Industrial Electrician consult needed

Can anyone refer me to an Industrial Electrician in the Santa Ana, California area (Orange County) that can help me with the rewiring of my Brown & Sharp vertical mill that is currently wired 480V three phase to 240 V 3P? The motors can be wired for either voltages but I am not learned in the fine details of replacing the obsolete heaters and contactors, ect.`I want to pay a reasonable fee for such expertise because I don't have the knowledge. I actually live in South County, so there will be a slight commute involved. Any referals would be appreciated. Thanks.

Manny

Reply to
trg-s338
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Why does a mill have heaters? If you mean the motor overloads, you read the new values off the motor nameplates - if they are dual voltage they will list both current settings. Be aware that on rare occasions you may have to go a little above the stated rating, but only an experienced sparky should do this.

Neil

Reply to
N Morrison

Talk to Gunner, he goes a lot further south for service calls than I normally do. (We try to stay City Of L.A. and Thousand Oaks/Simi.) And he messes around inside big industrial machinery a lot more often.

I know how it's done (and the Boss holds that all-important C-10 Contractors License and all the other necessary BS) but don't do it nearly often enough to get fast at it. We stick with our strengths - Resi, Light Commercial and HOA Common Area power and lighting.

Last two motor starters I touched were on a hydraulic elevator machine (blown fuse and the Elevator Guy didn't want to change them) and a Farm Tank 25-HP water booster pump.

If you want to talk, my E-mail address is easy enough to figure out from the headers - for a human.

With complex equipment there are many spots inside where you have to switch it over to run on 240V instead of 480V - there are control transformers to get 120V or 24V to run the innards, and CNC computer power supplies, and motor starter coils, and larger fuses to fit, and you know the part about the overload heaters.

If you miss one, you'll find out real fast at the Smoke Test... >_<

Before you spend a lot of money on the 240V pieces, look inside the bottom of the cabinet - If someone conscientious ever converted it to run on 240V before, there will be a little baggie with all the 240V starter heaters all neatly wrapped up for eventual reuse.

(And when you get done you should wrap up all the 480V specific bits in a bag or box and stash them inside the machine, for the exact same reason. The next guy that gets stuck doing it might be you.)

And you have to be REAL careful on which leg is wired to which feeder if that 240V feed is High Leg Open Delta, or something else odd like Cornerground. If you see Orange tape or wire in the panel that's the Sooper Sekrit Code for the High Leg, stop and get out the voltmeter. Phase to Phase will be 240V, you need to worry about Phase to Ground.

You would normally put the High Leg on the B Phase, mark it Orange everywhere, and wire all the control transformers and motor controls to use A and C only for their operating supply.

And put a lockable Safety Switch on the wall next to the machine, so you have a way to properly Lockout and Tag-out the machine. Same thing with the air line if it has any pneumatic components, they make lockable shutoff-and-vent ball valves for that exact use.

Nothing in life is more fun that someone heating up the power and trying to start a machine while you still have your hands inside...

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

805-732-5308

Ask for Gunner

Gunner

The current Democratic party has lost its ideological basis for existence.

- It is NOT fiscally responsible.

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...It no longer has valid reasons to exist. Lorad474

Reply to
Gunner Asch

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