I see many motors that say 3 phase and 208-230/460. What does this mean? Can it run on 240v without any fancy converters just hooked up to my regular garage 240v plug?
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I will fill in the details but the short answer is no, you can NOT run a 3 phase motor on a normal 240v residential circuit without some type of converter.
It just means it can be wired to run on either low or high voltage 3-phase......but not single phase without a convertor like VFD or RPC. Best, K
There are many advantages to 3-phase motors. The are simpler internally, they can be run at variable speeds using a variable frequency drive. I much prefer them. Hooking them up to a VFD is quite easy. I recommend AutomationDirect as a (not the cheapest) source of very good and well-documented VFD’s. Denis
Three phase motors can be wired as "Star/Wye" with four wires for a higher voltage or "Delta" with three wires for a lower voltage... then you get motors like that Baldor which have each of the three phase windings divided into two for a total of six windings to give even more flexibility. The terminal numbers don't correspond to your one but the 9 terminal configuration is the same.
+1 too that. AD are great to deal with. When I built my shop I ran single and three phase outlets in the wall everywhere and installed a 10HP Rotary Phase Convertor and 3ph sub panel. It was a small incremental expense but man am I glad I did it. It also makes buying industrial machinery which can be great bargains. I also own two VFDs one dedicate to my lathes and one that can be ported between machinery. Best, Kelly
zapins, I will be the odd man out and say you can run three phase motors on single phase and it is so easy to do. If you run a 5 hp three phase motor on single phase you will get only 3 to 4 hp. I used a side channel blower with a three phase motor for years. I only stopped using it because it did not have quite enough output to get hot iron and shorter melt times. If a three phase motor is connected in a star connection it runs on 415 volts in Australia but if I connect 240 volts single phase to it the motor will run but will have very little power. To get the maximum power on single phase the motor has to be connected in delta. Running a three phase motor on single phase it will not start so you can wrap a rope around the output shaft and give it a sharp pull and switch on single phase. I use that method only to test motors if they work. A starting capacitor can be connected to your single phase and the motor will start but the capacitor has to be disconnected when the motor is up to full speed. Another method is to use a three phase motor running on single phase and have wires connected to the three phases of that motor to a switch and then connected to another three phase motor. It will start every time without a capacitor but the first motor has to run all the time if you are constantly stopping and starting this motor. Another plus is single phase motors get very hot but run a three phase motor on single phase is runs very cool and run very smooth compared to a single phase motor.
A 3ph motor can be used with regular 1ph by wiring it in a "Steinmetz configuration". This basically uses a capacitor across one of the windings to generate the 3. phase. It will deliver appr 1/3 of the startup torque and 2/3 of the power. https://electronics.stackexchange.c...single-phase-using-steinmetz-delta-connection
I used this method to run an industrial paper folder in my basement. It did the job but it might have been unduly hard on the drive motor. I would wrap a rope around the cast iron pulley of the "generator motor" and give it a pull, then immediately throw on the knife switch on. Then I would operate the machine (pretty much) normally. As the machine started I could hear the generator motor draw down significantly and then return to normal speed. To counter this I installed a very heavy cast iron pulley which helped to maintain momentum. Knowing slightly more now than I did then, I use VFDs.
