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230-Volt Motors on 208-Volt Service
Question
Forum Responses
From contributor L: Operating a motor rated at 230 vac on 208 vac will cause the motor to operate at a higher temperature and slightly less HP will be produced. Motors are usually rated to run at +-10% voltage, so this falls within the guidelines, barely. If you want to do the proper thing, get yourself a pair of buck/boost transformers to boost your voltage to 230. They will cost you about $110 apiece and when you get them, make sure you ask the seller to send you the literature on how to wire them up for your 3 PH power. You can always find wiring diagrams on the net. Good luck, and be safe when playing with power. From contributor B: I have the same situation and had the same concerns. No problems for two years running. I think you'll fall within the percentage. From contributor J: Most of the time you will not have any problem running a 230 motor on 208. Do keep in mind that during the summer months, our voltage sometimes drops down to 194-198 volts, which is well more than the +/- 10%. If you have more than one machine that is rated at 230, consider installing a larger dedicated transformer and panel board to run those machines at 240 delta. You need a 240 volt primary by 208Y/120 secondary transformer. You'll be using this in step-up configuration, so do not hook up the neutral wire. A 30 KVA transformer will give you 72 amps at 240. If you can afford to wait a little while, you can find everything you'll need on E-bay for probably just a few hundred dollars. Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below? 
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