Now I’m really confused. Machine has a VFD on it albeit not as sophisticated asthe one in the video above. It is just a simple looking gray box with a dial and a direction switch. I was under the impression that it was just used for variable speed. It also has a big breaker box with a kill switch on it. I asked the guy I bought it from and he assured me that the way it is now it needs 3 phase run to it. He would be happy to help me hook it up as well if he weren’t 1000 miles away
If you can find a model number on your VFD, you should be able to look up the specs and figure out what its capable of. In general, they can all run on single phase, but have to be derated somewhat. A VFD internally rectifies the input AC to DC and then electronically creates AC while controlling the output current, voltage, and frequency. The derating is necessary because a three phase bridge rectifier shares the current among more diodes than a single phase rectifier does. If the VFD you have is designed to run on 460V instead of 220 then you are out of luck and it will have to be removed. In that case your motor would also be set up to run on 460 and would have to be re-tapped to the lower voltage.
A good VFD will be more efficient than a rotary converter and gives you the benefit of variable speed. You can even overspeed a motor as long as you don't exceed the power rating.
Jerry
