In 2014, Smelter Services, Inc. purchased three 200 HP Maxeff motors. They have aluminum furnaces with 125 HP motors and undersized turbine fans. The plant needed updates, which included replacing 125 HP motors with 200 HP motors. This normally would have required changing cable sizes, contactor sizes, and motor starter sizes. Alternatively, they chose 200 HP Maxeff motors and mounted them in place of the 125 HP, which didn’t change anything else, not even the breakers. Since the install, the 200 HP Maxeff motors have been cooler while drawing fewer Amps.
Additionally, the plant has a 1 Mega-Watt contract with their power company, with the 125 HP motors, they had no trouble reaching their contract power consumption. After replacing only three 125 HP motors for 200 HP Maxeff motors, they received a fine from the power company for never reaching their 1 MW contract level. Once a month, the plant opens the vents on the fan housing to force an overload onto the motors for an hour. They reach the 1 MW to get out of the penalty zone and save power all month long.
In February 2017, the plant purchased four more new Maxeff motors for a plant extension.