I have been studying this sort of thing for a few years, and I have watched other engineering and machining channels. I learned more in 5 minutes of your channel than ALL of the other channels in YEARS! You are a gifted teacher, thank you Jeremy.
Amen, Amen and AMEN! This man KNOWS how to turn a high tech subject to a "piece of cake". Any technical school would be a fool not to hire this man YESTERDAY. He is a treasure for sure. May Jesus continue to gift him with knowledge that can be taught easily to the masses.
Jeremy, this is possibly the finest, best demonstrated video I've seen on the subject of "Is it possible to change a motor's speed with a dimmer switch, etc." I give you a hearty two thumbs up!!
Jeremy, May I add to the applause given by so many others. I have been trawling the internet for knowledge on AC motors and their control and operation, 10 minutes with you has been a revelation! I also watched some of your other videos. You are a great tutor. Thank you. You deserve more recognition.
Thanks, man! Sometimes you find EXACTLY what you were searching for on RUclips and for me, this is one of those moments. Your video saved me a LOT of time, headache and money. Keep up the great work 👍
Thank you for all you do here brother, you’re an amazing engineer and a gifted teacher. It’s my opinion that for many of us fortunate enough to possess “the gift” of “innate understanding” we often times forget to appreciate this skill and remember to use it to help others find what some are gifted with. It’s not always easy to do for the “hyper analytical”, and technical mind. So I thank you for reminding me it should always be shared, I salute you sir, you win at life man. 07
Your never to old to learn... You have just schooled me! I honestly didn't know how they were controlling the speed on induction motors! Outstanding video! 👍😁
U DA MAN!! Thanks Jeremy that really clears up all my misunderstanding about speed control, VFD and induction motors. I now realize ALL my issues and what I can and cannot do. These edu vids are greatly appreciated
You explain the process that you went through to get the results that you did. That's why your videos are so good for the common person. You don't just tell us what to do, you show how you reached each point of the process. Thanks Jeremy and keep up the good work.
Great vids Jeremy. Just one comment I would like to make is, it would be great to see the volts and amps ( and possibly even Hz and rpm also) in real time in some of these videos as well for added perspective of what is actually happening in the circuits. Love your stuff, keep it up, very educational.
Man! What are you? An engineer? You are so well informed and speak so intelligently and have your demonstrations so well organized! Thank You! I am an electrician and love the re-view. I am sure I have forgotten a lot. Excellent work and please continue.
I've spent countless hours reading, looking at diagrams and formulas only to feel like I grasped a tiny portion and still not completely understanding why certain things work and don't. You have taught me more in 20 minutes than I've learned in hours of reading. That router speed controller in the exact one I was trying and left confused why it wouldn't work. Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Jeremy you are the current day Tony Stark lab workings. Your videos have taken the guessing game out of a complex working motor and enabled others to quickly understand . Thanks for your help.
Within seconds I realised you are a smart cookie who actually knows what you're talking about. That's rare on RUclips. I didn't need to see another video, insta-subscribed!
It's important to note that when you slow the motor down you also lose power. The torque on the rotor is determined by the strength of the magnetic field acting on it, which pretty much stays constant, leading to a loss of power (same torque at slower speed=less power). This is a problem for machine tools since you want constant power throughout the speed range (for example a drill press, lathe, milling machine etc.), meaning torque needs to increase (NOT stay constant!) as speed decreases to keep the available power more or less the same. Work done by a particular cutting tool moving past the material at X speed and at Y depth of cut is the same regardless of radius of action (small drill vs large, small milling cutter vs large, small diameter work piece in lathe vs a large one etc), therefore if the RPM is dropping (to keep the tangential speed constant), torque needs to increase for a constant force behind the cutting edge. Power is Force X distance/time, so constant force at the tool requires more torque as the radius of action increases (and constant tangential speed require less RPM as radius increases). The only real solution is a mechanical reduction, i.e gears and pulleys, which multiplies torque proportionally as the speed decreases, keeping the power constant (more or less, ignoring some mechanical losses). Or, sufficiently oversize the motor that you still have enough power at the slowest speed you will be running it, but that's obviously not as efficient, and not nice to the motor. There is NO magic solution, embrace mechanical reduction whenever you have it, even when you have a 3-phase motor with a VFD, so you can keep the motor running as close to its rated speed as possible, for maximum available power and a cool running motor (the motor fan also slows=less air flow!). I would love to build an external reduction gearbox/pulley system for my future lathe, to achieve very slow speeds at full power and have more speeds in between the stock speeds (be it a geared head lathe or a belt drive). I'm not a fan of slowing motors down at all, although a VFD with a big 3 phase motor would be nice for soft starts, quick stops, and moderate speed control between the different gear/pulley speeds.
Thank you for your excellent presentations. I have a 30 year old Thermador vr600 kitchen exhaust fan with a single phase 120 volt induction motor. It seized up and was able to repair it by lubricating the mounting bushings, no bearings. There was no capacitor and the motor turns on with a 360 degree rotary switch that graduates from high to continuously lower speeds without electronic speed control. Variable speed and no capacitor, how is this possible.
