How to Wire a Rotary Phase Converter the Old-School Way!

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Today we're going to assemble and wire up a new American Rotary 5 horsepower phase converter for a maybe-soon-to-be-delivered surface grinder. That's a story for another day.
For the electrical connections, we're going to bolt together ring terminals and insulate with varnished cambric tape, rubber sealing tape, and Scotch Super 33+. We'll also mount a twist-lock receptacle in the panel to make it easy to attach the machine.
Tools and parts used in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
L15-20 Locking Receptacle (Amazon*): amzn.to/3u61oFC
Wera Kraftform Screwdriver Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2UzK6CL
Varnished Cambric Tape (Amazon*): amzn.to/3ANSErD
Rubber Splicing Tape (Amazon*): amzn.to/3GQNNK2
Scotch Super 33+ Electrical Tape (Amazon*): amzn.to/3OEVTax
Knipex Automatic Wire Stripper (Amazon*): amzn.to/3aFM8oF
Ferrule Crimper Kit (Amazon*): amzn.to/30hUfAQ
Dymo Rhino 4200 Label Maker (Amazon*): amzn.to/34LRkDU
EEVBLOG Brymen BM235 Multimeter (Amazon*): amzn.to/2YKFSEk
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
00:00 Intro
00:41 What is a Rotary Phase Converter?
02:11 Routing the wires
04:42 Connecting the idler
08:55 Labeling the wires for the next person (me)
09:52 Mounting the twist-lock receptacle
10:41 Connecting the input and output
12:34 Testing voltages
14:31 Conclusion

[@mike230224]

at 4:17 and noticed the wires have their number printed on the insulation. wonder if he'll notice, heh. edit: looks like he didn't notice. at 4:17 you can see the 7 on the red wire and the 2 printed on the white wire.

[@Clough42]

Interesting. I guess I was distracted by the two that had labels on them and didn't even look at the insulation.

[@nefariousyawn]

Maybe I don't know what I'm looking for, but I don't see any print on the wire insulation.

[@mike230224]

@@nefariousyawn on the red wire, look for the 7 just above his ring. The 7 is white text, about 1/2" up the insulation from the crimp connector

[@melgross]

True. This is a fairly standard way of labeling wires in these situations. All of the three phase motors I have, have printed on numbering on the wires, and some have just black wires with the numbers.

[@TheMadJestyr]

That is what I was going to say. And the writing is in silver. 99% of new motors are labeled on the wire insulation itself. Older motors would be all black but would have a metal tag on them that will probably never come off.

[@barrishautomotive]

My first machine tool shipping story. I bought a 1966 Springfield lathe on eBay for $500. I drove to Carson City and trailered the 6000 pound machine back to Boise. When I got it home, I attempted to lift it off the trailer using my 9000 pound automotive 2 post lift. Unfortunately, I did not think through my rigging, and the side load on the lift ended up cracking my concrete floor. We ended up rolling it down off the trailer using ramps and pipes, after which I had to remove my automotive lift and jackhammer out that whole section of my garage floor so I could repour a fresh, reinforced pad.

[@Teklectic]

As someone who repairs things for a living, thank you for documenting your work! So many times projects and repairs are slowed or stopped by a lack of documentation!

[@Ropetangler]

Enjoyed the video as usual James, and here is my "shipping story". Some years ago now I worked for a time on The Bass Link Project, an under sea power link connecting the State of Victoria to the State of Tasmania here in South Eastern Australia. The power could go either way between the states of Victoria and Tasmania, and though Tasmania is much smaller than Victoria, we had a pretty well all hydro electric system while Victoria had brown coal fired generators. The idea was that as our hydro stations could go from shut down to full output in a minute or so, and then be shut back down just as quickly, as the load reduced, they would be just the ticket for augmenting Victorias peak load demand, as their coal fired generators would be damaged if they were cycled up and down in output, they were basically designed for a constant output. Tasmania was to supply the peak loads, and Victoria was to supply the base loads for both States. This project involved transmission lines and huge substations where in Victoria 500KV 3 phase was rectified to DC, then sent via the under sea cable to Tasmania, where it was converted back to AC and injected into the Tasmanian network at 250 KV. When Power was being sent from Tasmania to Victoria, the opposite occurred, 250KV was rectified to DC, sent to Victoria where it was reconverted to AC at 500 KV for the Victorian distribution system. All this involved numerous huge transformers, which came out to Australia from Seimens in Germany, and indeed Seimens were the principal contractors for the project. Seven of these transformers along with lots of other equipment came out by ship, and while the ship was travelling through the Great Australian Bight, she ran into some very rough weather, and was nearly capsized. Fortunately all the equipment must have been well secured, as when it landed initially everything looked OK. One of these transformers, weighing if I recall correctly, 275 tonnes was destined for Tasmania, and was duly delivered on site, where it sat till they were ready to install it. When the time came, a huge rig arrived to pick it up and load on to an equally huge trailer featuring 128 wheels, arranged on 32 individually steerable axle sets, 16 on each side each with 4 wheels. There was also a large pusher truck just to make sure that they could get it to where it had to go. About this time someone decided that they ought to remove an inspection hatch, to check the interior of this transformer, and when they did, they were in for a nasty surprise. The whole set of windings had moved sideways when the cargo ship had been caught in the storm, and on one side the windings were roughly a metre from the wall of the transformer case, but on the opposite side the windings came within 100 mm of the case. The whole thing was rejected, together with the completely unscathed 10,000 litre coolant oil tank and all the ancillary equipment. When the word got out about our transformer, they checked the other six transformers which were in that shipment, and altogether 5 of the seven transformers were written off. I have no idea of the cost of 275 tonne transformers, it would be more than I will ever see, that's for sure.

