General Category > General Discussion
Inverter care / maintenance
Wood spinner:
Amyone have any opinions regarding inverter care , My concerns are temperature variations . In winter the temperature can drop as low as -8 , in summer +40 in my workshop , Just wondering if a small heater / heat pad would help stabilise the temperature ,
Why ? I here you ask , Cost of replacing an invertar is not cheap :o
Paul Hannaby:
Probably the biggest risk is condensation due to the cold which could cause corrosion or shorts between conductors so preventing that is where I would target my efforts.
VB36 lathes are renowned for inverter failure due to the inverter being located in the bottom of the headstock, the bottom of which is open and a trap for condensation!
An inverter kept in the right environment could last for decades even if switched on all the time.
Twisted Trees:
I wouldn't do it personally but an inverter left switched on will create some heat which is coming from inside to outside and I would think preferable to a heat pad, less likely to bring damp in if it is itself the heat source maybe?
Look to insulation combined with ventilation as passive environment protections of your tools and machinery is the first call for any workshop.
jay:
I find that a small heater keeps the shop above 7C unless I am working then I set it higher combined with a small dehumidifier that keeps it at 55% very successful. No problems with either lathe both with VFD or with rust on the polished cast iron table on my spindle molder
Duncan A:
The Delta EL manual states -10 to +50C for operation; -20 to +60C for storage; <90% relative humidity for both cases, no condensation allowed.
The Delta S manual states -10 to +40C for operation; -20 to +60C for storage; <90% relative humidity for both cases, no condensation allowed.
This type of inverter, without a cabinet, is widely fitted to lots of lathes: Jet, Axi, Charnwood to my knowledge. I do know of one on a Charnwood lathe that sat in a wooden shed for several years and then was returned to use without any problems at all - although the internal capacitors really should be powered up annually.
Other brands seem to be fairly similar.
Most likely scenario where condensation occurs would be sitting in a very cold workshop and then warming it up rapidly.
As long as damp is not excessive, I think you'll wimp out before the inverter does!
Duncan
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