Originally Posted by
Tazza
Sorry, didn't remember you were in SA, so obviously you have real power down there (when there isn't a storm to take it out for a week...) That sure was a messed up time of year for you guys.
I'm never sure what the electrical KW to HP ratings are, mine is a 1/4 hp, so i can't tell you. Yet bigger isn't a bad idea, especially if you run a VFD as you can set the max current. You don't want it jamming up and breaking something.
The biggest issue can be mating the motor to the gear box, ideally find something that is an ISO standard that you know you can just slap a gear box to. Mine came as a unit, so i knew they were fine, i was told if needed a bigger motor, the motor was an ISO standard so swapping it would be easy.
Just little things to make sure you don't spend more than you need to.
Check gumtree as well, something may be available. Mine was used, but worked just fine.