[@dasworkshop4967]

I've taken "flags" of the self-vulcanizing tape and wrapped each wire individually. Then over-wrap those wires with more self-v tape to form a true water tight connection. If you don't do them individually first, there is a direct path for water/air/corrosion where the wires meet along their length.

[@bradley3549]

I've been using electric motors like that for most of my life - outside of a professional setting of course - and I've never known the terminal box to be called a pecker head. And after watching this video and hearing it 50 times, I'll never forget!

[@alandaters8547]

I had to look it up. It is real electrician slang and even has a somewhat lame story behind it.

[@bradley3549]

@@alandaters8547 I definitely looked it up as well!

[@jimbob5891]

Its the wires inside the box with the taped up heads that carry the name, not the box itself :)

[@thomas.bjorklund]

So happy to live in Sweden, we get three phase (240V between phase and neutral and 400V between phases) directly from the electrical company. Easy to connect and run any type of gear.

[@billdoodson4232]

Does every property have 3 phase?

[@thomas.bjorklund]

@@billdoodson4232 every property yes, but older and or/or smaller condos can have just one phase in use

[@MrWaalkman]

As an oldtimy electrician myself, the three wires taped together in the peckerhead was a dead giveaway. From memory it should be, 1&4 tied to phase "A", 2&5 tied to phase "B", 3&6 tied to phase "C" (or in this case creating the "C" phase) and 7,8,&9 connected together and tucked away in the peckerhead. And old-school would involve a lawnmower cord used to spin up the idler shaft as you apply power to the converter. The homemade one in my garage uses a pony motor. As for your ground wires, your lug should be approved for two conductors, so you should be good.

[@Clough42]

Cool. Thanks!

[@crystaldragon141]

I agree about the ground, most of those lugs are designed for multiple lugs.

[@rpmunlimited397]

Worked for a small R and D company in the early 80s that specialized in unusual condition product handling mainly with the plastic bottle industry. Customer wanted a small footprint but tall preform sorter for a tight location and we produced. Loaded in a semi-trailer for the trip across the country and received a call when it arrived that the machine was damaged. Discussed how the unit had been loaded and secured and the receiving officer responded by saying with amount of splintered lumber in the trailer [ the bracing from packing} and the fact the machine was hanging thru the side of the trailer almost to the point of falling out that they believed the trucking co was responsible, they also ordered a replacement unit on the same call.

[@blitzroehre1807]

That 3 phase converter jobbie reminds me of when I did army, we still had the occasional old tube equipment running on a vehicle battery, and there was a very similar, smaller rotary voltage supply to convert 12 or 24v to high voltage in order to power the tubes...

[@Mcfly77777]

I came for the overkill, and I'm never disappointed!

[@donmckee5401]

I've been working with industrial control systems for 35-40 years, and I think every electrician I've ever worked with has called the motor junction box the "peckerhead". About 33 years ago I worked for a small company in NE Iowa that made the equipment that makes concrete pipe. We were installing a new machine in a plant in Delaware. Part of this equipment was a 110' clear span bridge crane. While the crane was being installed, the rigging failed, and the crane fell. The only casualties were the crane and the turntable of our machine. I'm told that the insurance company wound up chartering a cargo 747 to air-freight the replacement crane from the manufacturer in Germany. About 10 years later I was working on installing a new 400Hp twin-screw extrusion system in Chicago. The extruder was built in Switzerland and airfreighted to O'hare International. The moving company dropped the extruder while transferring it from aircraft to the waiting truck. About 4-5 years ago I was installing a new production line for my current employer. Part of this was replacing the 50-60 year old electrical system on 6 floors of a 100+ year old building. This involved installing a number of Allen-Bradley MCC sections. When the electricians were taking the shrink-wrap off of one of the units they noticed something strange and called me over to look at it. There was obvious damage to the unit, but it had been re-wrapped by somebody to hide the damage. We wound up eating the damages to that unit. Don

[@MrJohnnaz]

Nope, a Peckerhead refers to a a weather head.That's a a J-Box.

[@jfl-mw8rp]

For many years my grandfather just pull started his 5 hp motor used as a phase generator. Nothing else needed. Capacitors and voltage switches only make it self starting. 😁

[@jpcallan97225]

I admire your use of ferrules on the stranded wire. I use them too - they make for a much more tidy and dependable connection. The devices you refer to as aluminum screw-terminals are technically known as box-lugs.

[@peterfox2565]

To be honest I would have used Wago Lever Nuts. As the idler is just a three phase motor without a shaft there is very little vibration. In a small shop it is unlikely to see enough use to ever wear out the bearings let alone wear out a lever nut an cause failure. For average small three phase motors in non severe service they have become go to. That said it was a good demonstration of motor lead connection and insulation. I have done the same many times building new industrial equipment. My only recommendation would be to stretch the 130C tape more. I was taught to stretch it to twice its original length and wrap it tightly in half lapped layers until the shape of the terminals and bolt are no longer distinguishable. You use about the same amount of tape but end up with a dense void free ball around the splice. Additionally the outer cover with electrical tape is mainly to prevent the individual splices from getting stock together as the tape vulcanizes. For you dilemma of two wire into one ground lug. The best option if they are both the same size is to use an appropriately sized double or twin wire ferrule. Putting two individually wire ferruled or un-ferruled is fine as long as the lug or termination point is rated for it and the lug in you unit probably is (most set screw type lugs and ground terminal bars in that size range are from what I have seen). Lastly as mentioned previously modern small three phase motor leads almost always have the wire numbers printed along the entire length of the wire. If you ever have a motor with no identifying marks it can be recovered but it is a bit involved as part of the process involves powering up individual windings while measuring voltage on other windings to determine the correct phasing of them. Not a big deal but tedious especially if it is a large motor.

