how big can I go on a wide belt sander with my 60amp supply?

[Albert Lee]

I am getting 3 phase power installed to my property, currently I am on single phase and the fuse is 60amp for the entire house, the power here is single phase 230v 50hz.

I use natural gas for cooking and hot shower, I dont have any electrical equipment in the house that draws a lot of current.

I will have a Dantherm S500 5hp dust collection installed and connected to the 3 phase, this is a 4kw unit.

as I only have 60amp supply, what total kw can I have on the wide belt sander? under 15kw total?

If a machine spec says its 230v @50amp, is this too much for my system?

Thank you all for reading.

[Steve Jenkins]

If you are getting 3 phase service installed you will need a new panel so why not upgrade to at least a 200 amp panel?

[David Kumm]

Are you saying you will have 60 amps on all three legs and not using a converter on your existing single phase service? Even so, widebelts to be useful need at least 10 hp or 20 amps in addition to your 13 amp DC. A 10 hp WB is pretty limited and generally only found on 24" machines. 37" usually run a 20 hp motor. If you can increase the amps you will be happy for life. Dave

[Rick Fisher]

60 amps of 220V PH-3 is enough to run most 20hp motors but you will be tapped out at 20hp ..

A 25" wide belt will range from 7.5hp - 12hp..

FYI .. I have a 4hp Dust collector, 5hp compressor and a 12hp Wide Belt.

My home has a 200amp supply and with the two smaller machines running .. when I fire up the 12hp motor, the lights dim in the house.

[Albert Lee]

Are you saying you will have 60 amps on all three legs and not using a converter on your existing single phase service? Even so, widebelts to be useful need at least 10 hp or 20 amps in addition to your 13 amp DC. A 10 hp WB is pretty limited and generally only found on 24" machines. 37" usually run a 20 hp motor. If you can increase the amps you will be happy for life. Dave

yeah the power company said they can install 60amp per phase for me. my electrician said the max I can go to is probably a 20amp machine. 20amp is not a lot for a WBS... I can spend a bit of money and get it upgraded to 100amp per phase. but need to find out from the power company. just to get the 3 phase from the street to the MSB and necessary bits and pieces will cost in the vicinity of $3000USD.

[Albert Lee]

hmm... looks like I either need to upgrade the amp to 100amp+ or go to a commercial site. thanks for the info.

[Ken Garland]

60 amps of 220V PH-3 is enough to run most 20hp motors but you will be tapped out at 20hp ..

A 25" wide belt will range from 7.5hp - 12hp..

FYI .. I have a 4hp Dust collector, 5hp compressor and a 12hp Wide Belt.

My home has a 200amp supply and with the two smaller machines running .. when I fire up the 12hp motor, the lights dim in the house.

So what could one do to remedy something like that? I too get dim lights when I kick on multiple units in my shop. Can you get more amperage supplied from the electric company?

[Albert Lee]

So what could one do to remedy something like that? I too get dim lights when I kick on multiple units in my shop. Can you get more amperage supplied from the electric company?

the power/grid company probably need to upgrade the cabling from the transformer to your house, this is how power company do it here in New Zealand I am told, maybe different in the States.

[Leo Graywacz]

My buddy has a 15HP 36" widebelt. It'll draw about 35 amps on each phase at full load. 20HP would be about 45 amps

[Wade Lippman]

Bear in mind you have to be able to start it. Make sure you have the capacity for that.

[David Kumm]

Bear in mind you have to be able to start it. Make sure you have the capacity for that.

Or put a soft start on it. Dave

[Jim Neeley]

Albert,

I don't know about there but running 3 phase to a house is an expensive upgrade from the single phase we normally use for house power. They not only want us to pay the install but they also want a monthly service charge for each feed.

If you already have 230V, 200A service to the house you might want to price out installing a VSD (VFD) to give you the 3-phase power for the big sander; variable speed comes for "free". The VSD box will input single phase and output 3-phase and (for max size) if you were to provide it availability of the full 200A breaker you'd end up with something over 100A in 3 phase power available at 230V with no new-line charge or monthly fee (beyond paying for the electricity, of course).

Before spending thousands on an upgrade I'd recommend you buy 1 hours time from a professional electrical engineer knowledgeable in your local code, rules and regulation requirements as I can only speak to service in Alaska. It might just be the best $100 you spend.

Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

Jim in Alaska