I've googled this topic for quite sometime and have a faint idea about it. 5 minute watching your video made it so much clearer, especially on why i cant find single phase VFD 😅
Well they don’t use brushless induction motors. They use brushless dc motors (which uses pwm to control speed) and brushed dc motors (which uses voltage to control speed). Those are much easier and very compact speed controllers to manufacture
So I'm building a lathe and I wanted to control the speed. Having experience with DC steppers and achy servos I understood some basics. A friend was asking if he could use a 1/3 how motor and a fan switch. This video was the best way to explain that you can't. I pointed him in the direction of a nema stepper and a driver/ breakout board. Thanks for your video very helpful!
Jeremy, This is one of your best videos. Thanks to you, I have a better understanding of motors. I have a question I hope you may be able to answer. My wife and I bought a vacuum cleaner when we were in Japan, and as you may or may not know, it has ~100 -110 VAC, 50 Hz coming in to the inlets. If I plug the vacuum cleaner in a 120 VAC, 60 Hz inlet, the vacuum may work a short time but turn off. At first I thought it was a fuse or something blown, but then I thought, plug it into a step-down transform... It worked. The vacuum cleaner says that it will work on 100 VAC, 50/60 Hz. The average volt when I checked it when we were there was 110 VAC and the vacuum worked. Any thoughts on what maybe going on? Thanks!
I was thinking the same thing, because it only about a 10%, give or take. I just took the volts reading from the incoming, 122 VAC, Step-down output 105 VAC (13.9344% difference). I will crack that thing open and see what's going on. I am also thinking there maybe a current or voltage limiting circuit inside. Thanks.
4 years late I know but may have to do with the frequency. I've been looking into an imported compressor being sold here in Barbados on special, turns out it's on sale because the 2hp single phase motor was intended to run on 115v 60hz, however the motor gets hot on our system which is 115v 50hz. For most 60hz appliances with motors or compressors e.g refrigerators, washing machines, treadmills, AC unit, etc, we usually use a transformer to step the voltage down 115v to 105v, most common is the 1000VA version. It's referred to locally as a stabilizing transformer but doesn't seem anymore different from what is online labeled as step-down, autotransformer or voltage reducing transformers. I never gave the need for them a second thought until the compressor sale. My research for something powerful enough or other options like inverters etc led me to understand that lowering or raising the voltage affects the Volts/Hz ratio. Google it for a better understanding of how a few volts less affecs frequency, speed and cooling, torque etc
Always high quality tuition on this channel. Perfect combo of essential detail, logical sequencing and hits the most common misconceptions most people have. When people really know an area they can distill the essence. Well done.
Although you indeed can't dim an induction motor it does sound like it's not even starving the motor because the triac isn't turning off. Because the lacking of current with an inductive load it's hard to turn off a triac. So I think if you place a bulb parallel to the motor while using the dimmer it will not dim either because the triac isn't turning off :D
I’m sitting here trying to figure how the speed control on a fan motor works and I’ve been racking my brain on it a triac style speed control would work!!! I’m so glad to have found your channel!
You have done the absolute best job at explaining this exact topic that I've found yet... and I've been scouring the internets for a long while. Very good video, AWESOME demonstration! Thank you very much for this.
Thank you for letting me know. I actually made the video because so many viewers have asked about it, but when searching RUclips and the internet, there was conflicting information and some things that were just wrong. This video has a part two as well if you are interested. ruclips.net/video/JTlHNOaBnPI/видео.html
Oh I'm already subscribed and watching all your videos! You're awesome and so are your videos! (On a side note I actually found your video because I'm making a workshop of my own... I've been wondering if it was possible to change the rpm of my bench grinder... I'm still not 100 percent sure what the answer is, but I think it's a "no" or a "not worth it", after watching your videos I understand electric motors a whole lot more and now have a good introduction enough to be able understand more of the information out there on the internet in regards to these topics.) Thanks again! ... I'm pretty sure the answer is I can't because a VFD for single phase motors is rare and works only for very particular induction motors, and my motor is not one of those because it most likely has a start winding with a capacitor.... I stop understanding after that point... but I'll just go review your videos again.
Im surprised you're not more popular. Very informative, clearly articulated without an overwhelming personal thirst for being flashy. I barely comment nor subscribe but I found you so informative that I had to credit your efforts.
You have the best basic motor education videos I have seen. This video is about the most ask question ever and few explanations about this subject on youtube. And for whatever reason, there are few basic motor education videos in a real setting using real stuff that you would really find for cheap or free. This is a great video series you have about motors. Thanks.
Thanks for that really good explanation - I understand the issues now. Now I KNOW I am no further forward - I need to cut mild steel accurately, I have to choose between using an abrasive disk and making a mess, or using a TCT disk and wrecking it. Which raises the question, why does nobody make a DIY mitre saw with a low speed option that can be used for cutting steel? It's something loads of people want to do.
Clearly explained, so easy to understand when someone knows exactly what they are talking about! Hope this guy's a teacher in university, if not he should be! Thanks for the education.
You are a very talented individual and teacher. I was able to follow and understand your message. I have subscribed and will visit this site often. Thank you for providing such good content.
Subscribed. I wanted to know what to do with the giant stack of variable transformers I have. Now I know I can't use them for speed controllers on induction motors. Very well explained, Jeremy. This is RUclips gold.
