3 phase equipment.
Discussion
Really don’t see why or even if you could buy and run a 3 phase mig welder and run it off an inverter. 190a single phase mig will weld thick box section and thick (10mm + ) plate easily - can’t imagine what would need anything more for home/hobby use.
You state your main breaker in the garage is 64A - I suspect that’s the rating of the switch itself and bears little to the capacity of the SWA feeding the sub consumer unit in the garage.
To get a better idea - inspect the rating of the MCB on the other end of the swa in your main consumer unit.
I run a very large old miller tig welder, which can be 3 or single phase . Using it in single phase mode means that it pulls 50-60amps when it’s on it’s mid 200amp range. That required a dedicated consumer via henry blocks to splice of the main incomer before even hitting the domestic consumer for the house.
You state your main breaker in the garage is 64A - I suspect that’s the rating of the switch itself and bears little to the capacity of the SWA feeding the sub consumer unit in the garage.
To get a better idea - inspect the rating of the MCB on the other end of the swa in your main consumer unit.
I run a very large old miller tig welder, which can be 3 or single phase . Using it in single phase mode means that it pulls 50-60amps when it’s on it’s mid 200amp range. That required a dedicated consumer via henry blocks to splice of the main incomer before even hitting the domestic consumer for the house.
eliot said:
Really don’t see why or even if you could buy and run a 3 phase mig welder and run it off an inverter. 190a single phase mig will weld thick box section and thick (10mm + ) plate easily - can’t imagine what would need anything more for home/hobby use.
You state your main breaker in the garage is 64A - I suspect that’s the rating of the switch itself and bears little to the capacity of the SWA feeding the sub consumer unit in the garage.
To get a better idea - inspect the rating of the MCB on the other end of the swa in your main consumer unit.
I run a very large old miller tig welder, which can be 3 or single phase . Using it in single phase mode means that it pulls 50-60amps when it’s on it’s mid 200amp range. That required a dedicated consumer via henry blocks to splice of the main incomer before even hitting the domestic consumer for the house.
Not sure about the welder, but a 180amp won’t run off 13amp plug so I was thinking 3 phase might be easier? My 160 amp stick welder ‘nearly’ runs off 13 amp, but blows the plug fuse on a full power run more than an inch or so. You state your main breaker in the garage is 64A - I suspect that’s the rating of the switch itself and bears little to the capacity of the SWA feeding the sub consumer unit in the garage.
To get a better idea - inspect the rating of the MCB on the other end of the swa in your main consumer unit.
I run a very large old miller tig welder, which can be 3 or single phase . Using it in single phase mode means that it pulls 50-60amps when it’s on it’s mid 200amp range. That required a dedicated consumer via henry blocks to splice of the main incomer before even hitting the domestic consumer for the house.
The garage was wired to the obligatory Part P b
ks, so I assume the sparky would not be allowed to fit a 64amp breaker unless the supply wiring was suitably mahoosive. I don’t recall exactly what we did when we installed it all, but I’m sure a dedicated wire runs direct to the incoming house supply.I’d much prefer a simple single phase lathe, but this one seemed perfect for what I wanted....until the price soared anyway.
alabbasi said:
There are two types of inverters , the simple capacitor type and the rotary phase which is has a motor attached to it. I bought the simple type to run an old 4 post lift and it sucked.In hindsight, it was too much hassle to deal with and i ended up selling the lift.
If you don't have 3 phase running to the house, I'd try to find a single phase lathe. It's a lot more aggro than you think.
Those are more commonly known as "converters". An inverter takes single phase in and puts out 220vac three phase using digital electronics. They are way better than converters.If you don't have 3 phase running to the house, I'd try to find a single phase lathe. It's a lot more aggro than you think.
KH, a three phase lathe is a much nicer machine to use than single phase machines. A modern digital inverter means that you can do all the controls at 24vdc using small relays. There is the added bonus of speed control often up to 120Hz (if your equipment will live safely at these speeds!). It's no aggro at all.
These days inverter welders are becoming easy and cheap(ish) to buy and will allow 200A from a 16A supply.
Morrisboy said:
Those are more commonly known as "converters". An inverter takes single phase in and puts out 220vac three phase using digital electronics. They are way better than converters.
KH, a three phase lathe is a much nicer machine to use than single phase machines. A modern digital inverter means that you can do all the controls at 24vdc using small relays. There is the added bonus of speed control often up to 120Hz (if your equipment will live safely at these speeds!). It's no aggro at all.
These days inverter welders are becoming easy and cheap(ish) to buy and will allow 200A from a 16A supply.
Having used all, I stand by a rotary phase converter, especially if you've more than one bit of kit to use. KH, a three phase lathe is a much nicer machine to use than single phase machines. A modern digital inverter means that you can do all the controls at 24vdc using small relays. There is the added bonus of speed control often up to 120Hz (if your equipment will live safely at these speeds!). It's no aggro at all.
These days inverter welders are becoming easy and cheap(ish) to buy and will allow 200A from a 16A supply.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-HP-DIGITAL-240V-to-41...
