Current motor and electric bill

[David A Morris]

I've been running my old Craftsman lathe for a month now and just got my first electric bill. OMG! The motor is an older 1/3 hp 1750 rpm 120 volt. Is there the possibility of buying a new motor, maybe 3/4 hp, that will drop my power usage to an affordable level?

 

[hughie]

Where I am the answer would be to go from 240v single phase to 220v three phase via a VFD they are not expensive and this will allow for electronic variable speed via frequency control.
But keep in mind, low frequency low torque. So what I do is to keep the stepped pulley set up and put the belt on the slowest speed . This then gives you more troque low down and you should be ok.

 

[Aaron Sluis]

At most, under full load constantly, that would draw under 500 watts. 12kwhrs a day, or about two dollars at typical rates, if run hard 24/7, which would burn it up in short order.

In reality, it's extremely unlikely that the lathe contributed more than a dollar to your bill.

 

[David A Morris]

At most, under full load constantly, that would draw under 500 watts. 12kwhrs a day, or about two dollars at typical rates, if run hard 24/7, which would burn it up in short order.

In reality, it's extremely unlikely that the lathe contributed more than a dollar to your bill.

All right, guess I'll look elsewhere for the energy drain. I heat my house exclusively with firewood so I know it's not the heater. Thank you for the info.

 

[hughie]

All right, guess I'll look elsewhere for the energy drain. I heat my house exclusively with firewood so I know it's not the heater. Thank you for the info.

There are lights, removing incandeescent light can save a lot. I have LED through out probably the equvalent to couple 100 watt bulbs. We have three bedrooms, two bath , open plan living , plus me in the garage. There some health consideration with going to LED's othe than that they are more cost effective.

 

[David A Morris]

There are lights, removing incandeescent light can save a lot. I have LED through out probably the equvalent to couple 100 watt bulbs. We have three bedrooms, two bath , open plan living , plus me in the garage. There some health consideration with going to LED's othe than that they are more cost effective.

I have LED s everywhere but the garage. I still use tube fluorescents out there but they get used whether I'm turning or not. Occasionally I'll forget to turn one off but that's rare

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Look and see if your rate per kWH has gone up a bunch-- it certainly has across the border in MA. Also see whether the number of kWH used has changed significantly. To sort out all the fluff they put into your bill these days just take the monthly total and divide by the total number of kWh for the month to get the actual rate you're paying for your usage level.

With typical rates running 30-35 cents/kWH in this part of the world even a couple extra kWH per day can add up to $20-50/month very easily. It's making investing in solar panels look like a better deal every day-- we added to our system two years ago so that our bill now averages very close to zero for the year. One of my less foolish choices in terms of return on investment.

 

[David A Morris]

Look and see if your rate per kWH has gone up a bunch-- it certainly has across the border in MA. Also see whether the number of kWH used has changed significantly. To sort out all the fluff they put into your bill these days just take the monthly total and divide by the total number of kWh for the month to get the actual rate you're paying for your usage level.

With typical rates running 30-35 cents/kWH in this part of the world even a couple extra kWH per day can add up to $20-50/month very easily. It's making investing in solar panels look like a better deal every day-- we added to our system two years ago so that our bill now averages very close to zero for the year. One of my less foolish choices in terms of return on investment.

I'll do that. Thanks for the tips.

 

[John K Jordan]

Search for power monitor. Many are available; some will monitor multiple circuits at the same time. Also, might ask the utility company for ideas.