Solar Powered 1.5 HP Motor

[Greenhorn]

I'm totally new to solar panels - know nothing about them really. I have a piece of equipment that utilizes a 1.5 HP 3 phase/ 110VAC/ 60 Hz motor to drive a gear reducer. The equipment is typically idle, starting only when actuated by a switch, operating for a brief period of about 30 seconds to 2 minutes after actuation and then shutting off to idle again. The cycle is not regular - it could happen 10 times per hour or 10 times in 24 hours. I'm curious of what it would take to power this via solar cell (i.e. how many cells/ size of each, ancillary equipment to transmit/ convert the power, storage battery, etc.). Any recommendations or insight is greatly appreciated. Ultimately I'm trying to determine if the total cost to use solar power is going to be worth it or if it's just a massively expensive daydream. Thanks.

[Sunking]

Massively expensive day dream. You will pay 10 to 30 times more for solar power using batteries than buying from the utility.

[Mike90250]

Ouch ! Starting a motor is the hardest part, going from 0 - 1800 RPM

And a 1.5hp motor will need 2,000 of pure sine wave power for running, and about 10x that for starting.
2,000 w from a 48V battery bank is 40 amps. 10x for starting, is 400A, which is a disgustingly huge battery bank.

Any other way to power this motor?

[Greenhorn]

Thanks. The typical installation locates the equipment near a 120VAC source, then uses a frequency inverter to get from 1 ph to 3 ph. I'm just curious if there's a (somewhat) cost effective way to power it without plugging in, mainly so I can operate the equipment in a location that wouldn't have a power supply. My brief look into the matter makes it appear I'd be looking at a minimum $6,000 USD if not more to achieve this, which is a higher cost than I could justify. I'm not looking to save money in power consumption, rather I want to make the unit portable. Given my inexperience in solar (and frankly all things electrical - I'm a mech. eng.), I was hoping I'd overlooked another way of doing things that may allow me to do this less expensively.

[MarineLiner]

Ouch ! Starting a motor is the hardest part, .....

Any other way to power this motor?

[Mike90250]

[QUOTE=MarineLiner;8971]

[Sunking]

Greenhorn as one engineer to another, there is not a justifiable way to make this work. It will cost you 20 times more to power with RE than just buying it and not near as reliable.

You best portable option is a 3-phase generator burning diesel fuel.

[Greenhorn]

Thanks folks. I think it's time for me to put this pet project to bed. Case closed.

[Canarsie Kidd]

check this out

Check out this link for a solar powered hydraulic power unit which uses a 1.5 hp 110 volt single phase motor.

http://www.marathonequipment.com/Lit/genII-solar.pdf

[russ]

Check out this link for a solar powered hydraulic power unit which uses a 1.5 hp 110 volt single phase motor.

http://www.marathonequipment.com/Lit/genII-solar.pdf

I believe those guys are blowing smoke! They really provide no information at all - advertising blurb by marketing with little or no input by engineering.

Russ

[Sunking]

Check out this link for a solar powered hydraulic power unit which uses a 1.5 hp 110 volt single phase motor.

http://www.marathonequipment.com/Lit/genII-solar.pdf

Complete junk

[Metalle]

Solar driven Motor

I'm totally new to solar panels - massively expensive daydream.

Perhaps a combination of mechanical and solar can do the job, do you have an idea of how many hours of good sunlight you will have available? And the minimum time between actuations?


Best
Gray

[russ]

Perhaps a combination of mechanical and solar can do the job, do you have an idea of how many hours of good sunlight you will have available? And the minimum time between actuations?


Best
Gray

Gray - WTF does that mean? Inefficiency added to inefficiency does not make a positive thing - except in the green world where science and engineering have no place.

[Metalle]

Gray - WTF does that mean? Inefficiency added to inefficiency does not make a positive thing - except in the green world where science and engineering have no place.

Not sure what you mean...WTF is not a scientific term...just a question...can you answer it?
BTW, are you the moderator?
G

[Naptown]

Not sure what you mean...WTF is not a scientific term...just a question...can you answer it?
BTW, are you the moderator?
G

Actually yes he is a moderator with a huge BS radar array.