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Brooks 3 phase motor conversion 415V to 240V possible?

A mate recently acquired a Hayes Diemaster milling machine and it currently has a 1hp Brooks 415V 3 phase motor. There is currently not provision for it to be wired as 240V or 415V as the motor only has 3 wires coming from inside the motor. I was wondering if anyone knows if it's an easy change to get access to the other 3 ends which I presume are currently commoned for star configuration. This would allow running from a 240V 3 phase inverter. My mate is currently considering the options of buying a 3 phase inverter or a 1hp single phase motor to get the mill running.

Interestingly when we took the cover off the motor the Brooks pamphlet for the motor was under the cover, probably been there since the machine was built, it was very oily but still readable.

Reply to
David Billington
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It is straightforward if you are happy doing basic DIY electrical stuff; using a multimeter, competent with a soldering iron, etc. I bought the Workshop series book 'Electric motors in the home workshop' solely for this purpose, as it gives a clear description of how to do it, digging out the star point, etc. I've done 3 motors, and have had no problems with them, one of which is running my lathe with an inverter.

Reply to
penfold

I'll second that, I've done three or four with no problems. You will need to dismantle the motor and to get to the 'start point', you will probably need to cut some of the cord holding the windings together to do so. The terminations will be obvious, but which is the star and which the ends of the tails you already have will not be clear as the whole lot will be tied down and soaked in varnish. Just go steadily and carefully till you identify the correct one - it's the one with three windings going into it instead of just one.

Once identified, remove its insulation, unsolder or cut the common end off and solder new individual tails on. Insulate the connections with insulating tube, heat shrink is probably OK, re-secure the tails and any colateral damage with fine string or ideally waxed tape and you are ready to go.

Make sure you know which tails are from what was the start point or you could end up reversing one winding which would not be good.

The book is well worth having as a handy reference and it also describes running a 3 phase motor on 1 phase using capacitors as a simple static converter rather than bothering with an inverter. I've done several of those and generally wouldn't bother with an inverter now.

Richard

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Reply to
Richard Shute

David, Your email doesn't seem to work, probably a spam trap I guess, send me a PM as I think I have the relevant information for you.

Richard

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Reply to
Richard Shute

Thanks for the information Richard and Penfold, I'll be seeing my mate Wednesday evening so we'll have an initial look at the motor then. I've got a copy of the motor book on order from Tee Publishing so I expect it'll be here later in the week.

Thanks,

Dave

Reply to
David Billington

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