The bigger motors are not a problem as you will be making a "bus" . You will need a capacitor to shift the third phase. Let me see if I can find a schematic laying around here somewhere. The VFD route is very doable too these days as the prices are alot cheaper for these now than in the past. You will need to overate them a bit for reliability but they work great. 240 volts is all the voltage you will be able to get sourcing from single phase no matter which method you use so make sure any machines you get are able to wire up to low voltage or have dual voltage motors. 1600 really is not that bad a price though to get it going ..........
Last edited by okie; 03/18/18.
