The world’s first 100 horsepower, single-phase, Written-Pole electric motor is now available in Canada through Meridium Power of Winnipeg.
Designed specifically for single-phase electrical systems common in rural areas, this new motor joins the lineup of single-phase motors in the 15 to 75 hp range that Meridium has been selling since their introduction to Canada in 1996.
Meridium, a subsidiary of the Manitoba Hydro power utility, has the exclusive Canadian distribution rights for Precise Power Written-Pole motors.
“These motors are finding their way into almost every kind of agricultural operation right across Canada,” said Meridium general manager Dale Friesen, who added single-phase Written-Pole motors are suitable for irrigation, feed mills, all types of grain handling equipment, dairy, refrigeration and value-added processing plants.
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“The full-load operating efficiency of the new 100 hp single-phase motor is 95 percent,” he said.
“That’s the same full-load operating efficiency of a conventional, high-efficiency three-phase induction motor.”
He said the Written-Pole motors save 60 percent in energy costs compared to a stationary diesel, based on current diesel and electricity prices.
The first Written-Pole motor that Meridium brought into Canada was a 30 hp prototype it acquired for testing in the mid-1990s.
“It’s an ugly, crude looking beast, but it’s still running just fine today,” Friesen said.
“A wire came loose on one occasion, but that’s the only problem we’ve had with it so far.”
After running the motor for two years on an oil well, it was sold in 1997 to Wayne Dutchyshen, a farmer from Grandview, Man., who uses it to run a 60-inch box fan on his aeration system.
Dutchyshen, who also uses three-phase motors with a phase converter, said his Written-Pole has been virtually trouble free.
“It’s also more economical than using converted power,” he said.
“We’ve had a few times when it’s been hard to start, but you just fool around with it a little bit and it gets going. It’s not a big deal.”
The largest single-phase electric motor setup in the world is a 250 hp irrigation project near Brandon that brings together the power of two 75 hp and two 50 hp Written-Pole motors.
Sundance Enterprises uses the motors to pump water out of the Assiniboine River to irrigate four quarters of potato land every summer.
Sundance farm manager Don Loewen is in a good position to compare Written-Pole motors to conventional three-phase induction motors because the farm also runs three-phase 150 hp and 200 hp motors on the other side of the river where it has ready access to three-phase.
“Three-phase costs you a lot more money,” he said.
“Manitoba Hydro hits you with standby charges all year long. They have you paying for power in the middle of the winter when you’re not using it. With single-phase, we only pay for the power we use.”
Sundance powered the pump site with diesel before it installed the Written-Pole motors and while the electric motors are cheaper to run than diesel motors, Loewen said the main reasons for the switch were the two problems associated with diesel.
- Labour: “We had such a large labour cost in servicing the diesels. With an electric motor, the service costs drop to almost nothing.”
- Environmental licensing: “We needed a separate environmental licence for each diesel site. The fuel needed to be stored so far away. There were so many regulations. Electric motors solve all those problems.”
The Written-Pole motors were installed for the 2002 season and Loewen admitted that at first everyone was skeptical, including himself and the inspectors.
“The computers and controls back in the shed are still kind of scary,” he said.
“That’s all new technology to us. We had some problems getting them to start that first summer. These are very temperamental motors. They would throw breakers and overload the circuits. I guess when you’re pulling 250 hp off a single hydro line, that’s expecting a lot.”
He said at first the motors threw off the harmonics in Manitoba Hydro’s power lines.
“Dale Friesen had to spend some time getting them set up just right. Now that they’re set up, there’s really no problems. It was really what you’d call a tuning problem.”
Lightning is the only major problem, said Loewen.
“In a lightning storm, these motors go down very quickly. Even a small flash Ñ a small blurp in the line Ñ will shut them down. If we see a lightning flash anywhere in this area, we automatically know we have to go and reset the motors. Again, it’s something to do with harmonics in the lines. Our three-phase motors keep running right through the storms.”
Loewen thinks the Written-Pole single-phase motors run cooler than three-phase. Now that the motors are tuned, he said he has had no breakdowns.
“My neighbour also put in a Written-Pole motor for irrigation. He had one breakdown, but they had him up and running again within a day, so that’s not bad. We’re becoming more confident this was the right decision for this farm.”
Prices start at $5,500 for the 15 hp motor and top out at $23,000 for the new 100 hp motor.
Friesen said those prices include everything needed except the wire and breaker. The package comes with a control box containing all the hardware necessary to run the motor.
The box includes an input contactor, overload protection, start-run capacitors, thermal cutouts, capacitor switches and excitation controls. Unlike a conventional motor with internal capacitors, Written-Pole motors put the capacitors inside the control panel to isolate them from heat and vibration. The unit is packaged in a weather tight cabinet so it can be installed inside or outside.
“These motors have tremendous implications for rural areas,” Friesen said.
“It means you can now economically put electrically driven equipment in places where it was previously not viable or even not possible.”