I had a conversation this week over this very topic when a friend and I were looking at a single speed electric motor. I wanted to do something external to the motor to change the speed quickly, perfect for a lathe. You reinforced exactly what he said, so we will go another way. thank you for the great presentation.
I love this guy. Why can't they explain stuff this way in school? A lot more people would be interested in electricity and electronics. The way it's presented in school makes it seem like you have to be a genius or math wizard to understand technology. It turns out you just need a good teacher and some stuff to experiment with.
gifted teacher ..keep em coming ...everyone loves your flavor on these subjects ....what ever it is you have it .... thanks M from down under Australia 240v
I get it, yaaaa! So if you change the number of peaks and valleys, or frequency, from 60 to 50 it goes slower. it's chasing fewer of these so it slows down. Great teacher, thanks Jeremy!
Thank you. Someone designed my furnace with a three speed winding motor for variable speed and added a triac lamp dimmer in the controller to ensure failure. Luckily it was the triac that shorted with no motor damage.
Hi, I am building a 72-inch grinder and have 3 motors to choose from, I have been looking for a single phase VFD but couldn't find 1 and I know why from this video you are my go-to guy for electrical projects. Thanks, for explaining in plain English
Great video... I found this when searching how to control a vibration motor for soil separation. Many videos have said buy this motor and a variable fan speed controller and it would work. But almost anyone that tried it made a comment under the video that it was either off or full speed... the controller didn't work. I believe your explanation just proved why. Sad, because I really believe I will need that variable control. Any direction you could point me would be appreciated. Thanks Again!
You should have said, that many of the VFDs have a single phase input, so its easy to change a single phase motor to a 3-phase-motor and have the possibillity, without the need of a 3-phase-connection in the house, to adjust the rpm of the motor. But you make great info-videos. Many can learn from your instructions. Keep on the good work. Sorry, english not my mother language. Regards from Germany.
Originally I was going to show the label and mentioned it was single phase input three phase output... but the video was a bit too long so it fell on the cutting board. I agree that would be a good addition though.
Thanks for the awesome explanation. I wondered why I couldn’t vary the speed of a motor I have, and. Now I understand. Glad we have intelligent people like you on here .❤️🤠
I was highly impressed to say the least. You make learning this type of thing fun and I appreciate all your work compiling the stuff you need for a great video.
Top video,excellent explanation in plain english.I have been looking for a single phase VFD but no one makes them probably for the reason you stated here.Keep up the great work,I am now a subscriber.
My camera finally quit. Time to buy a new one! I will finish the "Question and Answer video" as soon as I can! I would love to know what kind of camera you all would recommend.
So basically for all common cheapo single phase induction motors, stay safe and use a system of pulleys or gears? Fancy speed control stuff for 3 phase motors, go VFD. Good video and explanation! Maybe I can start thinking about building a metal cutting band saw or belt sander.
Hey man! As they say it's not enough to have it taught. One's gotta be able take in the teaching!. And you mastered it. To the point that you can teach it now.. You got skills to convey the message at hand! Nicely done!
Thank you Jeremy for sharing your knowledge in such a simple but very effective manner. I learned all I needed to know in such a short period. Keep up this great work.
I am currently experiencing some issues with a pentek intellidrive VFD which can be used with 2 or 3 wire single phase 240v submersible pump motors. Specifically I am seeing voltages from the VFD which I can not wrap my head around. An engineer suggested that perhaps it is due to the PWM and possible lack of a low pass filter on my meter. Anyway it's a shame that this video isn't able to discuss the nuts and bolts of the single phase VFD just yet, however I am grateful for all the great information here and the clarity your videos have brought me on the the different characteristics of the various motor types. Thank you very much for your great videos.
I think you require a "true rms" multi meter. Normal meters are only designed to work at 50 or 60 hz, any freq outside this range such as what a VFD would output will result in incorrect readings
I've been trying to find a way to slow down a bench grinder. Thanks for confirming my findings. No other way other than 3 phase and a VFD... Great video.
Good information - thanks! In Mr Carlson’s Lab on YT, he designed a VFD for a single phase induction motor in a Hakko desoldering station. He went from the normal 60Hz operating frequency to 90Hz in order to increase the vacuum.
Thank you, have made a tumbler out of an old gas dryer. Ideally we wanted the drum to turn slower. Presently at about 50 RPM. You just saved us a whole lot of head scratching - the plan was to try a dimmer switch. ....Life is still good though. Thanks for the video!
Excellent demo. Motors were never my strong suit. I appreciate this. It tells me something about those variable speed drill motors now & them being a brush type design.
Thank you Jeremy for the clear information on how to reduced speed of motors. I have been having to sort out this issue for a month and now I know what can work and what won't.
I'm an electrical engineer with 20+ years experience and I feel you produce excellent content. On another video you had mentioned speed control and I commented that a TRIAC PWM circuit will control the speed of an AC induction motor. I have designed the circuitry, tested it, and verified that it does change the speed of a fan, but that is a motor under load, unlike the motor in your test. I think that it is accurate, however, to say that in an applied, practical sense a TRIAC PWM circuit will control the speed of an AC induction motor because I've never had the need to control a motor that wasn't under a load. It's similar to testing amplifiers and seeing a high gain in testing that doesn't translate once the amplifier is driving an actual load that requires some impedance matching.
