Electric to Gas conversion...

[Warren]

Good afternoon.   I am considering purchasing a simple horizontal resaw for a project.  Unfortunately. most of the units in my price range are 3 phase electric, which I do not have.  Previously owned a Baker twin blade edger with a Honda 20 hp engine that worked flawlessly for my needs.   Has anyone converted a small resaw (say Baker BBR-0) from electric to gasoline powered?   IF so, how well did that work out?    Please and Thank you !

[scsmith42]

What is the HP of your electric motor?  A rotary phase converter might be a less expensive option than replacing the motor.

[rusticretreater]

Price out the phase converter first.  If it doesn't work well, you can then switch the motor out for an engine. 

You will need more than just an engine though.  Different electronics, clutch, pulleys.  Possible engine mounting issues.

You will need to research the torque of the electric motor compared to the engine and compensate with pulley sizes.  There are calculators for this in the toolbox section of the forum.

[customsawyer]

I had a Morgan resaw with a gas engine, many years ago. It did okay. I would lean towards the converter like Scott mentioned.

[teakwood]

I converted my champion sawmill from a 20hp Honda twin 600cc to 7.5hp treephase motor. the 7.5hp is a little on the small side but works for me, i only saw smaller diam logs. the power is almost comparable between those two motors.

i would never go back to gas!! 

[Warren]

Have an onsite appointment in two weeks with an engineer from the local RECC to see what would be required to install 3 phase in my barn.  And ongoing costs.  Current single phase service to the barn feeds from a pole that carries the main three phase lines for our end of the county.  120 cable feet from the barn. 

I also reached out to a friend who is a professional electrical contractor.  Will try to pick his mind as well. 

The digital phase converters appear to be the most cost effective way to get where I want to go, at the moment.    But, need to sort out the facts and the details.

[teakwood]

If you have good one phase service and you wont go full industrial production in the future you don't need 3phase. i only have one phase and have a small, but production sawmill facility . sawmill, kiln, moulder, planers,....

all 3 phase is made with a rotary phase converter and vfd's

[chainsaw_louie]

There are many 3 phase converters available on the used market within 200 miles of you.

Look on Craigslist and facebook marketplace.  If you don't have a Facebook account, ask someone who does to show you what's available and to communicate with the seller.

Here is a sample from Craigslist.com:

https://louisville.craigslist.org/search/carrollton-ky/sss?bundleDuplicates=1&lat=38.6620&lon=-85.2000&purveyor=owner&query=Phase%20converter&search_distance=234.83700000000002&sort=date#search=2~grid~0