208 - 230 volt motor

[shefagim]

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine would like me to wire a motor for him at his shop. He had purchased the motor and the housing (blower unit) at a salvage place. It appears to have come from an HVAC unit, where the motor is attached to squirrel cage fan unit, and the housing unit is designed to draw air from one side and to blow air out to the other side.

The specs on the motor are as follows: 208 - 230 v motor; 1 phase; permanent split capacitor motor ( run capacitor ); FLA = 1.7 amps; 60hz; 825 RPM.

My question is this: there are three wires to hook up. Black, white, and green. On the Name plate it states the following L1 = Black - Hot, and L2 = White - Common.

When I first saw the motor, I thought that it was a standard 120 volt motor, because of the black and white wires. However, the 208 volt rating on the name plate threw me off? He has three other motors, of the same model, and again it has black and white wires for 208 v. Other 208 v motors that I have dealt with have red and black wires, instead of black and white

I have wired the motor to 120v to test it out and the motor does work, It draws approx 1.2 amps. I don't have a tach to see the RPM spped.

He also has a 120/208 volt panel. I am tempted to try 208 volts on it, but I figured to ask, before I proceed.

Thanking you in advance.

 

[buddhakii]

If the nameplate says 208v then I would hook it up to 208. I would bet your rpm's were pretty low when you had it hooked to 120v. I could hook a lot of stuff up improperly and it would still work. Definately hook it to 208 and you will have no problem. If someone has rewired the motor without you knowing you are not at fault. You hooked it up per the U.L. listing.

 

[Jraef]

If the nameplate says 208v then I would hook it up to 208. I would bet your rpm's were pretty low when you had it hooked to 120v. I could hook a lot of stuff up improperly and it would still work. Definately hook it to 208 and you will have no problem. If someone has rewired the motor without you knowing you are not at fault. You hooked it up per the U.L. listing.

That's right, although if there was no load connected to it, it will likely spin the correct speed, because speed is a function of frequency, not voltage on an AC motor. But the fact that it was pulling 1.2A with no load connected to it fits that scenario as well and as soon as you connect a load, THEN it will slow down and the current will jump, causing an overload.

 

[LarryFine]

Shef, welcome to the forum. :smile:

Yes, despite the wire colors, you go by the nameplate. Those are normal colors for motors. If it helps, color the white wire with a Sharpie.