Might be worth a look.
Also a bloke called 'doubleboost' on youTube. Do a google search for 'doubleboost mill inverter' - you should get a step by step view of what he did for his mill. From memory (youTube blocked at work) he used on from these guys:
http://www.newton-tesla.co.uk/
I am in the same situation - I used to have 3 phase at our old house. Now my Colchester Student lathe is a very heavy ornament since I only have single phase in this house.
Might be worth a look.
Also a bloke called 'doubleboost' on youTube. Do a google search for 'doubleboost mill inverter' - you should get a step by step view of what he did for his mill. From memory (youTube blocked at work) he used on from these guys:
http://www.newton-tesla.co.uk/
I am in the same situation - I used to have 3 phase at our old house. Now my Colchester Student lathe is a very heavy ornament since I only have single phase in this house.
I run a Harrison CNC280 lathe from a rotary converter. Not tried any of the other ways of getting three phase but can confirm that it works well.
ETA don't forget the cost of tooling, three and four jaw chucks, tailstock chucks, fixed and travelling steadies, tool holders, cutting tools and a grinder all add up and can easily double the cost of a cheap lathe.
ETA don't forget the cost of tooling, three and four jaw chucks, tailstock chucks, fixed and travelling steadies, tool holders, cutting tools and a grinder all add up and can easily double the cost of a cheap lathe.
Edited by spikeyhead on Monday 8th January 18:18
King Herald said:
Not sure about the welder, but a 180amp won’t run off 13amp plug so I was thinking 3 phase might be easier? My 160 amp stick welder ‘nearly’ runs off 13 amp, but blows the plug fuse on a full power run more than an inch or so.
The garage was wired to the obligatory Part P bks, so I assume the sparky would not be allowed to fit a 64amp breaker unless the supply wiring was suitably mahoosive. I don’t recall exactly what we did when we installed it all, but I’m sure a dedicated wire runs direct to the incoming house supply.
I’d much prefer a simple single phase lathe, but this one seemed perfect for what I wanted....until the price soared anyway.
Are you really sure your garage is run from a 64amp breaker in your consumer unit or are you reading 64amps from the red switch on the consumer unit in the garage?. A 64amp circuit into the garage would be on very thick 10 or 16mm armoured cable - it's significant, costly and not typicaly run into a domestic garage unless specifically requested.The garage was wired to the obligatory Part P b
ks, so I assume the sparky would not be allowed to fit a 64amp breaker unless the supply wiring was suitably mahoosive. I don’t recall exactly what we did when we installed it all, but I’m sure a dedicated wire runs direct to the incoming house supply.I’d much prefer a simple single phase lathe, but this one seemed perfect for what I wanted....until the price soared anyway.
The 180A mig will need a 16 amp commando socket fitting of it's own a 16Amp mcb, from your garage consume - which is a fraction of the cost and hassle of messing with 3 phase.
eliot said:
Are you really sure your garage is run from a 64amp breaker in your consumer unit or are you reading 64amps from the red switch on the consumer unit in the garage?. A 64amp circuit into the garage would be on very thick 10 or 16mm armoured cable - it's significant, costly and not typicaly run into a domestic garage unless specifically requested.
The 180A mig will need a 16 amp commando socket fitting of it's own a 16Amp mcb, from your garage consume - which is a fraction of the cost and hassle of messing with 3 phase.
Well, I’m not positive about the amperage, but I did run a fairly fat SWA cable out there when I built the garage. I shall check into it more. The 180A mig will need a 16 amp commando socket fitting of it's own a 16Amp mcb, from your garage consume - which is a fraction of the cost and hassle of messing with 3 phase.
spikeyhead said:
I run a Harrison CNC280 lathe from a rotary converter. Not tried any of the other ways of getting three phase but can confirm that it works well.
ETA don't forget the cost of tooling, three and four jaw chucks, tailstock chucks, fixed and travelling steadies, tool holders, cutting tools and a grinder all add up and can easily double the cost of a cheap lathe.
The lathe I have/had my eye on comes with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, face plate etc. I have my own bench grinder already. Plus I still have a whole bunch of tools, HSS stock, drills, morse tapers, centres etc from my old machine shop days 30 years ago.ETA don't forget the cost of tooling, three and four jaw chucks, tailstock chucks, fixed and travelling steadies, tool holders, cutting tools and a grinder all add up and can easily double the cost of a cheap lathe.
S6PNJ said:
If you are still looking for a cheap 3 phase converter, I stumbled cross this link today which gives instructions on building your own! Beware - it's an american site so some things might be different.
Sounds interesting, I shall check it out. ETA I’ve just checked it out, too high tech for my simple brain, unfortunately. I meant to pop back and say that I got beat on the auction, the lathe went for nearly double what I had budgeted. It was a Colchester Major, lovely piece of kit with taper turning, screw cutting, collets, the lot.
I shall keep my ear to the ground, see if anything of interest pops up.
Edited by King Herald on Saturday 20th January 21:47
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