question and drive by gloat

Errh, I take it you ran a 220 volt line to your shop? Did you measure the actual voltage across the outlet to insure you haven't just wired one leg of the circuit (i.e., 110 v) to the lathe? It might require three phase power to the motor and you might need a box to convert the 220 two phase to three phase -- unless it is built into the lathe somehow? No expert, just some questions after doing the same thing myself. I'm sure some 'lectricians will chime in! Congratulations on your new lathe. Did you get "The World-famous Turner to autograph it for you? *G*

Leif

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Hi Alex:

First some questions.

You said that you wired the black and the white wire to the outlet. Where do those two wires connect at the panel?

You said that you bought a 220V 30 amp circuit breaker.

What is the Amperage rating of the Vicmark? 30 amps or 20 Amps. If it is 30 amps, you should be running #10 wire. #12 is only rated at 20 Amps

Also, if you are going to use black and white wire, you need to tape with black tape at least 6" up the white insulation, so that people know that the white wire is HOT (Energized)

Now for the Important one. If you have wired the white wire to the bar where all your other white wires go, you are feeding the Vicmark with

120V NOT 220 Volt. This can damage the motor. The two wires go> >I have a question about my new Vicmarc VL300 (that I bought for $1500

Alex, you should either change your breaker to a 20 amp one or change your wire to 10 gauge. 12 gauge wire is only rated for 20 amps. It isn't safe on a 30 amp circuit. It could melt before the breaker trips.

No 2 hp motor requires 30 amps -- 7 or 8 is more like it. I think that a 15 or 20 amp c/b is about as small as they go for 220. I'm guessing, along with the others, that you have run 110.

Also, I hope that there is a third wire -- a ground running to the panel. If not, hire an electrician -- you could kill yourself.

I assume that you do not have a vfd on the motor and that it is a 2 hp single phase motor. A dumb question -- when running at low speed are you running on the low speed pulley? Use the smallest on the motor and the largest on the spindle.

Bill

Dan wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Both the black and white wire are attached to the circuit breaker and only the ground is attached to the ground bar in the box. From all the replys, it seems that I am using either the wrong size wire or the wrong breaker. The voltage to the outlet is

220v. I am using the middle pulley on the motor and spindle. The Vicmarc does have a variable speed control but it doesn't go all the way to zero the way my delta 1642 does.

thanks again...Alex

IIRC you have a relatives short run on this line. If so, I would

1) agree with others that say you should not have a breaker larger than 20A with the #12 wiring, and

2) agree with those who say that with a 2hp motor you don't need more than 20A protection/wiring.

Okay, we know you've got the wiring/outlet configured correctly for the voltage. Presumably it's also properly grounded. Necessary for safety, but not to power the motor.

I have NO experience with 3-phase motors and don't know if one would rotate at all being hooked up to single phase 220. I'm trying to get a handle on your primary problem, i.e. being able to stop the rotation at low speeds. That just doesn't compute with a 2HP motor.

Are your belts tight? Are you sure you have a single phase vs. 3 phase motor? If the answer to these two questions are "yes" then I can only suspect you have defective motor.

"Bill Rubenstein" wrote: (clip) I assume that you do not have a vfd on the motor and that it is a 2 hp single phase motor. A dumb question -- when running at low speed are you running on the low speed pulley? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Listen to Bill, Alex--he is the current US distributor of Stubby lathes, which use a single phase 220v power supply to run a variable speed 3 phase drive. he is the DESIGNER of that drive on the current US Stubby model.

Bill, let me point out that the OP has stated that he is NOT using the lowest speed pulley combination, so your advice to step down the drive ratio may be the only advice needed. I believe he has also stated that it IS a variable speed drive, but was not specific as to the type. Some of them, particularly the ones that use a DC motor, become wimpy at low speed.

Leo:

I guess that I missed part of the thread -- can somebody be specific about what exactly the motor is? Is there a variable speed controller? Is it AC or DC?

Bill

Leo Lichtman wrote:

Congratulations on your Vic 300! Mine is also going very slow on the lowest speed. The book says 40 rpm, which is one turn every 1,5seconds, but mine tics over (not entirely evenly) at a speed maybe half of that, and I am sure the electronics can be set to 0 rpm as a bottom point if you so want.

I think that you have a fair setup, if the lathe otherwise works within reasonable tolerances of what you'd expect, I think all is well. (Well, maybe ekscept some wire-thickness which I would not understand in the least, being european and mm-user.)

I used to run a Record lathe, and apart from all other good things about the Vic, I now enjoy listening to classical music while turning:-) I SAID, I NOW LISTEN TO ... oh well, they probably cannot hear me:-)

Bjarte

You seem to have 220 volts AC at the outlet. You stated that you do hav

a variable speed controller. There are both AC and DC controllers an motors. If your motor needs DC current the control box does th conversion for you. Some of these motor / controller combinations don' have a lot of power at very low rpms. If you move your belt so it is o the smallest motor pulley and the largest lathe pulley it should hel the situation. You can then run the motor at higher rpms and still ge the low rpms on the lathe. I have an older nova 3000 with a dc variabl speed motor. To get power at very low rpms I have to use the low pulle setting. Can you ask the person you bought the lathe from how it worke for him? Also the DC motor / controller combinations tend to hum at lo rpms. To

Thanks for the reply Bill. I don't know much about these things. It is an electronic variable speed and a 220v 2hp motor. thats all I know. I do know that it's the motor thate came standard with the Vicmarc back in 1997 when it was built. Maybe someone smarter than me knows.

Alex

Read the plate on the motor. Or, is it not possible to do that -- I can't remember how it is mounted in that machine. If you can, it should have enough information for us to figure it out.

Also, if you can get a manufacturer and model number off the controller, that should help us.

In any event, using a variable speed motor doesn't mean that belt changes can go away completely. Go to the high torque pulley and things will be better for you.

And, another thought comes to mind -- are you stopping the motor or does the motor continue to run and the you are causing the belt to slip?

I'm guessing that it is a dc motor.

Bill

Alex wrote:

Bill,

Just for rcw archives and my confusion re HP and what it is, whether from dray horses or thorobreds, would you explain the differences between calculated HP, advertised- nameplate HP, brake HP and any other HP. I think that motor speed is involved in the first two, regardless of pulley ratios. At least some drills etc. when run at usable speeds don't seem to provide the HP the makers advertised. Maybe there is "useful HP" ?

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

Arch:

If I'm the 'Bill'...

I'm the wrong person to answer the question. I know of at least one EE named Bill who is active here and I suspect that he could do a much better job of it.

I do know that in consumer products, the HP ratings of tools and their motors have been massively overstated almost forever. They have used terms such as peak hp -- usually double what the motor is capable of on a sustained basis.

Consumer level compressors have been overrated for years but now I think that the industry has finally decided to label them closer to reality. Also, when you see the term 'compressor duty' on a motor, that is more negative than positive. The motor cannot run continuously without overheating.

The same goes for auto and truck engines -- some manufacturers have been overstating the developed hp for years and there are no laws with teeth in them to change the situation. Truth in advertising? Bah!

Anyway, Bill N (or some other EE), why don't you jump in here.

Bill

Arch wrote: