Post Aw4GKYvYeOP0psRPGK by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
(DIR) More posts by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
(DIR) Post #Aw4D5CUzSPNP4Jzudc by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:23:15Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Electrical assistance please. I have this sub panel and I want to add a 50 dc breaker to run a 180v 40amp motor for my knife grinder. Is it possible? All the breakers in the panel are 15 amp, I believe this panel just covers my garage and maybe the water heater. Will I do damage if I just give it a try. Any assistance is sincerely appreciated.
(DIR) Post #Aw4D8rSLdR8sxrVVXE by blueeyeswhtdrgn@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:27:49Z
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@Centerfinger What is the breaker to the subpanel rated for?
(DIR) Post #Aw4D8sSjtT385MhKme by ThatCrazyDude@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:30:43Z
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@blueeyeswhtdrgn @Centerfinger also, what grinder has 7.2 kilowatt motor? 🤔🤔🤔
(DIR) Post #Aw4DGtNGO6yhEIxTkW by blueeyeswhtdrgn@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:28:35Z
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@Centerfinger is it a DC panel?
(DIR) Post #Aw4DGuNIfSbMKhz1Rg by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:30:58Z
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@blueeyeswhtdrgn I honestly don't know, I didn't think it made a difference I thought you just make both wires hot in the double breaker.
(DIR) Post #Aw4DGv1MGWe0Kwj0sq by ThatCrazyDude@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:32:10Z
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@Centerfinger @blueeyeswhtdrgn you need to know that because if you exceed whatever your installation is fated for, you'll be just tripping a breaker uphill, so te speak
(DIR) Post #Aw4DXcuQrEg35TS6vA by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T19:35:10.057767Z
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First off, a 180v motor isn't really a thing, are you sure it's not a 480v motor?If it's 480v, then it's going to be 3 phase (it'll have 3 hot wires and a ground) and there's no way you're going to run it without an inverter motor controller. The good news is those are not exorbitantly expensive.So give me a picture of the motor data-plate and I'll tell you what you can do...
(DIR) Post #Aw4EH7FssXQoEdB3s8 by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:39:27Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd says 180v on the tag.
(DIR) Post #Aw4EQYgMH7Clu93xr6 by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T19:45:05.886790Z
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Ohkay, that is a weird fuck. No, you cannot connect it to your mains current because mains current is AC.Question: Do you need to be able to control the speed of the motor for your application?
(DIR) Post #Aw4Epqp5xrs7PJD5AO by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:43:22Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd I have this controller.
(DIR) Post #Aw4EuqPcv3hDa5g7VY by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T19:50:34.247087Z
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Okay, so you're not going to be connecting the motor to mains power, you'll be connecting it to the outputs on that controller, and then you'll be connecting the inputs on that controller to a normal 240v or 120v breaker, depending on what it wants. Do you have a picture of the terminals and diagram of the controller ?
(DIR) Post #Aw4EwsAlLUfncTh1pg by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T19:50:56.188402Z
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Normally there's a little wiring diagram cast into the plastic on the back...
(DIR) Post #Aw4F8KoLD2CZcpff60 by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:49:52Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd yes variable speed is crucial. Last time I had this machine hooked up I ran it off my pool motor sub panel.
(DIR) Post #Aw4FFwKY6wpE17MXBo by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T19:54:23.157161Z
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Yeah, get me whatever you can off of your controller, it should actually say what power input it requires...
(DIR) Post #Aw4FacxtJ42M2Nd3Uu by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T19:57:23Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd yes is correct. I'll get more data from the controller.
(DIR) Post #Aw4GHn6xSVK1xQS59U by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T20:03:31Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd I found a PDF with the controllers details. I think these pages are what's is relevant. It appears that the controller will work both with 110 & 220.
(DIR) Post #Aw4GKYvYeOP0psRPGK by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T20:06:25.447321Z
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Do you have the model number?It looks like if the 3rd digit is 1, it's 120, 2 = 240, 3 = selectable by a switch...
(DIR) Post #Aw4HGiA4Tb2WGpxOsq by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T20:16:58Z
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@ThatCrazyDude @blueeyeswhtdrgn this one, basically a humongous belt sander.
(DIR) Post #Aw4J0cjV5kSci1z9ua by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T20:31:22Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd I'm sure this is the model number MM23201A
(DIR) Post #Aw4JDtysH8lpy2VYdU by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T20:38:50.148508Z
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Okay, so you should find a 120/240 selector switch, do yourself a favor and put it to 120, get a stretch of power cord and a cord cap from the store, and hook up the hot/neutral/ground and then make sure the field and armature wires are hooked to the motor appropriately. The amp load is like 3 amps, so you can plug it in anywhere, no concerns.Side note: What you read as 40 amps on the motor was actually maximum ambient temperature, 40C (104F). The motor's max amperage is 7.5, but it'll never see that.
