220 extension cord?

[Greg Urwiller]

My General 350 TS and my Jet 16" planer are both wired 220. I'm finding that the power cords are too short in some cases to reach the wall outlets. Which would be advisable, have an electrician make up a 12'+- length ext cord, or have both machines re-corded? Thanks. Greg

[Mac Cambra]

You can wire the extensions yourself, all of the necessary materials can be bought at your local home center. I did exactly what you described, constructing mine from 10 gauge flexible cord and I use it for all of my 5HP machines. It's not too expensive, if I remember correctly, about $2 per foot for the cord and probably $25 total for the socket and plug that would be needed.

[Brian Gumpper]

I went to home depot and had them cut a piece of heavy durable cable then put the plug on one end and a junction box on the other. I first has just a single female and was using the large plugs but eventually changed it to two single 220 receptacles in a metal box.

[Jim Becker]

I have personally made some custom length extension cords for the heavier equipment in my shop, not just to "get there", but to also make for easier quick disconnection for machine maintenance. The outlets are not in the easiest place to access in that respect. I use twist locks for all my 240v connections and buy the heavy rubber cord from HD to construct the extensions. They are made exactly to the length required to service the machine.

[Brian Gumpper]

Sounds like we did the same Jim, I only moved away from the twist locks so I could get more than one machine plugged into the cord at a time. Not a big deal being I only use one at a time but saves a little time.

[Jim Neeley]

As long as you size the cable based upon your breaker size, it shouldn't be a problem: 12ga for up to 20A, 10ga for up to 30A and 8ga for up to 50A. Please note the plugs for the different current ratings are different also and a given plug will only accept a certain range of wire sizes, so check your parts!

If it's a 20A circuit it'll be less expensive to purchase a 12ga extension cord and replace the ends. Likely to with a 10ga extension cord for up to 30A but 10ga cords are a little tougher to find. Check the BORG or an electrical supply house.

I suggest extension cords because when most places sell by the foot, they add for the labor to cut plus the waste scraps. This can make a fair difference in price.

Jim

[Stephen Cherry]

You may want to check lowes. I bought a 10 ga three phase extention there at a good price.

[Rod Sheridan]

Jim had a good point about having a convenient disconnect location using an extension cord.

My take on the issue is different for two reasons

1) I would rather replace the machine cord with the correct length one than add extra electrical connections (cord cap and connector body)

2) Extensions cords aren't meant to be used in place of permanent wiring, which is what you're doing by permanently adding an extension cord.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. Unless you are adding an extremely long extension cord, it only needs to be sized for the current of the machine, not the upstream breaker.

[Brian Backner]

[QUOTE

P.S. Unless you are adding an extremely long extension cord, it only needs to be sized for the current of the machine, not the upstream breaker.[/QUOTE]

I don't think that's correct. In general, the breaker is sized to protect the wiring, not the machine - the motor should have it's own internal heaters/breakers. If you have a 30 amp circuit and you want to run 20 amp wiring, i.e., a #12 cord, from it, you should replace that 30 amp breaker with a 20 amp one.

What would happen in the case where the motor developed a dead short somehow? You'd end up having 30 amps for several milliseconds, or more, going through that 20 amp wire and plugs .....

I'm not an electrician, but my father was (plus I slept in a Holiday Inn, once). Just sayin .....

Cheers,

Brian
Taxachusetts

[John McClanahan]

If you use an extension cord for the wire, plan ahead when choosing the length. With a replacement end, you can get the wire you need and still have a short heave 120 volt cord for around the shop.

Extension cords are a good source for replacement cords with molded plugs for power tools. Cheaper than buying the wire and plug, plus you don't have to put the plug on the wire!

John

[Rod Sheridan]

Actually, that's incorrect, the breaker is to protect the wiring in the house, and the devices such as receptacles, switches etc.

It does not protect anything downstream from the receptacle.

Otherwise when you plug your clock radio in, you'll have to change the breaker since it only has a #18 cord.

Regards, Rod.

[Augusto Orosco]

I bought a heavy duty 12g 110V extension cord at Home Depot plus the appropriate 220V plug. Cut the ends of the cord, stripped the wires and replaced the plug. Also, I didn't use it as an extension, though: I replaced the original cord in the machine; It felt safer that way. For that you might need some spades to connect to the machine.

Buying the extension cord is way cheaper than buying the wire by the foot.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I have 2 heavy duty extension cords for machines wired 220. The 10 footer of 10ga wire with twist lock plugs allows me to get maximum versatility out of the mobile base on my table saw when I need to move it from its normal location. I also made a 20 foot 10ga and used it for a year to power my 2hp Jet 1442 lathe until I got around to running a permanent outlet and wiring to its new location in the shop. All of the heavy duty cable and the connectors were readily available at my big box store. As a matter of policy (My own and not the NEC) I have always oversized my wiring. If the code says 12ga, I use 10, etc. The small additional cost buys peace of mind.

[Thom Porterfield]

+1 to over-sizing wiring.

When I built my shop, and later my house, I specified where I wanted receptacles, and voltage requirements--but left the load design up to the electrician. Two different electricians, actually. Both of them put the systems together very efficiently. Now I have a main panel and sub panel that are full, have wiring that is too light to carry additional loads and have to be super careful what I plug in where and what to run when.

I supposed I saved a few hundred bucks doing it that way. But it sure would be worth more to have extra capacity everywhere.

[Jim Neeley]

+1 to Thom & oversized wiring.

As an Electrical / Control System Engineer who deals with voltage drops all the time, whenever someone says "But it meets code!!", my response is "So if you'd done any less, it would have been illegal, eh?"