[@kl1nk0r]

Interestingly, anything that uses spring-clamps instead of screws (whatsoever) should perform much better under vibration, so I did not understand his argument there. However to his credit, the problem is alleviated using the (proper) shake-proof washers. Still, I think when it comes to vibrations, in the long term spring based clamps will perform better, always.

[@Blackcountrysteam]

James I recon with your resources you should have printed a terminal block but having not done so your insulating of the connections even by your high standards was well over the top 😀

[@mumblbeebee6546]

Granddad says this warmed his cockles ;) He had not seen the woven tape since he retired! :0)

[@sammy5576]

i love the terminal block in the motor unit, the molded plastic provides mechanical support and insulation for the metal parts *AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHY?!*

[@MartinBanks61]

James, Great video, as always. Thank you. When preparing the wires for the ferrules the wire the stripper leaves the separated section of insulation on the end of the wire. Take this insulation between your thumb and fore finger and roll it to twist the copper strands of the wire into a tighter helix. This will allow you to slide the wire into the ferrule without any strands spreading out and coming adrift. Total over kill, of course, but much underrated.

[@joell439]

Great Tip 👍😎👍

[@barrishautomotive]

My second machine tool shipping story. I bought a 1959 Gorton 1-22 Mastermil vertical milling machine on eBay from a seller in Milwaukee. I paid $800 for the machine, plus $800 to ship it to a shipping terminal near my house in Boise. It took the seller more than a month to actually ship it, and when it arrived I discovered why. The seller had set the machine on a thin stamped steel pallet, and then strapped it down with 3 little 1 inch ratchet straps. Somehow the shipper accepted it. As you'd imagine, the machine had a rough ride. It did have some damage. I spoke with eBay, who advised me to accept the shipment, and then contact the seller about the damage. After some back and forth, eBay ended up refusing my entire purchase price and the shipping. I had the machine repaired in just a couple days and I've been using it ever since.

[@johnjohn-ed9qt]

I have no great hilarity with machine tools (that I can discuss in detail. Might have to break the NDA on the 12ft shear one of these days, though), but way back when I worked for an industrial railroad, we got a load that was to be delivered by a LTL shipper. It included locomotive couplers, which are heavy, solid castings, and awkward to handle, but palattizable, and regularly shipped that way. I got the call on a friday afternoon, a couple days after the scheduled delivery, asking when someone was going to come get these thins off their floor. I asked why they hadn't been delivered to our site, and apparently the driver considered it not accessible his rig, despite another deliver by the same LTL the same week, with an overlength trailer and an absurdly long sleeper cab tractor. So, off I go to the depot. At the local transfer, their handler managed to separate ALL of the couplers from their palates when removing them from the trailer, leaving them in the middle of their warehouse floor, in the way. No attempt to pick them up and get them out of the way, even. This is why they called. They were in THEIR way, where they dropped them. I had to make a half dozen trips, as more than one was overcapacity for my pickup. They refused to help me load them. Fortunately, the truck kit had a come along and snatch blocks, so I was able to drag the first over and drop it off the dock onto the truck bed. I cane back with dollys and jack for the others. As for labeling the wires, clear shrink tube is VITAL over Ptouch labels.

[@broheim23]

I'm a JW IBEW wireman. Here's the answer to your question regarding the best way to bond the receptacle to the metal enclosure and grounding it (which are two different things): 455.5 (Phase Converters, Equipment Grounding Connection) of the Code states A means for attachment of an equipment grounding conductor termination in accordance with 250.8 (Grounding and Bonding, Connection of Grounding and Bonding Equipment) shall be used. 250.8 (A) (Permitted Methods) states Equipment grounding conductors, grounding electrode conductors, and bonding jumpers shall be connected by one or more of the following means (1) Listed pressure connectors (2) Terminal bars (3) Pressure connectors listed as grounding and bonding equipment (4) Exothermic welding process (5) Machine screw-type fasteners that engage not less than two threads or are secured with a nut (6) Thread-forming machine screws that engage not less than two threads in the enclosure (7) Connections that are part of a listed assembly (8) Other listed means Will the way you've done it work? Yes, it will. But I would crimp a ring terminal onto the end of the ground (green) wire from the receptacle and secure it under the nut securing the chair lug to the enclosure. Absolutely necessary? No, but I prefer only one ferrule under a lug if at all possible.

[@jimdean7335]

My most memorable shipping story was actually yours when you got your first PM mill. I ordered a similiar mill and was anxiously hoping it would not show up in the same condition. It didn’t but there were other issues which is another story.

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

A quick and dirty phase converter. Take a 3 phase motor larger than the one you want to power. Apply switched 220 to two of the legs. Wire the motor you're powering to all of the legs with a switch. Next, get the idler motor spinning and turn on on 220. Then turn on the motor you're powering. It will run. You won't have a true full sine wave on the manufactured 3rd leg, but it'll get the job done. Is it perfect? No. However, I've been using this method for 10-15 years in my hobby shop powering my lathe, mill, and car lift.

