Hi i've been told that if i increase my 40amp supply into my workshop that i'll be able to use a transwave convertor for running 3-phase machines. Has anyone had any experience with these machines? How 'easy' would it be for an electrician to increase my supply to 40 amp? Cheers
Your talking about an inverter. You can get a small inverter, up to about 7.5Kw I think, that takes a single phase input and gives a three phase, variable frequency output. Check out the Control Techniques website as a starting point.
You could possibly run stuff off a large rotary phase converter but they're incredibly expensive so really not worth it for DIY use. You'd do far better selling the 3 phase gear and buying single phase gear instead. This has come around in various guises before and the consensus is it's just not cost effective.