35-50 hp Electric bandsaw logmill

[carykong]

Does anyone have knowledge or may provide a lead on anyone that owns and operates an electric bandsawmill like a Woodmizer or Baker within 200 miles of Richmond,Virginia? Very interested in observing one in operation.

[loganworks2]

Hi there. Give Woodmizer and Baker a call they will glady put you in touch with the closest ones.

[paul case]

I have got 2 but am not that close. I guess mine are not that big, only 15 and 25 hp. What do you want to know? Bibbyman made several videos of his 40 super electric on youtube.

PC

[tmbrcruiser]

I have a Baker 3650E in Bridgeville, Delaware and you are welcome to come by. Send me a PM it you want to stop by.

[carykong]

TCruzer
Call you call me please
7575321356
Thank you
Cary

[redprospector]

I have got 2 but am not that close. I guess mine are not that big, only 15 and 25 hp. What do you want to know? Bibbyman made several videos of his 40 super electric on youtube.

PC

How do you like the 15 compared to the 25? I've been toying with the idea of changing my b-20 over to electric.

[paul case]

I havn't got to fun the 25 much, but it whittles right on through. They both are real quiet in comparison. I think the 15 has at least as much power as the 25 hp Kohler that it replaced.

I LIKE EM!

PC

[redprospector]

Thanks,
I'm seriously considering going all electric (mill, hydraulic power pack, edger, chopsaw, log decks, and conveyors) and power it all with a 125 kw genset. One engine to maintain and feed instead of 6 or 7, and smoother power to boot.

[paul case]

Well you can put that genset somewhere behind a noise shield and not have to put up with the noise,

They say running on a genset or with a rotary converter you loose some of the advantage of electric, but I cant tell it. If you do this keep it simple and run on 230v 3 phase. They start easy and if you ever have electric service run to you it is simpler ( IS THAT A WORD?) for the electric co.

PC

[Kbeitz]

Well you can put that genset somewhere behind a noise shield and not have to put up with the noise,

They say running on a genset or with a rotary converter you loose some of the advantage of electric, but I cant tell it. If you do this keep it simple and run on 230v 3 phase. They start easy and if you ever have electric service run to you it is simpler ( IS THAT A WORD?) for the electric co.

PC

If it's a true rotary converter and not static you should loose nothing...

[killamplanes]

My b20 has 10hp electric and 3hp electric for hydros. I'm definitely under powere cutting 18in boards but with patience and a good blade I do it alot. I love the electric for stationary. When the gas motors wore out electric was the answer. Bet it's not far from the kohlers. Easy to adapt to electric. Get rid of 12volts up down find hydraulic motor for it you won't regret that either...

[redprospector]

My b20 has 10hp electric and 3hp electric for hydros. I'm definitely under powere cutting 18in boards but with patience and a good blade I do it alot. I love the electric for stationary. When the gas motors wore out electric was the answer. Bet it's not far from the kohlers. Easy to adapt to electric. Get rid of 12volts up down find hydraulic motor for it you won't regret that either...

Yep, hydraulic up & down is on my "short list".

[redprospector]

Well you can put that genset somewhere behind a noise shield and not have to put up with the noise,

They say running on a genset or with a rotary converter you loose some of the advantage of electric, but I cant tell it. If you do this keep it simple and run on 230v 3 phase. They start easy and if you ever have electric service run to you it is simpler ( IS THAT A WORD?) for the electric co.

PC

If I go through with it, the genset will be outside the shed in it's own vented building. The exhaust will be ran through the roof with a 90 pointing at the neighbor.  :D
Not sure how to change it to 230 volts. My Fastline has 480 volt motors, so I may have to stick with that.

[ozarkgem]

The 125 KW may be over kill. I run mine on a 20kw gen set with 2 Hyd power units and a 20hp on the head. But I don't have an edger or other stuff to run. Mine is very very fuel efficient. Less than a gal per hr. If you have electric or have it ran you can run 480 single phase and run a big phase converter.

