Hi Folks,
Some of you might remember me. I used to frequent these parts, but lost heart with the loss of the blueprints two years ago. Anyway, if any of you good people have some suggestions for me regarding setting up an old Champion No. 50 blower with a 220V brush-style motor I'd sure appreciate it. I searched and read through the forums and a number of threads, but I'm still somewhat confused. Here's what I have and think I know, perhaps you can set me straight.
Here's the blower and tag on the motor....
I've tried running the motor with 110V, but it's fairly wimpy. On-the-other-hand, 220V revs her up enough to blow the coke clear out of the firepot! I understand and appreciate the gate, valve and damper approaches to air management. That being said, I am committed to being able to control the motor itself too via a rheostat...and there lies the rub. I'm not sure what to spec out. All I know about the motor is it's 220V. I do not know what amperage and resistance the rheostat should be.
I scrounged a couple but they aren't cutting the mustard.
This Ohmite one at 50 ohmes and 2.45A doesn't vary the motor speed much at 110V and doesn't slow it down enough at 220V.
This Mac Lagan measures up to about 2K ohms. It controls the motor at 110V in the 90 to 100 range. It comes on around 90 and moves up to full 110V speed at 100. In other words, it uses a small portion of the winding. Does that mean it's too much resistance? Anyway, I think I may have fused the coil when hooked up to 220V, as the motor started just running at full bore after being hooked up for a bit.
So, can anyone help enlighten me as to tracking down a rheostat that can effectively manage this 220V motor from zero to full blast????
Thanks, Phil