(DIR) Post #Aw4Kl17ypAwrdx7b2O by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T20:45:52Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd awesome, thank you!
(DIR) Post #Aw4M4cgHWhM7ZL4vMu by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-12T21:00:11Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd is this the selector switch you're thinking? A search turns up all kinds of items.
(DIR) Post #Aw4M4dOarwnjmloJRA by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-12T21:10:45.709880Z
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It's more likely to look something like this and it will be found somewhere inside or on the edge of the motor controller.Alternatively, it's possible that it's based on connecting 2 of the wires that come out of the controller together, in which case you just need to dig into the documentation for the controller to find out which ones.DO NOT SKIP THIS PART, you need to make sure it's on the right voltage. 120 when it should be 240, or 240 when it should be 120 can both fry the controller.
(DIR) Post #Aw5KVtvdVDeW886FQe by SIrLongTheGood@noauthority.social
2025-07-13T03:12:08Z
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@Centerfinger @cjd I know I coming in on this late but something is not adding up for me. The spec sheet on the control says 1/20 to 1/8th horsepower (HP) motor and the motor name plate says 1.5HP. Give the questions Centerfinger is asking, my recommendation is he find/hire someone with experience in these things. Electricity can kill and it will hurt the whole time.
(DIR) Post #Aw5MTJR6PSEaHPi9z6 by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-13T08:49:56.821547Z
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My understanding is that controller came with the machine, so it's been used that way before. In any case, a correctly wired but under-sized controller is going to trip an overload, or at worst, burn out.> Electricity can killThis is true, but what kills is having an ungrounded chassis which somehow becomes hot. If you're wiring anything and you're at all worried about your grounding, take a 5$ multimeter and do a continuity check between the chassis and the ground pin on your plug. If those are not connected, fix your grounds.With good grounds, the worst* that can happen is you plug it in and you get a spark and a tripped breaker.*I'm well aware of fundamentally dangerous electrical devices like magnetrons, capacitors, high voltage circuits, etc. But this isn't that.
(DIR) Post #Aw5wEZXJrbTYDhtEIK by SIrLongTheGood@noauthority.social
2025-07-13T14:00:31Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd CJD, not trying to get into an argument with you. What kills you is current flowing thru your body. A live chassis is just one way. The questions @Centerfinger is asking and the information he is providing indicate he is in over his head. Not my house not me life. He is free to do what he wants.
(DIR) Post #Aw5ye8LZm8w7KaiHuC by cjd@pkteerium.xyz
2025-07-13T15:57:41.437954Z
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You're right in general, but there are so many cases where the safest advice is "seek a qualified professional", and I generally assume that if someone is asking online then this is already not a realistic option for them.So yeah, if he took your advice to heart and hired a professional, that would be better. But if he said "damn internet people are so unhelpful, I think I'll just wire it up and see what happens", then my advice is better than that.
(DIR) Post #Aw61d9SGTF9cL946PA by SIrLongTheGood@noauthority.social
2025-07-13T16:24:48Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cjd @Centerfinger I'm a DIYer and do lots of things that a "professional" should be doing. I am also happy to provide advice/perspective. Asking about adding a DC breaker for a 180V DC motor to 240V subpanel set off alarm bells for me. I have a close friend who is all thumbs, I would never recommend he do any electrical work himself. On the other hand, I have coached his brother thru things. Unfortunately on the Internet we really don't know the ability of the other person.
(DIR) Post #Aw6cWgc0UX4JS5P0c4 by Centerfinger@noauthority.social
2025-07-13T18:04:10Z
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@cjd @SIrLongTheGood the controller has been used with the motor for many, many years without issue. I'm looking into a different motor, but I doubt it will be as good as the leeson. I didn't think adding a double breaker with two hots and a ground wired 10' to the 220 outlet would be that difficult, but I'm far from an expert.
(DIR) Post #Aw6cWhsLnFjhN43Zj6 by SIrLongTheGood@noauthority.social
2025-07-13T21:54:42Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Centerfinger @cjd Centerfinger, No, it's not that difficult if you've do it before. Do you have a friend that's done electrical work before that could help you do it? The controller is probable OK if it's been working for years. It's just the spec sheet screenshot from your phone is off by a factor of 10. Probably the wrong spec sheet.Be careful and Good luck