Jeremy Fielding These were huge industrial fans that used large AC induction motors with starting capacitors and belt-pulley mechanical translation between the motor and the fan axle. In fact, they were so large that we activated them with 5 - 6 inch wide contact switches that were themselves activated by relays and optical switches (to isolate industrial noise from logical circuits). We weren’t using a light dimmer switch. This circuit used a MAC224 40A TRIAC, so it wasn’t designed for indoor oscillating fan motors.
Thank you Jeremy so much for explaining this I've been trying to figure this out because I am building a metal lathe and I want to be able to control the speed without using a belt system or gears.
I have that exact same washer motor. I'm making that washer into at least 3 heavy duty power tools. At least one of them is one I haven't seen you make yet. I hope my projects can be as entertaining and informative as yours
Thank you Jeremy for enlightening me on this. I wish I watched your video before I bought the autotransformer to control the speed of an induction motor. I did not connect it but was trying to understand if that would work or not. I used a variac to control the power to a heating element, so I thought it would work for controlling speed as well. CFD is the answer. may be I would buy a motor with a controller built with it. I dont know.
Hi, Jeremy. This may have been commented on by someone else farther down in the list of comments. I didn’t go through them all. Just a clarification about the light dimmer. It works by “clipping” off part of the sinusoidal waveform immediately after it crosses 0 volts AC, and it will do this for every crossing. The sine wave of 60 hertz AC voltage will cross zero 120 times per second, once as the voltage goes positive from 0 and once as it goes negative from 0. Since it does both of these events 60 times per second (60 hertz) then 60 x 2 = 120. It happens so rapidly that we generally cannot detect these clipping events with the naked eye in a light bulb. The more you turn the knob toward dim, the more the wave gets clipped, or chopped off. When the knob reaches the dimmest setting, most or all of the wave is clipped. The dimmers were intended for resistive loads (incandescent lights) only, and that’s why they don’t work with fluorescent lights or CFL’s or most AC brushless motors (inductive loads). With an inductive load, the frequency (60 hertz) remains the same, but the amount of current available to the coil windings decreases because the available voltage decreases (ohms law) and this will have a direct effect on the strength of the magnetic field and thus, the torque of the motor. If I remember correctly, anyway. I learned all of this 45 years ago and have applied little of it since. Love your videos, especially your build videos. You explain things at a “show and tell” level most anyone can understand. Keep them coming. Knowledge is power!
I’ve been trying to figure out how to run two 3phase treadmill motors at different speeds using only one VFD. Haven’t seen any videos on this yet. Thanks Jeremy!
I have been studying this sort of thing for a few years, and I have watched other engineering and machining channels. I learned more in 5 minutes of your channel than ALL of the other channels in YEARS! You are a gifted teacher, thank you Jeremy.
+Victor Bingo thank you!
same here. I thought I knew what I was doing but learned more from his videos that any other source before
mcorrade it's like he filled in all the blanks I had.
Amen, Amen and AMEN!
This man KNOWS how to turn a high tech subject to a "piece of cake".
Any technical school would be a fool not to hire this man YESTERDAY.
He is a treasure for sure. May Jesus continue to gift him with knowledge that can be taught easily to the masses.
Victor Bingo q@zzzxxxssx Is r600tq
Ki
Brilliant. Instead of just saying "this won't work", you have actually shown us it won't work and you have explained why. Much appreciated.
Jeremy, this is possibly the finest, best demonstrated video I've seen on the subject of "Is it possible to change a motor's speed with a dimmer switch, etc." I give you a hearty two thumbs up!!
Jeremy, May I add to the applause given by so many others. I have been trawling the internet for knowledge on AC motors and their control and operation, 10 minutes with you has been a revelation! I also watched some of your other videos. You are a great tutor. Thank you. You deserve more recognition.
This channel is so underrated!
+D Moore tell some friends!
I agree.
Dude is amazing
Agreed!
Thanks, man! Sometimes you find EXACTLY what you were searching for on RUclips and for me, this is one of those moments. Your video saved me a LOT of time, headache and money. Keep up the great work 👍
Just extremely excellent stuff! A+. You have a powerful gift for teaching.
Thank you, Jeremy. You saved me hours of research looking for a product that doesn't exist.
Check out Mr Carlsons Lab where he shows how to build a single phase motor VFD from scratch with cheap and common components.
@@SkippiiKai, cool! I will find it and have a look. Thank you.
Thank you for all you do here brother, you’re an amazing engineer and a gifted teacher. It’s my opinion that for many of us fortunate enough to possess “the gift” of “innate understanding” we often times forget to appreciate this skill and remember to use it to help others find what some are gifted with. It’s not always easy to do for the “hyper analytical”, and technical mind. So I thank you for reminding me it should always be shared, I salute you sir, you win at life man. 07
Your never to old to learn... You have just schooled me! I honestly didn't know how they were controlling the speed on induction motors! Outstanding video! 👍😁
U DA MAN!! Thanks Jeremy that really clears up all my misunderstanding about speed control, VFD and induction motors. I now realize ALL my issues and what I can and cannot do. These edu vids are greatly appreciated
You explain the process that you went through to get the results that you did.
