Current, Breaker Size, and Phase Perfect Choice for 7.5HP Felder Jointer / Planer

[Alan Lightstone]

Three phase power gets out of my comfort zone, so here's a couple of questions I'd love for for knowledgeable people to answer:

I have on order a Felder 7.5HP Jointer, 7.5HP Planer, and a 5HP bandsaw. All 220V, 3-Phase. Their brochures don't state the current they draw, or recommended breaker sizes.

My present plan is to have a Phase Perfect Converter installed.

I'm a single man operation, and there won't be any situations where two of those machines are used simultaneously.

1.) How much current does a 7.5HP jointer draw?
2.) What size Phase Perfect converter will I need? 10HP? 20HP, 30HP? I'm not sure you have to overrate these like you have to with other types of converters (VFDs, rotary converters, etc...)
3.) What size circuit breaker in the panel will these tools require? (Phase Perfect says 60-70amp breakers for their 10HP unit, and 110-125 amp breaker for their 20HP unit). Seems huge to me.

Do you put each unit on a separate circuit with a separate run to each machine after the Phase Perfect, or just use a common line with separate outlets for all of them?

Sorry for all the questions, but can't get my head around 3-phase power requirements.

[Travis Porter]

It depends on the motor as to the specific current draw. Lower quality motors draw more current especially at start up. Felder makes good stuff. I think I used a 30 amp circuit on my saw/shaper.

I have a Felder saw/shaper combo, a 7.5hp Invicta jointer, and a 10 hp wide belt with a Chinese motor and I have a 20hp phase perfect. I feel sure I could have gotten by with a 10 in retrospect, but at the time I thought I might buy something else which I may do at some point. Never know what you might find...

i can run all the machines simultaneously with no issues.

Overall, I have been very happy with the phase perfect, but it does make some noise. Kind of a high pitched arcing/crackling. The fans kick in occasionally as well. Still much quieter than a rotary.

i believe I put a 100 amp circuit in for mine. I figured if it tripped I would upgrade wiring and breakers, but it has never tripped to date. I like being able to run multiple machines at once for those instances where you need to do something quick and I have had all 3 on at once. I wired mine into a contractor controlled by a 110v WiFi receptacle and then into a 3 phase panel I bought new on eBay. The panel and breakers were very well priced.

On my first set up with a rotary i looped all the wiring, and it worked, but it was aggravating. Getting all those wires into a receptacle and pushed in a box was hard. When I added a machine I had to loop to the next... I like home run wiring.

to give a little perspective, I ran the 10hp wide belt off of a Kay 5.5 rotary and only rarely did I trip the breaker. Conversely, I have a friend with a 10 hp 24 inch planer that would not start with a 7.5hp Kay converter. I would have figured it would have been me with the issue, but you never know.

best wishes

[Bill Dufour]

What voltages in and out? I assume 240 single phase input. Easy way is to look up single phase amps and add a few percent to allow for loss in the Phase perfect. One Hp is about 8 single phase amps at 240 volts.
the three phase amps is reduced since it is spread over three load wires instead of two.

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/elctrical-motor-full-load-current-d_1499.html

or for a explantaion along with a chart go here

http://www.northamericaphaseconverte...-phase-motors/

[Alan Lightstone]

Thanks for the info, Travis. Perhaps I'll get the outdoor enclosure and have it installed outdoors. That would take care of the noise issue.

There is a cost advantage, and standby consumption advantage to going with the 10HP unit (100W vs 240W, which isn't nothing (1226KwH per year, or about $172/yr in vampire current costs). I can't imagine using two of the machines at once, although, I guess, you never know.

I usually like home run wiring too, but I can see that fitting three cables into a box could get interesting. What size wiring does that current require? 8ga?

Actually, I looked, the unit can be configured with a low voltage on/off switch when not in use, so the standby consumption is a non-issue. Interesting.

[Alan Lightstone]

What voltages in and out? I assume 240 single phase input. Easy way is to look up single phase amps and add a few percent to allow for loss in the Phase perfect. One Hp is about 8 single phase amps at 240 volts.
the three phase amps is reduced since it is spread over three load wires instead of two.

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/elctrical-motor-full-load-current-d_1499.html

or for a explantaion along with a chart go here

http://www.northamericaphaseconverte...-phase-motors/

240V in and out, you are correct. It looks like when I look online, the motor should draw approximately 22 amps. Does that sound correct?

[Tom Bain]

Out of curiosity, what is the rough price range for a 10HP phase perfect converter? I’ve been looking at rotary converters but like the idea of a quieter and more efficient solution.

[Travis Porter]

I ran 10 gauge 30 amps to my saw and jointer.

Tom, I believe a 10 hp is in the $3k range so it is a lot more than a rotary. The rotary works, just the noise drove me nuts. You turn your machine off and you still have that loud aggravating noise.... it took me over two years to bite the bullet. I remember Rick Fisher posting his set up here and drooling over it.... it only hurts once...