[@MrWaalkman]

Yup. That's how I've done it in the past, and don't be afraid to use a "wounded" motor with a busted mounting foot or a screwed up shaft. Who cares? And it's "no caps, no problem" where I come from.

[@fritzmiller9792]

You ain't wrong, most people can't or won't do that though. Technically, that achieves the exact same electrical results as the third leg is generated in both motors windings once in motion.👍

[@gofastwclass]

Nice install. My 10 HP American Rotary ADX wall mount had tags and numbers on the idler wires. In the two years I've owned it, I've had it apart only to check connections after the first month and relocate the panel. It runs all my machines and has been rock solid.

[@chrisj4570g]

Dog nuts in a peckerhead. Man I’ve made a ton of those splices. Always used split bolts for connections though. But the wire was also larger. Future James will thank you for the cambric. Yeah, it adds some puncture resistance, but more importantly it Keeps the rubber tape from becoming one with the hardware.

[@briana3467]

Built mine from scrap yard parts about 20 years ago., still running my Bridgeport just fine.

[@ke9tv]

"I don't like bright blue flashes in my shop." The correct technical term is electroboom. The best I think I had with shipping precision gear was a mainframe computer tape drive in 1977. The customer had ordered 6 new 9-channel tape drives, and one 7-channel one to convert their legacy tape library. The movers tried to uinload the 7-channel one by pushing it down a loading ramp on its casters. It hit the ground and toppled. They delivered it lying on its back on a pallet, and the customer signed for it! I learnt aboujt it because the district manager phoned me up to ask what the procedure was for standing one up. I spent the next several days on the phone trying to turn up a replacement. I finally found a customer halfway across the country who was willing to lend me one. The thing was _ruined_; there was no way I or anyone else was going to attempt to repair it.

[@RambozoClown]

My CNC knee mill toured the country on it's way to me. Started from Long Island then to Oklahoma, Florida, San Diego, back to Long Island, and finally to me in Anahiem, CA. Took over a month.

[@summerforever6736]

James never disappoints!! An other great video!

[@joemcgarry1106]

Good video James. Rotary phase converter is the way to go. Can't wait to see your surface grinder.

[@aaro_n]

So excited! Thanks for the video!!

[@jackpledger8118]

Been using an American Rotary 15 hp converter in my shop for 6 years. Never had a problem...even run a Haas CNC Mini mill with it.

[@benstrait333]

3 cheers for labeling the unlabeled. Unlabeled wiring is one of my biggest pet peeves.

[@Woodsguy]

With the delivery of my knee mill we had a bit of a scare. The guy that delivered the forklift to get my mill out of the delivery truck forgot to put the park break on when tilting the trailer deck (tiedowns were removed already). The forklift went free wheeling down the hill, nearly crashing into the delivery truck. Everyone needed 10 minutes to recover of their heart attack!

[@stevebell1128]

Not sure about in the US, but in UK really easy way to run 3 phase 415 volt machines off 240 volt single phase is using voltage doubler. Voltage doubler is just two capacitors and two diodes (all correctly sized and rated, obviously). This generates about 650 volt dc that can be fed directly into three phase inverter.

[@WireWeHere]

Splicing tape instructions will stretch the job a little longer.

[@Rob_65]

I hope the surface grinder will now finally be delivered in good order. All our machine tools that we bought new arrived in good condition but most of them were small, and big, enough to fit on a standard sizes pallet. I did have some issues with smaller pieces of equipment and there were all clearly the fault of the freight courier not taking good care of the goods they ship. On one occasion I even noticed that the driver just walked over the boxes in his truck. He clearly did not care about the boxes being damaged. Looking at how often we receive boxes that have holes or dents, that guy is clearly not the only one doing this.

[@Clough42]

The thing that makes me crazy is when the driver rolls the pallet jack off the edge of the liftgate, assuming that the wheels will drop off and the metal-to-metal friction will stop the load from going the rest of the way over. I've watched some really close calls, and received photos from viewers of their machines lying in the street.

[@FullSendPrecision]

Ohhhhh I can't wait to see the grinder. That's the next tool in my shop... so I'm shopping.

[@CapnBubbaa]

Great Video, very instructional.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi James, that was useful thanks.

[@jonnydeen6952]

OK, my machine move nightmare goes as follows. I bought a 1990 bridgeport 720x machining centre to start my own business. The mill weighs almost exactly 4 metric tons. Due to the location of my rented unit I decided to rent a telehandler to offload the machine from the lorry and transport it up a short hill to my workshop. I rented a beautiful new jcb 540 with 15 hours on the clock. First issue is that while the jcb was fit to lift 4 ton it could not tilt back with the weight on the forks. I had to keep the joystick to the left to stop the forks from dropping and therefore dropping the machine. We finally got the machine on the ground and I started the slow drive out of the yard and up the hill toward my unit. Issue 2, I got as far as the gate at the road and while trying to navigate the narrow opening a pothole caught me off guard and the machine started to slide off the forks. I dropped the boom and let the mill rest half way off the forks and half on the ground. At this point I contemplated all my life choices that lead to this moment and bummed a cigarette off a friend (I hadn't smoked in over a decade). We spent about an hour carefully trying to nudge the machine back on the forks with a tractor (smashing the Y axis servo encoder in the process). We managed to get the machine lifted by adding timbers under the enclosure effectively lifting a mill in the worst possible fashion. We strapped the machine to the forks and started the ascent up the hill. Issue 3. The jcb jumped into limp mode while traversing the hill. At this point we are still moving (barely) and I'm about to have a coronary as we hold up traffic at 1mph. I have since moved into bigger premises and vow to only use hiabs for anything like that again. And I still have that bridgeport, it works rather well for its age.

[@craigtate5930]

Nice setup...just a couple weeks ago I cobbled together a simple pull start convertor...need to add some run capacitors at some point, but it's working

[@godfreja]

The "tip of the day" reminded me thatJames introduced me to ferrule connectors and every time I use them I'm like "where were these my whole life?"

[@jesusisalive3227]

I went through this same process for the used converter that came with my lathe. The generated leg is always referred to as the high leg as they run quite a bit higher than service voltage.

[@David-qd3ff]

It’s like the entire KZbin community is your other spouse, having to explain that, no I’m not damaging my screw driver by hitting it. Lmao (no criticism towards your actual spouse, I’m sure she is an angel, given all the tools you have)

[@oldcatmech]

You keep saying so if someone in the future goes into this, then you use a white white as a power wire, please recolor the wire, white is for neutral only! You do such a great job of wiring everything else and it would safety wise make it better!

[@Clough42]

That's not a bad idea. I wish I could buy SJOOW with green, blue, red, and black wires.

[@avejst]

Interesting video as always 👍

[@vincei4252]

Hi James: You asked for a story :) I don't have a machine tool story but I have an electronics test equipment story. Actually, several of them but I'll stick to the most egregious. I bought a used HP Spectrum analyser on eBay, it comes in two very heavy unwieldy units, the display unit containing a CRT and the processor unit that contains the keyboard. This thing combined weighs probably 100lb. I paid my money plus a huge premium for shipping and waited for the delivery. Several days later my UPS guy calls me and asks me to meet him down by the local supermarket as he has a package for me that looks dicey. I got there and he shows me the squished box that had been taped up with sellotape that also had several hole in it which was super ominous. - I kid you not. I open the thing and the front glass of the CRT is smashed and the clown that packed this thing put the two units on top of each other without securing them from rubbing against each other. He ten put "some foam" and bubble wrap on the corners of one of the units. The unit was not constrained from moving around inside the giant box so once the UPS throwers got their hands on it the devices at every step proceeded to shift and destroy the box. I don't know whether the sellotape was UPS trying to save a bad situation or that was how the thing was shipped? I raised a complaint with eBay but the clown asked for over 50 pictures of the damage and insisted that UPS was at fault. The guy then stopped responding to my questions about how this would be resolved and finally eBay stepped in. They refunded the substantial sum I'd paid for this thing and to crown it all the seller never bothered to have the thing shipped back. After 3 months I decided that I'd take a stab at repairing it. I sourced the parts, screen and new keyboard from all over the world, the new keyboard came from Israel and some of the damaged cards from Europe. Took a while but despite some exterior damage where the metal work got bashed in and it wasn't worth repairing, I now have a fully functional and "almost free" Spectrum Analyser - one of the best vintage units HP ever made.

[@gbspikyfish]

Had a few sketchy moments with a ~350kg planer and a ~600kg lathe, but my favourite one for comedy was when an eBay seller posted me a nice #7 Record hand plane... in a plastic bag. Needless to say that a #7 jigsaw is an interesting thing to behold.

[@fritzmiller9792]

In regards to the ground lug.... even though it is likely only rated for one conductor virtually everyone, including manufacturers, load these lugs up with multiple wires. I always make some type of modification to be Code Compliant, but that is just me. Methods that can be used are drilling and tapping an additional hole in the enclosure, changing the lug out for a multiple port lug, using a rated connection outside the port with one additional wire added to land in the lug, adding a ground bar. The best solution, imo, is to replace the lug with one rated for multiple wires. Those lugs are labeled as such and usually have a distinctive oval shape at the base. Adding some DeOx is a pro-move as well.

[@cowboyyoga]

Hi ))) Subscribed and a thumbs up! Thank you for this video - very helpful!

[@Bianchi77]

Nice video, thanks :)

[@MarshalHorn]

For the ground wire, you could use a dual-wire ferrule.

[@handdancin]

i sometimes use a small covered terminal block inside the motor wiring box

[@guustflater9232]

A terminal strip should have been there, to start with.

[@johnreed1580]

I run my surface grinder from a vfd. As long as the 2hp spindle motor is running, the hydraulic pump for the bed motion and the coolant pump can be started and stopped without issue. Those motors are quite small and the larger spindle motor actually buffers the starting surge from them.

[@carrollprice1213]

Same applies to my Clausing, 5 hp 3 phase lathe. With the main motor running, the coolant pump can be started and stopped with no problems.

[@imajeenyus42]

Well, now I know what varnished cambric tape is! Never heard of the material before, apart from in Scarborough Fair 🤣

[@johanneslaxell6641]

I know that you could have printed it in some fancy plastic, but I just took a piece of nylon once when I made a similar connection. Then drilled holes for the bolts, cables on, a washer and a nyloc-nut. No need fot insulation because the nylon insulates the cables from each other... Looking at videos like this I really like our 3-phase 380 VAC. I am sure that there are "many, many wonderful things" (had to borrow from captain Lassard in "Police Academy" 🤭) with DC allso, I'm just not used to it 👍🏼😋.

