GE AF300 G11 VFD, 230 VAC, 3phase .25HP

[rocket1010]

Does any one know if you can wire this drives iput single phase? Thats what i am being told by a rep but cant find any docs to support, i would really like to know before i buy it. I am just putting a small demonstrator together, any help appreciated.

[Steve Bailey]

A couple of weeks ago I had a 460 volt AF300 P11 and motor in my office to do some bench testing. I don't have three phase power in my office, so I connected 110 VAC to the secondary of a small control power transformer and connected the primary to the drive. It worked fine driving a motor under no-load conditions.

Most VFDs can be operated on single phase. It makes sense when you think about how they work. VFDs rectify the incoming AC to DC and then manufacture a waveform at the output terminals.

[rocket1010]

Thanks Steve

[Sparkz]

Using a single phase step up transformer will do the job under no load conditions. The rectifier diodes in the inverter can withstand the higher current (you're using only 4 diodes in single phase in stead of 6 when using 3 phase supply).

You might get 'under voltage' errors when running full load: Rectifying 3-phase AC results in a DC voltage with a mere 3% ripple, single phase rectifiers will have ripple near 50%. Try to add an extra capacitor to the DC bus, if these errors occur.

[DickDV]

As a general rule, a drive rated for three phase input power should be derated 50% when operated on single phase power of the same voltage.

Adding a capacitor to the DC bus is not a good idea. The drive warranty will almost certainly be voided and the charging and discharging circuitry will be stressed beyond the design levels.

Buying a drive that is properly sized to the load AFTER the derate mentioned above is the right way to go.