Get Three-Phase Power From Single-Phase Lines

Get Three-Phase Power From Single-Phase Lines ENERGY Miscellaneous 5-2-34 Illinois dairyman Jim Brown, of Nokomis, installed one of the slickest manure handling systems you ever saw without having to do any rewiring of the single-phase power line his operation has outgrown several times over. Thanks to a Ronk electric motor-converter, he can operate electric motors up to 25 hp. on his single-phase power lines. The converter saves him the cost and nuisance of having to use a tractor to pump manure into his Slurrystore. Every day, Don pushes fresh manure from his 90 Holstein cows down a concrete ramp (with 4 ft. sides) and on into a pit that holds 6,000 gal. All manure goes into the pit, including that from his loafing barn which contains chopped straw. Once in the pit, Brown turns on a 15 hp. Ronk motor-converter that runs a beater down in the pit. Frozen chunks are pushed in, too. After the manure is emulsified, Brown then pumps it into the Slurrystore. A spokesman for Ronk Electric notes that old style single-phase electric motors are generally limited to 5 or 71/2 hp. on rural lines. Thanks to the company's converters and motor packages, much larger hp. motors are now practical on the rural electric lines. "Virtually any farm today has the electric power to operate a motor-converter such as Brown's 15 hp.motor. Much larger motors, to 150 hp., are available if larger electric services are installed. This means large electric horsepower for grain drying and handling, grinding, pumping and the like can now be utilized to improve productivity while keeping operating costs down," according to Ronk Electric. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ronk Electric,1209 East State Street, Nokomis, Ill. 62075 (ph 217 563-8333).

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