[@amahashadow]

About 10 yrs ago, we bought a double head Mazak CNC. Over 50k€. The machine traverses half the globe with no issue, truck arrives at the factory, we inspect for damage, nothing, so we give the go ahead for the unloading. The specialized company (recommended by The local mazak distributor) then immediately drops the machine (they didn’t check the weight distribution and advised loading points). Took nearly a year for the insurance to agree on who was responsible and for the machine table to be replaced.

[@georgel5308]

Great job I’m an electrician and would never just use electrical tape. You did it right and really the only right way. Per code you need to have as much insulation as the conductor.

[@Cjarka_]

Why in the NA 3phase motors have just loose wires and no terminal block so it's easier and less confusing and much safer to wire them? In Europe at least, no matter how old the motor was, I have always seen a terminal block with windings wired into and winding labels molded right into it.

[@DavidLuthy-ej9fe]

someday would you revisit the ELS firmware and possible update to include an automatic tap function, i purchased the ELS hardware from you and have been using it almost daily great job on it. thanks

[@jonshank9572]

Not machine tools but I have been a field tech for about 25 years and have received and installed many big machines (commercial or industrial ink jet printers, the kind of things you print signage and billboards with). Many mishaps over the years, but 1 stands out. Machine was delivered, uncrated and picked up by the riggers forklift to move it to it's install location in the shop. Long story short, while repositioning the forklift operator dropped the machine (about 10k lbs and $750k at the time), not just to the floor but hit the edge and off the loading dock as well. All told 10k lbs dropped about 8 or 10 feet and landed on it's back. Total loss, riggers insurance took a hit, and we had to ship a replacement machine by air from the middle east manufacturing plant to get it installed as soon as possible (riggers ate that too, but still).

[@agentcovert]

Glad you made the video as the problem with using VFDs that frost / flute ball bearing due to the (PWM)pulse wave modulation cycles possibly hundreds per seconds worry me..there's talk from Hvac guys saying stray charges build up on / in the armature that get up to 70 volts before finding ground/ earth thru the ball bearings..frosting then fluting them..of course a solution, is to add a ground to the shaft it self with a common commutator brush with spring mechanism to keep the brush in contact with the shaft and offer a ground path that's not thru the ball bearings..but a grounding rod and wire in needed as well ..they say about 300hrs before serious damage occurs, which most hobbyist level operators will take many years to see..that's why some people claim zero problems with VFDs and don't even know of this problem..

[@topduk]

I saw this happen just wiring up an older 3 phase motor not intended for inverter duty. There was enough current to shock me because I didn't ground the motor case, and to have that current flow through the bearings to ground would mean early failure. Definitely need brushes on the shaft or just use a motor designed for it?

[@agentcovert]

@@topduk less reliable is just a copper wire wrapped in a loop around the shaft to ground..it would need more up keep as it will tarnish and loses ground the copper wire etc..even worse the charge could find ground thru the spindle bearings destroying a mill or lathe vs just a electric motor..rather just add a ground or use a rotary phase converter to avoid this problem that isn't really known by most people as it takes so long to cause serious damage and many times people don't know or understand the root cause of the frosting / fluting of the ball bearings..

[@jpcallan97225]

You created an open-delta three phase service. Open-delta delivers about 86% of the energy of a full (closed) delta service. Wye connected service tends to be more common, delivering 120/208 volts.

[@phoolb7326]

Oh shipping , Oh shipping... How about a 120W Laguna CO2 Laser when they decided to save me money and ship everything in one crate. ~5' x ~5 1/2' x ~8' at > 850lbs. And the lift gate w/ a pallet jack that the delivery guy had could not get it out of the truck. (i.e obviously different then the fork lift that loaded it). After a bit of thinking we used the steel/concrete pipe in front of the water heater in the garage and pulled it out of the truck and precariously managed to get it on the ground with minimal G forces. Time like this are when you think sewing is a better hobby. Hope that you had a wonderful T-Day and managed to stay warm in your shop as it looks like it's been chilly.

[@cbrownnola3011]

The way I was taught to wrap connections except I always start with 33 wrapped backwards with glue side out so it’s easier to undo if needed and the varnish will stick to it

[@superscifi12]

Wire nuts are totally acceptable. There are THOUSANDS of motors running with wire nuts running 24/7 without issues.

[@irritantno9]

Those Wago 221 for hazardous locations are rated for 440v.

[@kirkswater]

Thanks James - excellent video as always! Super Congrats on blowing past 100K subs. We'll be looking for the silver plaque glued to the backboard!! LOL. Very well deserved! Are all your other machines wired for just single phase? I think you mentioned that this AmRotary unit was their 5HP version.

[@TheTruth-fs2rm]

I have the exact same model, it does have labels on the motor wires. Whoever returned it must have taken them off. I did almost the exact procedures you did but I live in a pretty humid part of the country so I used some Nolox on the connections and also used cable glands instead of the romex connectors.

[@Cenedd]

Heavy, difficult to grasp, gravity in your favour - And I think we've worked out how "Scratched and dented" came to be! :D Chassis ground: As far as I'm aware, two conductors in one terminal is perfectly normal and acceptable - although I should caveat that by saying that I'm not a qualified electrician and I'm from an entirely different regulatory domain...although we do use 240V as our norm. So take that with as much authority as it was intended :D That said, there's a nice nut, bolt and vibration washer on the same connector so you could crimp on a ring terminal and sandwich it under the vibration washer if that makes you feel any better (and nobody chimes in to say that it's a terrible idea :D )

[@julesc8054]

Awesome video, I always learn something. Good thing is the weather proof. Has James checked the weather forecast for the electrical box?

