Rotary Phase Converter Wiring Help!

[scra99tch]

I put a call into American Rotary customer service which "will" call me back, but am throwing this out there to see if anyone will bite. 

I picked up this RPC which is way to large for my needs, I am trying to sell it and have been telling people that it is not currently hooked up and not tested.  I would like to test it first under no load and try to sell as a working unit. 

So my problem is I have the box with 5 double lugs coming out of it.  Two of the lugs on the right side (top in top photo) I have a good feeling are the L1 and L2 single phase inputs.  The left side (bottom in top photo) has three double lugs which are not labeled and I can only assume are the idler inputs/outputs. 

So How can I tell which input is what for the wires coming in from the idler.  American rotary on their new units state that lug A should have wired pair from motor 1,7 etc, etc.

I have a brown and a orange 10ga wire coming into the single phase inputs off a 50AMP breaker.  Only because I will have no load on this motor and believe I'll be safe during start up.

[delrod]

Rotary phase converter s are like helicopters. There is really no logical explanation for why they do what they do. Seriously though I would think the wiring would be fairly generic from brand to brand. Maybe a generic search for wiring diagrams might reveal the answer. No need d to thank me I might have something real to offer later

[SportsterDoc]

https://www.americanrotary.com/videos

Connections begin at 2 minutes into the 4 minute video

[tris]

According to Sportsters vid it has

Single phase going in
Single phase going out
And a connection to the generator - presumably 3 phase?

What's it for Chaps??

[Kiwi_Roy]

I think you are on the wrong forum for that

I suggest you try Eng-Tips.com
Perhaps under motors and generators

Roy

[scra99tch]

I watched the video and the setup is a lot different.  The video has them labeled nicely which is terminal A,B,C mine no terminals are labeled at all.

I am just looking to test to see if its working.  It is way oversized dfor what I need for my home shop in which I will be running a 2hp, a 1.5 HP and most likely a 5hp lathe motor.

[Triple Jim]

Assuming you sell the converter, are you considering using one or more VFDs for your shop?  I sold my Arco rotary converter long ago, and got a VFD for my mill.  It's quiet, reliable, and added variable speed so I rarely have to move the belt on the stepped pulleys.

[scra99tch]

Yeah that is the route I am going.  The mill table feed has its own motor so once I get a DRO I will be able to adjust beyond the preset manual feeds given on the table itself. 

[scra99tch]

Okay glad I dug in a little more. 

Startup for a 30HP motor is 497A from some chart, not going to happen on 10ga wire and 50A breaker.

So for an H motor 6.3 X 30HP = 189kV x 1000 = 189000

Inrush current would be
189000V/(220V X 1.73) = ~497A 

Oh well I've been honest in my ad about the condition of this thing.  I have checked the caps and they are all good.  I measured the continuity of the motor windings and they are good.  Can only hope it goes well for the prospective buyer.

[scra99tch]

Motor under load is about 78A according to plate on motor.

[Triple Jim]

You'd be surprised at the current that wiring and fuses or breakers can handle briefly.  I worked on some big 3 phase blowers once, and the starting current was 10 times the running current, which was way over what you'd expect the wiring to handle.  As long as the current drops reasonably quickly, the wiring doesn't overheat and the fuses don't blow.

[SportsterDoc]

The manufacturer's video shows "idler" connected to A, B & C phases
Single phase in to L1 & L2
Three phase Load to T1, T2 & T3

The double lugs should help with unlabeled identification.

Regarding line connections, it will not matter which is grounded neutral and which is hot.

Regarding A, B & C phases, it will not matter for generation purposes.

Regarding T1, T2 and T3, when connecting a 3 phase motor, if it runs in reverse of desired rotation, switch any two phases.

[Kiwi_Roy]

50+ years as an industrial sparky and I had to google it to see how it works
http://www.northamericaphaseconverters.com/blog/rotary-phase-converter-work/
I doubt you would have to worry too much about the inrush for the converter itself, once up to speed it must be able to pass on it's inertia to start a 3 phase load.
The web site says it will supply the 600% start current for a 3 phase motor

Power reticulation in NZ where I learned the trade is much simpler than Nth America 3 phase 400/230 is pretty much standard, out in the country houses can have a 3 phase supply, one big advantage of the system is only half the transformers are required.
One interesting system I have seen in the real rural areas is single phase earth return 11kV
I expect they would use one of your phase converters if they needed motors.

That reminds me, they did use quite a few 2 phase motors around the farms, done to save on overhead copper but they are probably a thing of the past.