[red]

I was thinking he needed a bigger GenSet to run it all . So maybe not running it all at once is a good idea. I'll just sit back and watch you big dogs figure it out.

[paul case]

460v may be ok for now but I would check with the utility co to see what is available.

A good friend of mine bought a couple phase converters made for 460v and found out that they are a lot different than 230volt and could not be changed?(I dont know about that one) anyway his local utility company ran him a new service and it is only 230 and would require a big transformer to get it to 460v. Meanwhile his 50 hp converter and his 40 hp electric edger sits with dust on them.
That is they put in a bigger single phase service so he could run a 50 hp rpc. It wont work because the converter he bought and the motor on his machine and the voltage of the service doesn't match up. His electrician said he needed a transformer that would cost mega$.
PC

[nativewolf]

This is a great thread.  Just wanted to say I feel like I'm in school :P

[TKehl]

I think the 15 has at least as much power as the 25 hp Kohler that it replaced.

That doesn't surprise me. 

1.  Combustion engines are generally nameplated at peak power which is at a certain RPM.  Electric motor nameplate HP is based on continuous output.  (This is more important for blower/compressor/vacuum skids I used to spec out for the last place I worked.  They need the low end torque to start and get up to speed.  Sawmills, less important.)

2.  Electric motors allow for a service factor that exceeds the nameplate HP for a short time without overheating.  (Think duty cycle on a welder.)  Great for milling with gigback and log loading allowing for some cooldown time.  Many service factors (SF on the nameplate) are 1.15-1.25.  Multiply the nameplate by SF to get max HP.  (15 HP with 1.25 SF = 18.75 peak HP)  Even the SF is conservative as it assumes something like 110°F ambient.  If it's cooler than that, the motor can put out more HP.  Also keep the dust off the motor to help it keep cool (and prevent fires).  Heat is the main enemy of electric motors.

[muggs]

A few notes of interest, since some of you seem to be interested in this subject. I run a part time motor shop. I have been building phase converters for around 30 years. I have built an electric motor dyno. In my experience motors run off of a phase converter do not put out full HP. But, the larger the phase converter is to the driven motor the closer you get to full HP. I tell people to double the size of the converter to the driven motor, sometimes 3 times. I also build large single phase motors [ over 10 HP] that will put out full HP. No phase converter needed for these. Also do not neglect wire size. I did an experiment with a 3 HP single phase motor, run on 240 V it put out a full 3 Hp. Run on 120 V It put out 2.3 Hp. The only difference was voltage drop. If you want to see a single phase motor that I built in action, go to the members web pages and check it out.    Muggs 8)

[bandmiller2]

I'am in Mr. Muggs shadow but a couple of suggestions if your going electric stay away from most of the pacific rim motors they are over rated and won't put out. I converted my band mill from a two cyl. Wisconsin gas, about 18 hp. to a Baldor 15 hp three phase, big difference. I run 1 1/2 bands and a hydraulic pump, scads of power and the motor never gets more than slightly warm. If you run electric you will be spoiled in short order. You can talk to helpers, hear the band cutting, no fumes and the legendary easy starting. Frank C.

[tmbrcruiser]

I think I may be an expert on how to start on one path and end up on another. My plan started with a Baker 3650E, 10 hp electric on the hydraulic feed, 20 hp electric on a Baker edger and 15 hp electric on the blower. The first electrical engineer spoke to Baker and the power company, came back with a plan. The power company would set a single phase 480 transformer and we would have one large rotary phase converter. Building went up, breaker panels were purchased a. outside disconnect near transformer b. 480 v single phase panel c. step down transformer to 220v./110v. d. single phase 220 panel e. three phase 480v. panel.

I was getting ready to order a large rotary phase converter when the power company said, oh by the way you will need a soft start on the 50 hp motor or you can add a VFD (variable frequency drive). Exit first electrical engineer, enter second electrical engineer.

