I am working on an art project that requires me to control the speed of a 220v washing machine motor (they are cheap) using a DMX lighting control system. I have used DMX before to control motors and it works with some not others. I have never used such a high rev motor. So before I use the DMX on the motor I would like to bench test with various AC voltages from 12v to 220v. using transformers to accomplish this. I have run the motor off 110v AC and it ran slower as expected.

Question: is it possible to run 220v AC motor off 12v AC without burning it out ?

thanks carloc

 

Carloc... 12 Vac represents about 5.5 percent of the motor's rated voltage. And, at start, the motor's impedance is about i/5th of nominal.

Thus, it is unlikely the motor will develop enough torque to "breakaway" from its stopped position. Furthermore, the current produced, even if below rated amperes, will eventually damage the winding if the motor is fan-cooled!

Rather than use several transformers to bench-test the motor, I suggest you use a variable-output transformer like a Variac!

Regards, Phil Corso