Grizzly 15 inch spiral head planer. Is 3 hp enough?

[capt dick]

I had a 15 inch Grizz,with standard blades and with a wide hardwood board it would strain.  Went to a 24 inch woodmaster and no problem.

[21incher]

The way I understand the rules is 17 amps is the Full Load Circuit for a 3 horsepower motor according to the NEC rules.  The real reason for defining a 3 hp motor as pulling 17 amps is for sizing wiring, motor protection devices, and breakers.

If a manufacture can make a 3 horsepower motor pulling less than 17 amps all is well and good as the motor is more efficient.  I think it has been this way for a long time.  Baldor has been pasting Energy Efficient on there motors for years.

I mentioned in a earlier post I was using a 5 horsepower Leeson on my 15" planer now.  Originally I bought it to power a 12" Belsaw.  It would eat small trees and never slow down.  We have to take in consideration feed rate.  The Belsaw ran at 12 fpm.  The standard for these 15" planers has been a two speed gearbox with a choice of 15 or 20 fpm.  Some sellers have tinkered with the feed rates to one up the competition, but if the feed rate is too high the machine will fall on its face.

Good points. I never thought about the faster feed rates. I was looking at the cuts per inch that were equivalent. I guess this whole motor current draw is getting like light bulbs where you can get 100 watts of light from 12 watts of power these days. 

[21incher]

I just checked the Grizzly website and it looks like they are bringing back the Z series with higher amperage  UL listed motors and bigger heads with more inserts. I wonder if they have issues with the ZW series. I guess I will wait to see if they go on sale now.  

[John S]

Fine Woodworking did  a study comparing straight blades to spiral heads a couple of years ago.  They observed that the spiral heads put more of a load on the motor, possibly because a cutter was constantly in contact with the surface of the stock being planed, as opposed to straight blades that had gaps in making contact.

[Just Me]

The way I understand the rules is 17 amps is the Full Load Circuit for a 3 horsepower motor according to the NEC rules.  The real reason for defining a 3 hp motor as pulling 17 amps is for sizing wiring, motor protection devices, and breakers.

If a manufacture can make a 3 horsepower motor pulling less than 17 amps all is well and good as the motor is more efficient.  I think it has been this way for a long time.  Baldor has been pasting Energy Efficient on there motors for years.

I mentioned in a earlier post I was using a 5 horsepower Leeson on my 15" planer now.  Originally I bought it to power a 12" Belsaw.  It would eat small trees and never slow down.  We have to take in consideration feed rate.  The Belsaw ran at 12 fpm.  The standard for these 15" planers has been a two speed gearbox with a choice of 15 or 20 fpm.  Some sellers have tinkered with the feed rates to one up the competition, but if the feed rate is too high the machine will fall on its face.

Good points. I never thought about the faster feed rates. I was looking at the cuts per inch that were equivalent. I guess this whole motor current draw is getting like light bulbs where you can get 100 watts of light from 12 watts of power these days. 

Cuts per inch is the most important factor to me. More cuts equals less tearout and less sanding.

My current planer is a four speed, 1st gear is 16FPM and over 125 cuts per inch, and 4th is 72 fpm is of course less. I like the idea of a multi speed planer. High speed causes less wear on the knives and is faster for rough passes, and low gear is great for finish cuts.

[Just Me]

Also, look at the head diameter. The larger the circle the cutters are swinging the shallower the angle of the knife as it leaves the wood. Plus a larger head has a flywheel effect when you run into a knot for example.

[21incher]

I have a G0453Z on the way from  China. They brought the model back this year. The Grizzly tech support said it is a full 3hp 15 amp  240 volt motor due to the efficiency with the 74 German inserts . Sounds like the old ratings may have been higher amps because they were rated at 220 volts. They dropped the price and are giving free shipping so it is about  $300.00 less then the 12 amp 72 Chinese insert model  last year. Hoping to get it by the end of this month so I can finish the winter honey do list.

[petefrom bearswamp]

John S, I got this opinion also.
My local woodworking equipment dealer told me about the constant contact theory about 10 years ago.
the beast is very quiet tho and the finish smooth.

[dustyhat]

Glad you guys started this thread. been debating trying the spiral head cutter on my older grizz 15 incher. but after hearing about the bog down and drag, it changed my mined  . i even think mine has a 2 hp. doesn't bog in 10 to 12 inch white oak. so guess blades make a diff.

[Kbeitz]

In the Grizzlys show room we was told to tell the customer that spiral head cutter
used less power. All returning customers said it was true. I bought one for my
planer so I can't say first hand...

[Bill Gaiche]

I put a Byrd 15" spiral in my last Grizzly planer. I liked it very much. I bought a 20" used grizzly and I installed a Byrd spiral cutter in it also and I like it very much. If I had to do it again, I would do it again. I don't have any problems at all on red or white oak, sycamore, hackberry, pine, cypress, walnut and cedar. But, I just do it on a hobby basis. bg

[btulloh]

I really like the spiral head, but my 15" could use more than the 3hp it has now.  OK for my volume of work, but irregular stuff requires a little baby sitting.  Just needs more hp ideally.

[Solomon]

You should have no problems, unless you really over tax it.
 If you're going to be planing 14 inch wide boards 4 inches thick and 16 ft long all day long, day in and day out, get a bigger and more robust planer.

[teakwood]

Its a no brainer for me. changed to spiralhead on my 20" grizzly. would never go back to straight knife. Quieter, smoother finish, less power required, faster, can take more of in one pass,...

[21incher]

Well finally got it and the finish the spiral head leaves is amazing. Seems to have plenty of power on the low feed speed. The 30 fpm feed makes it work hard. My old bellsaw with rubber feed rollers took a lot of force to get a board started and the steel roller on this one grabs onto and pulls the board right in. What a difference in the noise level, the dust collector makes more noise then the planer now. I am not going to miss grinding and replacing knives.  Can finally get going on some new projects.

[Bruno of NH]

Mr 21
good luck with the new planer

[21incher]

Mr 21
good luck with the new planer

Thanks Bruno. It's amazing how important a planer is when all you have is rough cut lumber.