I am trying to purchase a 3 phase compressor, but i only have single phase power at my house. i have seen some plans to make a rotory phase converter, but i am pretty lost..... does anyone know anything about these???:confused: :confused:

They just trick the motor on start up. A Phase converter just adds a fake third leg on motor start up and then runs the motor on the single phase after that. Most 220 motors can be wired to run on single phase with moving around a few field wires and a new motor starter.

if you're only running one motor you can get a solid state phase converter that will run a 3 phase motor on 220 single phase
they are made by Phase-A -Matic.......... in Palmdale California........phone # (661) 947-8485 they make them to run from 1/3 to 50 hp electric motors:eek:
( you know you want the 50 hp model............:D )

CRO gave you the right brand Phase-o-matic. I recently did a lot of research on phase converters for customers in stix that bought machines. These were the cheapest,had the best warranty and did not hear any bad things from users I talked to. Also take a close look at the refurbished units. they are almost 1/2 the cost. the electronics package is new new and has a 3 year warranty just has a rebuilt motor. I recommend the GE motors ( you have a choice of several and it does affect the price, GE is one of the cheaper ones ) GE motors are usually rock solid. I think the motor warranty for refubished is 2 years. Sorry so long just had a lot of info. Check out Phase-o-matic.com.

It is really a motor-gen unit. Single phase motor driving a three phase generator.

Hey Norcal, was the info. and source any good? it was a hell of price. let me know.:D

I don't know diddley squat about electrical, but a machinest friend of mine runs all (9) of his 3 phase lathes/mills off of a seperate motor that is plugged into single phase power. Every lathe/mill he has is hooked up to an electric motor that is sitting on the ground, and the electric motor is running. He said that it is a cheaper way to run 3 phase equipment than buying a converter.:confused: :confused:

Originally posted by Flatbed
Hey Norcal, was the info. and source any good? it was a hell of price. let me know.:D

Yeah i called them, they still had it at that great price, I E-mailed the guy with the compressor to see if he still had it. it looks like he might have sold it already...

That sucks, well if you run across another good deal the source for the converter should still be good. Oh well, tried to help :( . If you need any assistance in the future give me a shout. take it easy man :D