That's why your videos are so good for the common person.
You don't just tell us what to do, you show how you reached each point of the process.
Thanks Jeremy and keep up the good work.
I find this very helpful and entertaining! Between you, AVE and Great Scott i am always entertained and learning new ideas. TY ;-)
+Klaus Nielsen you bet. Thank you for letting me know :)
This videos has to be the most clearly explain speed control for an induction motor I have seen yet.
Great vids Jeremy. Just one comment I would like to make is, it would be great to see the volts and amps ( and possibly even Hz and rpm also) in real time in some of these videos as well for added perspective of what is actually happening in the circuits. Love your stuff, keep it up, very educational.
👍
Man! What are you? An engineer? You are so well informed and speak so intelligently and have your demonstrations so well organized! Thank You! I am an electrician and love the re-view. I am sure I have forgotten a lot. Excellent work and please continue.
+Lonefeather you bet I will. Thank you!
Love your videos. They have taught me more about motors than I thought I would ever understand.
I've spent countless hours reading, looking at diagrams and formulas only to feel like I grasped a tiny portion and still not completely understanding why certain things work and don't. You have taught me more in 20 minutes than I've learned in hours of reading. That router speed controller in the exact one I was trying and left confused why it wouldn't work. Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Excellent video.
You have an amazing blend of theoretical and hands-on knowledge. I've seen people who are good at one, but being good at both is rare and impressive!
Jeremy thanks for all your help great video.
Jeremy you are the current day Tony Stark lab workings. Your videos have taken the guessing game out of a complex working motor and enabled others to quickly understand . Thanks for your help.
Wow, never even though about the starter capacitor kicking back in at lower speeds. Thanks!
Within seconds I realised you are a smart cookie who actually knows what you're talking about. That's rare on RUclips. I didn't need to see another video, insta-subscribed!
It's important to note that when you slow the motor down you also lose power. The torque on the rotor is determined by the strength of the magnetic field acting on it, which pretty much stays constant, leading to a loss of power (same torque at slower speed=less power).
This is a problem for machine tools since you want constant power throughout the speed range (for example a drill press, lathe, milling machine etc.), meaning torque needs to increase (NOT stay constant!) as speed decreases to keep the available power more or less the same.
Work done by a particular cutting tool moving past the material at X speed and at Y depth of cut is the same regardless of radius of action (small drill vs large, small milling cutter vs large, small diameter work piece in lathe vs a large one etc), therefore if the RPM is dropping (to keep the tangential speed constant), torque needs to increase for a constant force behind the cutting edge. Power is Force X distance/time, so constant force at the tool requires more torque as the radius of action increases (and constant tangential speed require less RPM as radius increases).
The only real solution is a mechanical reduction, i.e gears and pulleys, which multiplies torque proportionally as the speed decreases, keeping the power constant (more or less, ignoring some mechanical losses). Or, sufficiently oversize the motor that you still have enough power at the slowest speed you will be running it, but that's obviously not as efficient, and not nice to the motor.
There is NO magic solution, embrace mechanical reduction whenever you have it, even when you have a 3-phase motor with a VFD, so you can keep the motor running as close to its rated speed as possible, for maximum available power and a cool running motor (the motor fan also slows=less air flow!). I would love to build an external reduction gearbox/pulley system for my future lathe, to achieve very slow speeds at full power and have more speeds in between the stock speeds (be it a geared head lathe or a belt drive). I'm not a fan of slowing motors down at all, although a VFD with a big 3 phase motor would be nice for soft starts, quick stops, and moderate speed control between the different gear/pulley speeds.
Sir...Every project you make, you teach us, more and more. Keep on educating us, your student. 👍🏻👍🏻 :) Thank you.
Thank you!
Fascinating. It answers some questions I've though about, and you explained it in a very effective way. Thanks.
I learned more in 10 minutes than i did in two hours of googling. Subscribed. .
Thank you for your excellent presentations. I have a 30 year old Thermador vr600 kitchen exhaust fan with a single phase 120 volt induction motor. It seized up and was able to repair it by lubricating the mounting bushings, no bearings. There was no capacitor and the motor turns on with a 360 degree rotary switch that graduates from high to continuously lower speeds without electronic speed control. Variable speed and no capacitor, how is this possible.
it's a universal motor, not an induction motor.
I've googled this topic for quite sometime and have a faint idea about it. 5 minute watching your video made it so much clearer, especially on why i cant find single phase VFD 😅
Hello! Thanks a lot for the great tutorial. My question is: Whats inside a variable speed power tool? Cant be that big of course.
Great Q!
Well they don’t use brushless induction motors. They use brushless dc motors (which uses pwm to control speed) and brushed dc motors (which uses voltage to control speed). Those are much easier and very compact speed controllers to manufacture
So I'm building a lathe and I wanted to control the speed. Having experience with DC steppers and achy servos I understood some basics. A friend was asking if he could use a 1/3 how motor and a fan switch. This video was the best way to explain that you can't. I pointed him in the direction of a nema stepper and a driver/ breakout board. Thanks for your video very helpful!
