Motor wattage of Clay Boss pottery wheel

[2Relaxed]

Hi all,

Can anyone help me find out the electric motor wattage of the Clay Boss pottery wheel? I want to buy one and cannot find it in any specs posted  on the internet.

Speedball came up with a response like this:

"Our Clay Boss is recommended for use at 120V.  The number of amps that the wheel pulls is a byproduct of the work that is being done on it at any given time, ranging in amps of between 1 and 15.  With all this said, the wattage for the Clay Boss would range between 120 and 1800, as wattage is volts times amps."

I find it a little strange since all other wheels I've encountered so far have the wattage clearly indicated on the electrical label along with voltage, amps, phase, etc. Can the Clay Boss wheel be THAT different from others?

Thanks!

Olga

[neilestrick]

The rating on the motor serial plate is not constant, like Speedball said. Why do you need to know the wattage? What matters is how well the wheel handles strain, which usually rated by centering capacity. The do it this way because 5 wheels all with 1/2hp motors will all behave differently depending on how the wheel is constructed, and the what type of controller is being used. For example, a 1/3hp Skutt can handle as much clay as a 1hp Brent.

[2Relaxed]

Thanks Neil. It's just that I'm trying to choose between Shimpo VL Lite (which has a 100W motor according to the specs) and Clay Boss. They seem to be very comparable in specs and pricewise, and it's only the wattage that I couldn't find anywhere for Clay Boss. 

[curt]

Somewhat tangential, but I can tell you from experince that if the maximum wattage (more specifically amps) the wheel can pull at top torque (when you bear down trying to center that big ball of stiff clay) exceeeds the amperage of the breaker on the electrical line that wheel is plugged in to.... you will suddenly find yourself in the dark....

For real fun (and howls of delight from students!) get several wheels and a few hairdryers all in the same circuit running at once...   Hours of fun deciding who is to blame!!!