New rotary converter

[mf294-4]

Just got my rotary converter going. Got a control box from Wny off of Ebay. Had a old 5hp motor that weighs about 100lbs. Control box works ok but quality lacks a little. Here is some of my readings. No load A-C 239v ,A-B 238v , B-C 252v A 4.46 amp, B 8 amp, C 7.41 amp. With the 3hp motor turned on and no load on the mill here are my readings. A-C 240v, A-B 225, B-C 230v with A 12 amp, B7.45amp, C 14.21 amp. Do those readings seem reasonable, or do I need to do some tweaking?

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I have heard complaints about the noise a converter makes but I changed the bearings in mine because it set outside for years and my fan makes more noise. You could prepare to leave the shop and not realize it is on.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

yes, i would tweak your RPC with capacitors to bring up the low leg.
it's pretty simple to do, i can help if you need it.
mike

 

[mf294-4]

What is the first step? What value of caps? I assume check it under load. Light or heavy load?

 

[Ulma Doctor]

If you can check it loaded that would be helpful but not a deal breaker.
there is one of 2 ways you can go,
you could buy 2 capacitors and connect one hot leg to low leg,
the other hot leg to the other capacitor and also join with the low leg.

or

a dual capacitor 40/15 UF air conditioning capacitor (oil filled) even a 30/15 UF would suffice to balance better
to hook up , you put the low leg on 40 and the high legs on 15 and BaddaBing you'll instantly notice a change in sound.
your voltages should be a lot closer...

now keep in mind that you may need to isolate this capacitor from the RPC's starting circuit,
or you may need to isolate the generated leg from the starting circuit with a momentary switch.
the start circuit may have a larger capacitor that will dump it's charge into the entire system every time a motor starts, if left in circuit.