[@rpavlik1]

Interesting, didn't realize you don't get 3 nice equally spaced phases out of a rotary phase converter, nor that this fact wasn't a big deal for many uses! I always learn something 😁

[@ke9tv]

There near enough equally spaced, but not referenced correctly to the neutral.

[@Clough42]

Correct. The timing is correct. They're not centered around the neutral.

[@rpavlik1]

Well there you go I had even more to learn 🤣

[@premiersi]

The phases are NOT equally spaced. The two incoming lines are 180⁰ apart, and the 'manufactured' leg is halfway between them. A rotary phase converter works very well, but is far from a 'perfect' output. Yes, I do have a Fluke Power Quality Analyzer that I have used on my American Rotary ADX-25 converter.

[@Clough42]

@@premiersi looks like a video addressing this misconception is in order.

[@mitchlichtenberg1858]

Ok, so you asked for a hilarious machinery moving story... I've got one for you. When I built my workshop back in 2016, I also bought a small VMC (Haas MiniMill2). I had the machine delivered to the riggers, and they brought it on a big flatbed to my little cul-de-sac along with an electric forklift to move it. They moved my smaller machinery (bridgeport, lathe) into the workshop and then got ready to pick up the Haas... and... the battery in the forklift died, right in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Did they bring the battery charger? Of course not. The riggers are about 50 miles from here, so they called ahead and several hours later sent *another* 18-wheel flatbed, with a larger forklift on it, to park in my tiny cul-de-sac. They used the big forklift to pick up the little forklift, and proceeded to finish their delivery late at night. It's actually a good thing that this happened, while I was waiting I read the data plate on the electric forklift and it wasn't rated enough to lift the 5100lb VMC. Without me asking the riggers dropped their price by half for the trouble, so all good in the end. I hope your grinder hilarity has a similar happy ending.

[@urbanawoodproject3123]

Hey James, great video. It would be great to get your impression of the amount of noise created by the phase converter. Perhaps you would be game for including that in your next video?

[@richcan22]

I just purchased a 20HP. I used the smaller punch out to run the supplied cable to pecker. The other one was bigger. In picture in the manual the cable holders are installed opposite spot where you had ran the cable. I’ll change to how you have. I had 4 extra washers and doubled it up on the bottom of the box? Not sure where they go? Did you find out where the green sticky tabs go? Also my cable was short to the pecker box. Also my mounting bracket to motor. The nylon nuts don’t thread on all the way. I’m guessing now the bolts that came in the same package as the rubber feet are for the pecker box? I was thinking was for wall mount or something. Wasn’t sure if use some type of brass bolts? Well I guess there for the Pecker Box. I’ll pick up the tape and do the same as you did. I picked up a 100 amp 3 Phase panel and will run power there and dedicate plugs and fuses to the dedicated machine. I’m going to make a role bar cage so it can be moved around on swivel wheels then they can be taken off back onto the rubber feet. Thanks

[@joopterwijn]

I do believe your knipex has a crimp option on the bottom side. And you could simulate a light load, by connecting three old type lamps. Gives you an way to test the voltageunder load.

[@darkobul1]

I was looking into surface grinders. I wonder which one you picked.

[@randyshoquist7726]

You could have have made an RPC from scratch, from a salvaged motor, caps and contactors. You probably would have made a more sophisticated one than the usual HSM DIY RPC. That would have been a fun project to watch.

[@DavidWalling]

Probably over kill, but I used my 2 ton gantry to lift my 10hp phase converter off of the bench and onto the ground.

[@chrisrussell6538]

I work on 3 phase motors a lot. I HATE bolted connections for the exact reason you stated, they puncture insulating tape. They also take up a LOT of space. I don't even bother any more. Solder the wires and be done with it.

[@Clough42]

Under the right conditions, solder works great. Connecting a wire to anything rigid in a high vibration environment with solder often leads to cracking long term.

[@johnalexander2349]

@@Clough42 That's why Wagos have springs - I doubt that bolts would pass IEC/EN 60068-2-6 and -27.

[@topduk]

There's a rubber tape that's supposed to be used, then the usual tape overtop.

[@fritzmiller9792]

For wires that small I would use crimps and Scotch 88. The Cambric tape is absolutely the best method, however, if using bolts or split-bolts for larger wires. Digging off rubber tape is the absolute pits for anyone coming behind later, trust me.

[@FullSendPrecision]

I would have given it a test run before wrapping up all the connections in that goo. :)

[@marcg2233]

8:34 I've seen a theory that there's a 10mm socket fairy, she comes and replaces all the 10mm sockets with 1/2 inch ones.

[@billdoodson4232]

In the UK the wiring convention is Red to Red, Black to Black, Blue to bits.

[@briantday]

What model American Rotary 5 HP converter is this? They have several different lines/grades and I’d like to look this one up specifically? Thanks for another great video!

[@brocktechnology]

Learned a few things here, I thought these where obsolete a half a century ago and I thought a peckerhead was the guy that didn't label the wires.

