PLEASE CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR ME!!! PLEASE !!!

[-Andy-]

hi there, I have a question I need quickly answered about an item on ebay I am interested in.
The said item is a 3 phase pillar drill which has a rating of 370 watts, I already have a single phase pillar drill which is alledgedly 370 watts as well. The pillar drill i already own is very weak and useless, however this maybe because it is a rubbish make and is just knackered. my question is this: is a 370 watt three phase machine more powerful than a 370 watt single phase machine and if so by how much?
any help on this matter would of course be greatly appreciated.
many thanks
Andy

[-Andy-]

thanks for all your help guys, great site.

[Jimbo]

Andy, only just seen your message so that explains my slow reply. From my days working on electric motors I remember this, the single phase will have a low starting torque the 3 phase will not, the single phase will slow very quickly under load the 3 phase will not, the HP rating is the same both delivering the same output. To explain in a nutshell the single phase pushes the rotor once every 360 degrees the 3 phase pushes 3 times in 360 degree. Have you a 3 phase supply available? inverters do not generally do what they claim to do. Regards Jim