Plan went to a VFD on the 50 hp, a second VFD on the 15 hp, and a smaller rotary phase converter to run the 10 hp and 20 hp. It was a ton of money up front but my electric bills are very low. I usually run the mill on Saturdays and after work two nights a week. The largest electric bill has been $126.00. Now that every thing is in and running I can't imagine not having electric.   

[fishfighter]

I havn't got to fun the 25 much, but it whittles right on through. They both are real quiet in comparison. I think the 15 has at least as much power as the 25 hp Kohler that it replaced.

I LIKE EM!

PC

What voltage motors are you using?

[woodworker9]

I think I may be an expert on how to start on one path and end up on another. My plan started with a Baker 3650E, 10 hp electric on the hydraulic feed, 20 hp electric on a Baker edger and 15 hp electric on the blower. The first electrical engineer spoke to Baker and the power company, came back with a plan. The power company would set a single phase 480 transformer and we would have one large rotary phase converter. Building went up, breaker panels were purchased a. outside disconnect near transformer b. 480 v single phase panel c. step down transformer to 220v./110v. d. single phase 220 panel e. three phase 480v. panel.

I was getting ready to order a large rotary phase converter when the power company said, oh by the way you will need a soft start on the 50 hp motor or you can add a VFD (variable frequency drive). Exit first electrical engineer, enter second electrical engineer.

Plan went to a VFD on the 50 hp, a second VFD on the 15 hp, and a smaller rotary phase converter to run the 10 hp and 20 hp. It was a ton of money up front but my electric bills are very low. I usually run the mill on Saturdays and after work two nights a week. The largest electric bill has been $126.00. Now that every thing is in and running I can't imagine not having electric.

The upfront costs on those very large VFD's had to be wickedly expensive.  I'm just curious how long it is going to take to recoup the up front equipment costs of them. 

I have been considering switching over my LT40 hydraulic to an electric motor, just to be able to move the sawmill inside and under cover.  I haven't done a full cost analysis of it yet, and I'm definitely not buying a new mill just to do it.  Other obvious considerations include a powerful air cleaner and a bigger dust collection system.

I do not have access to 3 phase power at my property, so I currently operate all my 3 phase machinery with 2 different RPC's from American Rotary.  Check them out if you're in the market.  Great company using American made components and their prices are quite reasonable.  A friend of mine just outfitted his entire shop with a 40 hp RPC from them that runs everything in the shop, including some very large metalworking machinery.

[paul case]

Fish,
230volt 3 phase. I run a 20hp converter for the 15 hp mill ans a 30 hp converter for the 25. I also run a 10 hp chopsaw off the 20 and  a 15 hp resaw from the 30.

Wood worker,
I switched the older,94 model, from gas to electric. The motor was $900 and the converter was $1600. I had to order a 3 groove taper lock pulley local that was over $100. That was before I found surpluscenter.com. Of course there are a few other expenses to it like a new drive belt and lead wire and throw switch.

I actually fitted my 15 hp electric motor to the lt40 by bolting it to 2 2x2 square tubes paralell to the motor and welding them down to the motor hinge plate on the mill. One of the tubes had to be notched in the front to miss the belt. This let me use the same length belt that the original onan 24 motor used. Pulley had to be a certian size and I don't remember what that was but I can find out for you. I can also put you in touch with my motor man if you dont have one or want to check his prices, just PM me.

The way I figured the payback on switching was that we were burning 5 gallons of gas per day at the time $3/gallon was $75 per week and $300/month. My Electric bill went up just about $40/ month when adding the mill. So that was a savings of $260 per month, not to mention a $15 oil change every month. The thing would pay for itself in 10 months.
Color me happy.

PC

[woodworker9]

Thanks for the information, Paul.  I would have thought that the VFD would have been more expensive for a motor that size.

I have a 20 hp RPC and a 10 Hp RPC for running my woodshop and metalworking shop.

Is 15 hp the right size motor to handle the power needs of the LT40?  If so, it would be an easy conversion for me, when I decide to move indoors with the mill.  I have to build the new building first, though.... :D