DIY VFD Mentor Kit

Turn your AI subscription into a VFD troubleshooting assistant.

The drive faults at 2 a.m. and the OEM rep is offline until morning. Generic AI does not know your drives, your cable runs, or your duty cycle. This kit gives it the knowledge to help... it loads a VFD reliability knowledge base into the Claude or ChatGPT account you already pay for, built from a curated library of scanned manuals and the field work behind Before the First Fault, not a web scrape.

Works with your existing Claude or ChatGPT account. No new subscription.

VFD MENTOR STATUS FAULT F-OU2 DC BUS OVERVOLTAGE / DECEL 0.0 Hz 812 VDC RUN FAULT FWD RESET RUN STOP T1 T2 T3 U V W GND
The field reality

When the line is down, the clock is the enemy.

A variable frequency drive does not fault on a schedule. It trips on the third start of the shift, on a hard decel against a high-inertia load, or after a long cable run finally wears through the motor insulation. The fault code on the keypad tells you what tripped. It does not tell you why, or what to check first.

OU / OV

An overvoltage trip on deceleration that clears once you add ramp time or a brake resistor... if you know to look there before you start swapping parts.

GF

A ground fault reading that is really reflected wave damage from a few hundred feet of unscreened cable with no output reactor on the drive.

OC

Nuisance overcurrent trips that track carrier frequency and cable capacitance, not a failing drive. Drop the carrier and the trips stop.

Ask a stock chatbot about an OV fault and you get a generic checklist that ignores your motor nameplate, your load, and the way your plant is wired. The OEM tech line is a callback queue, and it is closed at 2 a.m. anyway. You need an answer that knows your drives.

What you get

3 files. One AI mentor that knows VFDs.

PART 01

Setup instructions and walkthrough video

Step by step, the exact way to load the kit into Claude or ChatGPT. You watch the video once, follow along, and you are set up in a few minutes. No guesswork.

PART 02

The seed document

A configuration file that turns your LLM into a VFD reliability assistant with the right scope, the right tone, and the right limits. It knows its job is VFDs, from sizing a drive through troubleshooting a fault, and it tells you when an answer comes from the curated library versus when you should double-check it.

PART 03

The knowledge base

A field reference distilled from Before the First Fault and from a curated library of scanned VFD manuals, formatted so your AI can read it and answer against it. It covers the full job, from sizing and selection through installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and reliability. This is the part that actually knows VFDs.

Load Parts 2 and 3 per the instructions, and the mentor lives in the same app on your phone... right there at the panel, on demand.

How it works

3 steps to your own VFD mentor.

1

Buy the kit

Instant download from the storefront. You own the files. No login, no recurring charge to us.

2

Load it in

Open Claude or ChatGPT, follow the setup video, and drop in the seed document and the knowledge base. A few minutes, start to finish.

3

Ask it anything

Describe the fault, the drive, and the load. It answers from the curated library first, then tells you what is verified field data versus what to double-check.

Once it is loaded, the mentor is on your phone, in the app you already have open. Carl runs it from the plant floor every day, right at the drive.

Why it works

Built by someone who has been in the plant.

The knowledge base is not a web scrape. Carl bought a production scanner and digitized his own collection of VFD manuals, troubleshooting guides, and field references, most of which were never available online in digital form. That library, 9,725 documents, plus Before the First Fault and 30+ years across industrial automation and power electronics, is what the kit distills.

So when you ask it something, it answers from that curated material first. If it has to reach beyond the library, it tells you, and it flags what is verified field data versus what you should check yourself. You always know which answer you are holding.

Dr. Carl Lee Tolbert
PhD · CMRP
  • Principal Engineer, Malloy Electric, specializing in variable frequency drives and motor control
  • Personally commissioned 750 drives, AC and DC, of various brands and models across multiple industries
  • Former VP of Engineering, leading drive, control, and automation system design for paper mills and heavy industry
  • 30+ years across industrial automation, drives, and power electronics
  • Faculty and applied researcher: Truett McConnell University, University of Sioux Falls, Columbia International University, University of Chicago
AUTHOR OF:
Before the First Fault
The Influence Engine
The 10 Immutable Laws of the Industrial Distribution Specialist
Pricing

One file set. The price of preventing a single shift of downtime.

DIY VFD Mentor Kit
$79.99 $149
Initial promotion price
  • Setup instructions and walkthrough video
  • The seed document
  • The knowledge base, covering sizing through troubleshooting
  • Works with your existing Claude or ChatGPT account
Get the DIY kit

Just want the book? Get Before the First Fault.

Or get both... the book plus the DIY kit for $89.99. Get the bundle.

Give the AI you already pay for the field experience it is missing.

Get the DIY kit
Coming next

The hosted VFD Mentor is on the way.

This kit is the do-it-yourself version. A hosted VFD Mentor tool is in the works, with no setup at all. Get on the list and you will hear first when it ships... and you will get the free VFD troubleshooting course when it launches.

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