Jeremy,
This is one of your best videos. Thanks to you, I have a better understanding of motors. I have a question I hope you may be able to answer. My wife and I bought a vacuum cleaner when we were in Japan, and as you may or may not know, it has ~100 -110 VAC, 50 Hz coming in to the inlets. If I plug the vacuum cleaner in a 120 VAC, 60 Hz inlet, the vacuum may work a short time but turn off. At first I thought it was a fuse or something blown, but then I thought, plug it into a step-down transform... It worked. The vacuum cleaner says that it will work on 100 VAC, 50/60 Hz. The average volt when I checked it when we were there was 110 VAC and the vacuum worked. Any thoughts on what maybe going on? Thanks!
I am not sure. I would not expect 10 volts to make a difference. How much did you have to lower the voltage? Also, does it seem to be getting hot?
I was thinking the same thing, because it only about a 10%, give or take. I just took the volts reading from the incoming, 122 VAC, Step-down output 105 VAC (13.9344% difference). I will crack that thing open and see what's going on. I am also thinking there maybe a current or voltage limiting circuit inside. Thanks.
4 years late I know but may have to do with the frequency. I've been looking into an imported compressor being sold here in Barbados on special, turns out it's on sale because the 2hp single phase motor was intended to run on 115v 60hz, however the motor gets hot on our system which is 115v 50hz. For most 60hz appliances with motors or compressors e.g refrigerators, washing machines, treadmills, AC unit, etc, we usually use a transformer to step the voltage down 115v to 105v, most common is the 1000VA version. It's referred to locally as a stabilizing transformer but doesn't seem anymore different from what is online labeled as step-down, autotransformer or voltage reducing transformers. I never gave the need for them a second thought until the compressor sale. My research for something powerful enough or other options like inverters etc led me to understand that lowering or raising the voltage affects the Volts/Hz ratio. Google it for a better understanding of how a few volts less affecs frequency, speed and cooling, torque etc
Always high quality tuition on this channel. Perfect combo of essential detail, logical sequencing and hits the most common misconceptions most people have. When people really know an area they can distill the essence. Well done.
Another great video Jeremy!
I agree with Victor.
You have seemed to say in 10 minutes what others do not even get around to saying in 10 hours in a way that can be understood
Man, you're smarter than a whole treefull of owls!👍😎
Good job!
What kind of owls?
I reckon you already know that you are one of, if not the smartest, people on RUclips. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Although you indeed can't dim an induction motor it does sound like it's not even starving the motor because the triac isn't turning off. Because the lacking of current with an inductive load it's hard to turn off a triac. So I think if you place a bulb parallel to the motor while using the dimmer it will not dim either because the triac isn't turning off :D
+tengelgeer now that sounds like an interesting experiment. I will try it and let you know what happens.
You are doing what you should be. Teaching is your genre because you are good at it. Very thorough and informative. Thanks.
Very informative, right on the spot.
I’m sitting here trying to figure how the speed control on a fan motor works and I’ve been racking my brain on it a triac style speed control would work!!! I’m so glad to have found your channel!
Top Notch.
Thanks.
You have done the absolute best job at explaining this exact topic that I've found yet... and I've been scouring the internets for a long while. Very good video, AWESOME demonstration! Thank you very much for this.
Thank you for letting me know. I actually made the video because so many viewers have asked about it, but when searching RUclips and the internet, there was conflicting information and some things that were just wrong. This video has a part two as well if you are interested. ruclips.net/video/JTlHNOaBnPI/видео.html
Oh I'm already subscribed and watching all your videos! You're awesome and so are your videos! (On a side note I actually found your video because I'm making a workshop of my own... I've been wondering if it was possible to change the rpm of my bench grinder... I'm still not 100 percent sure what the answer is, but I think it's a "no" or a "not worth it", after watching your videos I understand electric motors a whole lot more and now have a good introduction enough to be able understand more of the information out there on the internet in regards to these topics.) Thanks again!
... I'm pretty sure the answer is I can't because a VFD for single phase motors is rare and works only for very particular induction motors, and my motor is not one of those because it most likely has a start winding with a capacitor.... I stop understanding after that point... but I'll just go review your videos again.
It sounds like you nailed it! I am so glad you found it helpful. :)
I used to think I was somewhat smart.
Great way to convey confusing information. Your explanation makes so much sense! Thank you!
Im surprised you're not more popular. Very informative, clearly articulated without an overwhelming personal thirst for being flashy. I barely comment nor subscribe but I found you so informative that I had to credit your efforts.
Thank you so much I am honored
You have the best basic motor education videos I have seen. This video is about the most ask question ever and few explanations about this subject on youtube. And for whatever reason, there are few basic motor education videos in a real setting using real stuff that you would really find for cheap or free. This is a great video series you have about motors. Thanks.
Thank you
Thanks for that really good explanation - I understand the issues now. Now I KNOW I am no further forward - I need to cut mild steel accurately, I have to choose between using an abrasive disk and making a mess, or using a TCT disk and wrecking it.
Which raises the question, why does nobody make a DIY mitre saw with a low speed option that can be used for cutting steel? It's something loads of people want to do.
Clearly explained, so easy to understand when someone knows exactly what they are talking about!
Hope this guy's a teacher in university, if not he should be!
Thanks for the education.
You are a very talented individual and teacher. I was able to follow and understand your message. I have subscribed and will visit this site often. Thank you for providing such good content.
