Finally got that old three-phase motor running in a basement in Cincinnati after it tripped the main breaker twice

3 comments

3 Comments

Getting a three-phase motor to behave is a special kind of pain. My last attempt ended with a loud pop and the distinct smell of regret. I'm pretty sure I owe my neighbor a new light bulb. At least you only tripped the breaker.

simonbell1mo ago

Honestly, that light bulb comment got me. I used to think three-phase was just a bigger version of single phase and I could wing it. Last month I wired up a lathe motor wrong and it sounded like a dying cat before the breaker tripped. The phase sequence was reversed, I had to swap two wires in the peckerhead, and now I triple check every connection before hitting the start. That smell of regret is real, it forced me to actually learn the theory instead of just guessing.

taylor.mary3mo ago

That "smell of regret" is way too familiar. I've got a box of fuses I keep just to remind me of my own bad ideas.