Enclosed Three Phase Motors
Enclosed three-phase motors are made to work in tough conditions. They are unfailingly reliable and efficient, and their components are safe from the dust, dampness, and impurities of the sort that would do them serious damage and drastically cut short their working lives.
These electric motors are housed in many different types of enclosures, including Totally Enclosed Fan-Cooled (TEFC) and Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated (TENV). A TEFC motor features an external fan that cools the motor by blowing air over the motor's housing. This ensures not only that the motor itself will be cooled but also that any kind of contaminant will not enter the motor. A TENV motor does not have an external fan because hidden motors in applications like these can’t really carry an external fan around with them. Without the fan, they are still cooled because the motor itself is fitted with a finite surface area to dissipate heat.
Another vital advantage of totally enclosed motors is their flexibility. They come in many different sizes, enabling them to fit into all kinds of systems. They’re also quite powerful, which makes them particularly useful in settings where a single-phase motor just wouldn’t cut it. They are particularly useful for powering pumps and compressors. And they’re consistent: day after day, year after year, you can count on a three-phase motor to do its job.
Products
FAQs
Are totally enclosed motors inverter ready?
Yes, many totally enclosed motors are designed to be inverter ready, meaning they can be used with variable frequency drives.
Motor Starters, Soft Starters and VFDs
Motor Starters
Motor starters safely start and stop a motor in industrial applications. They are designed with a contactor, overload and circuit protection. They are used when basic motor control is required, where torque on the motor is not a concern and speed control is not needed. The advantages of motor starters include: lower cost, allows for remote operation, allows for monitoring of motor state (with the use of auxiliary contacts) and they are safe and efficient. The disadvantages include: high inrush current that can cause fuses to blow and breakers to trip if the inrush is too high, and the starter will allow a full torque to start the motor which can cause the motor to ramp up to full speed very quickly potentially causing the motor to wear and degrade prematurely.
Soft Starters
Soft starters protect motors from inrush current by gently ramping up the motor to full speed. They provide all of the same functions as a traditional motor starter. The advantages of soft starters include: they are less expensive than a VFD when only startup control is needed, they are a smaller system than a VFD where space is a concern and they prevent unwanted torque upon startup, prolonging the life of the motor. The disadvantages include: they are more expensive than a traditional motor starter and they do not allow for full speed control.
VFDs
A Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) allows for the slow ramp up of a motor during startup and the slowing down of the motor during shutdown. It also allows for full speed control during the entire run cycle of the motor. VFDs provide the same functions as both the traditional motor starters and soft starters. The advantages of VFDs include: full speed control (start, stop and in-between), more custom control and monitoring, energy savings due to efficient motor usage and less wear and tear on the motors. The disadvantages include: they are more expensive and larger than other motor control options and they generate heat that may require fans or AC units.