Subscribed. I wanted to know what to do with the giant stack of variable transformers I have. Now I know I can't use them for speed controllers on induction motors. Very well explained, Jeremy. This is RUclips gold.
Watching this video saved me a great deal of time in my endless search for a single phase vfd controller. Thanks
You saved me a lot of money by showing what to avoid. Many thanks.
FINALLY an understandable explanation for why I can't dial down my grinder (induction) motor speed. Nice job!
I had a conversation this week over this very topic when a friend and I were looking at a single speed electric motor. I wanted to do something external to the motor to change the speed quickly, perfect for a lathe. You reinforced exactly what he said, so we will go another way. thank you for the great presentation.
Thks Jeremy ..you make complicated issues look so simple and hats off for all your simple and clear explanations and solutions
I love this guy. Why can't they explain stuff this way in school? A lot more people would be interested in electricity and electronics. The way it's presented in school makes it seem like you have to be a genius or math wizard to understand technology. It turns out you just need a good teacher and some stuff to experiment with.
+Jeff Roberts thank you!
I'm no electrician, your easy to follow explanations on this subject are brilliant.
gifted teacher ..keep em coming ...everyone loves your flavor on these subjects ....what ever it is you have it .... thanks M from down under Australia 240v
I get it, yaaaa! So if you change the number of peaks and valleys, or frequency, from 60 to 50 it goes slower. it's chasing fewer of these so it slows down. Great teacher, thanks Jeremy!
Thank you.
Someone designed my furnace with a three speed winding motor for variable speed and added a triac lamp dimmer in the controller to ensure failure. Luckily it was the triac that shorted with no motor damage.
As grownups go, you are pure gold. Thanks once again.
Hi, I am building a 72-inch grinder and have 3 motors to choose from, I have been looking for a single phase VFD but couldn't find 1 and I know why from this video you are my go-to guy for electrical projects. Thanks, for explaining in plain English
Great video... I found this when searching how to control a vibration motor for soil separation. Many videos have said buy this motor and a variable fan speed controller and it would work. But almost anyone that tried it made a comment under the video that it was either off or full speed... the controller didn't work. I believe your explanation just proved why. Sad, because I really believe I will need that variable control. Any direction you could point me would be appreciated. Thanks Again!
Finally! the answers to my questions ! So now I am going to have to figure out how a variable speed drill works.
Wow, I would never have imagined this would be the result. Thanks for putting this together.
Who the hell dislikes your videos... These are amazing demonstrations and explanations! Keep it up :)
You should have said, that many of the VFDs have a single phase input, so its easy to change a single phase motor to a 3-phase-motor and have the possibillity, without the need of a 3-phase-connection in the house, to adjust the rpm of the motor. But you make great info-videos. Many can learn from your instructions. Keep on the good work. Sorry, english not my mother language. Regards from Germany.
Originally I was going to show the label and mentioned it was single phase input three phase output... but the video was a bit too long so it fell on the cutting board. I agree that would be a good addition though.
No problem, i'm sure, you will be flooded with questions about this theme. There you can add this info. Cheerio.
Thanks for the awesome explanation. I wondered why I couldn’t vary the speed of a motor I have, and. Now I understand. Glad we have intelligent people like you on here .❤️🤠
I was highly impressed to say the least. You make learning this type of thing fun and I appreciate all your work compiling the stuff you need for a great video.
Top video,excellent explanation in plain english.I have been looking for a single phase VFD but no one makes them probably for the reason you stated here.Keep up the great work,I am now a subscriber.
I as well have been doing research on this for a belt sander. Thank you for the knowledge my man.
My camera finally quit. Time to buy a new one! I will finish the "Question and Answer video" as soon as I can! I would love to know what kind of camera you all would recommend.
Jeremy Fielding Spony alpha7 with old Canon FD Lenses....beautiful!
Wow... that is top of the line!... I think I need more mid range lol
Value Village :)
So basically for all common cheapo single phase induction motors, stay safe and use a system of pulleys or gears? Fancy speed control stuff for 3 phase motors, go VFD. Good video and explanation! Maybe I can start thinking about building a metal cutting band saw or belt sander.
You make really good videos. I like the way you explain the function of electrical devices, and different way to utilize them !
Hey man! As they say it's not enough to have it taught. One's gotta be able take in the teaching!. And you mastered it. To the point that you can teach it now.. You got skills to convey the message at hand! Nicely done!
Thank you Jeremy for sharing your knowledge in such a simple but very effective manner. I learned all I needed to know in such a short period. Keep up this great work.
Very nice practical explanation, saved me a lot of trouble.
I am currently experiencing some issues with a pentek intellidrive VFD which can be used with 2 or 3 wire single phase 240v submersible pump motors. Specifically I am seeing voltages from the VFD which I can not wrap my head around. An engineer suggested that perhaps it is due to the PWM and possible lack of a low pass filter on my meter. Anyway it's a shame that this video isn't able to discuss the nuts and bolts of the single phase VFD just yet, however I am grateful for all the great information here and the clarity your videos have brought me on the the different characteristics of the various motor types. Thank you very much for your great videos.
