power draw of the 4400 (and other woodwork machines)
We measured it at 57A at startup and considering we only had a 60A fuse out front and also the fact that we run a business from home with a few air conditioners etc, the electrician thought it best to upgrade our power.
Now its done I feel better/safer about running a couple of machines at the same time and the bandsaw starts better as well!

Originally Posted by mat

But the motor is still 3kw 4hp

I went through all the machines at the Melb. chapter of Felder, and you're quite correct. Although the Felder chap really thought that this model was now a 2.5kw motor (as stated on their website), and all the spec plates on the 'saws stated this - the fitted motors are 3kw/4hp! They can only assume that the factory is using up some leftovers - I'm not complaining

Cheers,
B-D

Mine is few months old and has 2.5 on the machine and 3 on the motor.

Hi,
I bought a Hammer N4400 in 2009. It has a single phase 4KW motor and has the European-style (steel disks) side guides and thrust bearings - I think the latest Hammers come with different style guides. It takes up to a 20mm (3/4inch) wide blade. Note that my + and -s are for this generation of Hammer.
Pros: powerful motor with electronic brake, adjustments for everything so it can be fine tuned, once set up for a job it keeps its settings, no vibration on table when runs (Aust 50c piece stood on edge does not fall over), solid build, wheel kit for moving around garage, puts up with the abuse I give it sawing lots of different woods, simply built so easy to maintain (e.g. I can pull the side guides apart, lubricate them and reassemble with simple tools)
Cons: needed lots of tuning when I got it. Bottom wheel was so out of alignment that blades kept on falling off and I had to use the bottom wheel mounting bolts to adjust wheel alignment to fix this. It has a misaligned welded on table mount (15degrees out of parallel with rest of frame) so I had to twist the table to get it parallel with the blade side. When I tighten up the parallel guide it comes about 1mm closer to the blade. Tightening up the lock nut on the top sliding guide causes a slight twist to take place in the top side guides. Luckily everything is adjustable. Last annoying feature is that I wish the table was wider in front of the blade edge so it would have more table support for wood I am about to cut.
Rant: I think I got the bandsaw frame made by some Italian after a hard night on the vino. I believe that Felder quality assurance should have returned it to the Italian factory that made them. I have corresponded with 2 other Hammer owners who bought machines at around the same time as me and had some setup and frame issues.
Conclusion: these are a good bandsaw but visually inspect the actual machine that will be shipped to you before you hand over your cash. I am in NZ so I had to buy sight unseen - never again!
Paul

After seeing Hammer N4400 and Minimax S45N (got very lucky as both Gabbett and MachineryRus has them on their shop floor when I walked in), I have just put down a deposit for a Minimax S45N. hopefully its a good saw.