[@opieshomeshop]

LOL. Yeah, already went through that. That was my very first video, wiring up the rotary phase converter. I think american rotary needs to rethink their instructions because they were not clear for me at all. I watched every video I could on youtube and of those, I was able to piece together enough to figure it out. My issue with shipping hasn't been so bad, it's been buying and getting ripped off by machine sellers. The lathe I was promised was in perfect condition and was ready to go. LOL... Took a year to fix everything wrong with it and I have NO change gears at all. That was a company in Oxnard Ca. That was a $6,000.00 nightmare. Then when I bought my bridgeport from a co in mass, was promised it was a perfect machine. UHG! The head needs rebuilt, and I have to send the table in soon to have it ground smooth because its full of damage. They did a flake job on it to make it look like it was great condition, but it has wear and I will need to eventually send the whole machine in to be reground. That was another 6 grand. Then I see people on youtube getting these great deals for near perfect machines for 3 grand....

[@schulzcbs]

When I picked up my surface grinder I had to switch vans three times because of (1) accident by the previous owner before starting the trip (2) not enough AdBlue in the tank of the replacement vehicle---the tank did not recognize the refill, thus new van, and (3) that one made it. I guess surface grinders are kind-of cursed ;-)

[@user-xx2wk6jp5d]

Hi can you please help i have a cross cut saw and need to put in a two way switch so that i can have it running continuously or on the hand button stop&start also i need to put in an emergency stop

[@imark7777777]

I had to pull another wire through some conduit and i couldn't for the life of me remember how long it was. This time I made sure to write down all over the place what the total length was. It makes knowing that if it's 65 feet of conduit and I have 100 feet of cable I'm gonna have X left over on each end. Do yourself a favor you might be the next guy or the next next guy. And if you're ever doing anything with conduit pull an extra string through then when you pull your replacement pull a string with that too.

[@dansupplee4930]

It will be interesting to see how much current will be drawn from each leg of the commercial converter. I have built a lot of these and the The generated leg does not produce full current.

[@steamfan7147]

I once received a pallet and a couple pieces of shrink wrap that weighed 1100lbs according to the BOL 🙄

[@BrorAppelsin]

As someone who lives in a country where 3-phase power is standard, this feels so very convoluted...

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

A necessity for someone with 3 phase a mile from their house and not willing to pay the power company a lot of money to bring it that mile!

[@MrWaalkman]

Oh shut up already. :)

[@topduk]

@@dans_Learning_Curve To bring 3 phase 100 meters I was quoted $13,000 ten years ago, and that didn't include anything past the power company wiring.

[@erik_dk842]

USA reached "good enough" in the 1930's and see no point in changing it to modern standards.

[@fritzmiller9792]

Every home has 3 phase power? What county is that?

[@sys2]

Im sure you already got the tip but buy a kit of double ferrels for when you need to double up cables =) alot nicer to work with than trying to put two in the same screw terminal =)

[@mitchlichtenberg1858]

Any particular reason you chose a rotary as opposed to solid state phase converter? Someday when I upgrade my CNC to one that requires 3-phase I was planning to use a Phase Perfect solid state unit, they appear to be more efficient and will theoretically keep the frequency more stable (important for CNCs, maybe less important for simper motor loads?)

[@TomDetka]

I will probably depend on what you get. My Syil X7 only required a RPC because it has to go through a transformer anyhow to get to the required 380V. The drawback though was I needed a 15hp unit to run a 7.5hp spindle.

[@mitchlichtenberg1858]

@@TomDetka At the risk of taking James' comments way off topic, the upgrade for me would be to a Haas VF2, 30HP, 70A for 3-phase 240V. Goals are faster spindle, larger ATC, so I could also do this with a 15HP Super MM2. That only needs 40A 3phase, so I can do that within a 150A 2-phase budget. Back to James' rotary, in his video it sounded much quieter than I expected. I always thought rotaries were noisy! I shouldn't be too spooked by 3Phase at home.

[@frigzy3748]

I have the Phase Perfect and it's.. well, perfect.

[@VLandrew]

I would use a phase perfect too

[@chucksmalfus9623]

I’ve never had a rotary doing anything to the frequency, I’ve built several in my younger days and had a few commercial ones, they maintained the line frequency that the electric company was supplying. Only ever checked for brief periods though.

[@adammontgomery7980]

You said the incoming 240 volt wires are essentially passed through to the load. They are 180° out of phase, doesn't one of the legs need a phase shift to make them 120° out of phase?

[@junkdubious]

What do you think about liquid electrical tape?

[@Bob_Burton]

I am astonished at how crude those bolted connections wrapped in tape are. Why is there not a terminal block to which the wires are connected ?

[@leslierhorer1412]

There is some variability in how various manufacturers spec their wires, but even so, I would *NEVER* recommend 300V wiring for 240VAC. Even if it is in fact capable of handling 300VAC, 240VAC is just too close for comfort. What's ore, most manufacturers rate their wiring based upon the highest potential difference between conductors. (Three phase wiring sometimes uses a double spec, giving the maximum PD phase to phase and phase to neutral.) A 240VAC line feed experiences a peak conductor - conductor PD of 339.4V, considerably higher than the 300V spec of your lead wire. Don't forget, too, line voltage is subject to spikes, so even that 340 volt number is going to be lower the the actual voltage on occasion. I would definitely go with the 600. Surge suppressors are not a bad idea, either.

[@fritzmiller9792]

Pretty sure that the individual wires in the SJ cord are exactly the same as an S cord. I believe the voltage rating in this particular cable type is based solely on the thickness of the outer rubber jacket and is based on durability only. So as long as the environment is not harsh it seems 240 volts will perform electrically the exact same on SJ cable as it would on S cable.