I think you require a "true rms" multi meter. Normal meters are only designed to work at 50 or 60 hz, any freq outside this range such as what a VFD would output will result in incorrect readings
You just saved me a lot of wasted money. So glad I found this video before I bought something that wouldn’t have worked.
I've been trying to find a way to slow down a bench grinder. Thanks for confirming my findings. No other way other than 3 phase and a VFD...
Great video.
Good information - thanks!
In Mr Carlson’s Lab on YT, he designed a VFD for a single phase induction motor in a Hakko desoldering station.
He went from the normal 60Hz operating frequency to 90Hz in order to increase the vacuum.
Increasing speed is not a problem. Lower is what creates the problems. Faster means you will have less torque but that doesn’t hurt his project
Great video. Note dimmer cuts voltage on for a part of the 60 Hz sine wave. The larger percentage ON, the brighter the light.
Thanks for that Jeremy - You have explained why my Myford lathe has belts and pulleys. Cheers.
YOU JUST SAVED ME $28. WORTH THE PRICE OF VIEWING YOUR VIDEO...AND DONE WITHOUT BEING LADEN WITH COMMERCIALS. BRAVO! AWESOME! 👌💪🏽✅👀
Thank you, have made a tumbler out of an old gas dryer. Ideally we wanted the drum to turn slower. Presently at about 50 RPM. You just saved us a whole lot of head scratching - the plan was to try a dimmer switch. ....Life is still good though. Thanks for the video!
Excellent demo. Motors were never my strong suit. I appreciate this. It tells me something about those variable speed drill motors now & them being a brush type design.
Thank you Jeremy for the clear information on how to reduced speed of motors. I have been having to sort out this issue for a month and now I know what can work and what won't.
I'm an electrical engineer with 20+ years experience and I feel you produce excellent content. On another video you had mentioned speed control and I commented that a TRIAC PWM circuit will control the speed of an AC induction motor. I have designed the circuitry, tested it, and verified that it does change the speed of a fan, but that is a motor under load, unlike the motor in your test. I think that it is accurate, however, to say that in an applied, practical sense a TRIAC PWM circuit will control the speed of an AC induction motor because I've never had the need to control a motor that wasn't under a load. It's similar to testing amplifiers and seeing a high gain in testing that doesn't translate once the amplifier is driving an actual load that requires some impedance matching.
Please watch part two of this video
Jeremy Fielding These were huge industrial fans that used large AC induction motors with starting capacitors and belt-pulley mechanical translation between the motor and the fan axle. In fact, they were so large that we activated them with 5 - 6 inch wide contact switches that were themselves activated by relays and optical switches (to isolate industrial noise from logical circuits). We weren’t using a light dimmer switch. This circuit used a MAC224 40A TRIAC, so it wasn’t designed for indoor oscillating fan motors.
I really enjoy your channel. I just like to learn about different ideas. You are very knowledgeable and interesting to learn from.
Thank you Jeremy so much for explaining this I've been trying to figure this out because I am building a metal lathe and I want to be able to control the speed without using a belt system or gears.
Thank you for this, helped me avoid a likely useless/dangerous purchase!
I have that exact same washer motor. I'm making that washer into at least 3 heavy duty power tools. At least one of them is one I haven't seen you make yet. I hope my projects can be as entertaining and informative as yours
Every video I learn so much!!! I’m getting all the concepts down.
Exactly what I was looking for. I learned a lot. I was thinking of trying the same router controller. Thanks for highlighting the warnings.
Thank you Jeremy for enlightening me on this. I wish I watched your video before I bought the autotransformer to control the speed of an induction motor. I did not connect it but was trying to understand if that would work or not. I used a variac to control the power to a heating element, so I thought it would work for controlling speed as well. CFD is the answer. may be I would buy a motor with a controller built with it. I dont know.
You're the best, this is my new favorite channel
Hi, Jeremy. This may have been commented on by someone else farther down in the list of comments. I didn’t go through them all. Just a clarification about the light dimmer. It works by “clipping” off part of the sinusoidal waveform immediately after it crosses 0 volts AC, and it will do this for every crossing. The sine wave of 60 hertz AC voltage will cross zero 120 times per second, once as the voltage goes positive from 0 and once as it goes negative from 0. Since it does both of these events 60 times per second (60 hertz) then 60 x 2 = 120. It happens so rapidly that we generally cannot detect these clipping events with the naked eye in a light bulb. The more you turn the knob toward dim, the more the wave gets clipped, or chopped off. When the knob reaches the dimmest setting, most or all of the wave is clipped. The dimmers were intended for resistive loads (incandescent lights) only, and that’s why they don’t work with fluorescent lights or CFL’s or most AC brushless motors (inductive loads). With an inductive load, the frequency (60 hertz) remains the same, but the amount of current available to the coil windings decreases because the available voltage decreases (ohms law) and this will have a direct effect on the strength of the magnetic field and thus, the torque of the motor. If I remember correctly, anyway. I learned all of this 45 years ago and have applied little of it since.
Love your videos, especially your build videos. You explain things at a “show and tell” level most anyone can understand. Keep them coming. Knowledge is power!
I’ve been trying to figure out how to run two 3phase treadmill motors at different speeds using only one VFD. Haven’t seen any videos on this yet. Thanks Jeremy!
3 VFDs