A few weeks ago I had the inverter on my woodlathe die, again. This is the=
second time one died. The first time I found an exact replacement on E-Ba=
y for $400. It lasted two years. I did not want to wind up spending $200 =
a year, so went looking for a suitable replacement. =20
I found a Hitachi inverter (WJ200) at Surplus Center for $229 and bought it=
. When it arrived, I quickly realized I needed help in understanding how t=
o set the parameters, so I sent an e-mail to Hitachi Customer Service and w=
ound up talking to them on the phone, on their dime.
Of all the Customer Service folks I have talked to over the years, these gu=
ys (talked to one primarily, but had a brief conversation with another) are=
, without a doubt, the most outstanding I have ever run into. They were no=
t in a rush. They were extremely interested in my getting the unit up and =
running. When the conversation was over (on the first call) they told me t=
o call back if I needed any help. =20
I did, both need help and call, and the response was exactly the same. My =
last issue was a harmonic squeal at about half speed. Derek gave me a coup=
le of suggestions, told me the squeal would not hurt the motor and told me =
to call him back If I needed anything else.
The unit is up and running. The suggestion cured the squeal. I have my l=
athe back, with a modern inverter that should last for years.
All in all a very good experience.
Deb
On 10/6/2018 7:05 AM, Dr. Deb wrote:
> A few weeks ago I had the inverter on my woodlathe die, again. This
is the second time one died. The first time I found an exact
replacement on E-Bay for $400. It lasted two years. I did not want to
wind up spending $200 a year, so went looking for a suitable replacement.
>
> I found a Hitachi inverter (WJ200) at Surplus Center for $229 and
bought it. When it arrived, I quickly realized I needed help in
understanding how to set the parameters, so I sent an e-mail to Hitachi
Customer Service and wound up talking to them on the phone, on their dime.
>
> Of all the Customer Service folks I have talked to over the years,
these guys (talked to one primarily, but had a brief conversation with
another) are, without a doubt, the most outstanding I have ever run
into. They were not in a rush. They were extremely interested in my
getting the unit up and running. When the conversation was over (on the
first call) they told me to call back if I needed any help.
>
> I did, both need help and call, and the response was exactly the
same. My last issue was a harmonic squeal at about half speed. Derek
gave me a couple of suggestions, told me the squeal would not hurt the
motor and told me to call him back If I needed anything else.
>
> The unit is up and running. The suggestion cured the squeal. I
have my lathe back, with a modern inverter that should last for years.
>
> All in all a very good experience.
>
> Deb
>
I'm running a Hitachi VFD WJ200-007 (115VAC in 230VAC out) on a 1HP high
speed mill. I've set up a few Huan Yang inverters, and one Mitsubishi
Inverter, but I'd never setup a Hitachi before. I bought mine from
Drives Warehouse. On a Friday evening trying to get things going
desperately because I was behind on jobs I just couldn't figure out a
couple things. I called Drives Warehouse and left a message that I
needed help. Not 15 minutes later one of their guys called me from home
and walked me through the setup to the best of his ability. In the mean
time one thing that wasn't making sense clicked for me. Between the two
of of us we got it going to push a 1HP 24000rpm spindle. Its been
working fine for a couple years now. I run the motor at 400hz 99.9% of
the time and put varying continuous loads from about 0.01HP to about
0.25HP on it with peak loads likely spiking close to max. Its been a
solid performer, and I think the price was a little over $200 at the
time. If my experience is any indication the Hitachi should outlast
your previous inverters.
On 10/6/2018 10:05 AM, Dr. Deb wrote:
> A few weeks ago I had the inverter on my woodlathe die, again. This is the second time one died. The first time I found an exact replacement on E-Bay for $400. It lasted two years. I did not want to wind up spending $200 a year, so went looking for a suitable replacement.
>
> I found a Hitachi inverter (WJ200) at Surplus Center for $229 and bought it. When it arrived, I quickly realized I needed help in understanding how to set the parameters, so I sent an e-mail to Hitachi Customer Service and wound up talking to them on the phone, on their dime.
>
> Of all the Customer Service folks I have talked to over the years, these guys (talked to one primarily, but had a brief conversation with another) are, without a doubt, the most outstanding I have ever run into. They were not in a rush. They were extremely interested in my getting the unit up and running. When the conversation was over (on the first call) they told me to call back if I needed any help.
>
> I did, both need help and call, and the response was exactly the same. My last issue was a harmonic squeal at about half speed. Derek gave me a couple of suggestions, told me the squeal would not hurt the motor and told me to call him back If I needed anything else.
>
> The unit is up and running. The suggestion cured the squeal. I have my lathe back, with a modern inverter that should last for years.
>
> All in all a very good experience.
>
> Deb
>
I concur, I have a few Hitachi tools, one being a portable table saw
which had a problem a few years ago. Customer service helped me also and
resolved my problem. Good people to deal with.