110v vs 220v

[Chris Padilla]

That is true for single phase. I have no idea if it true for 3 phase with a converter or not. I doubt you do either.
An authoritative opinion would be nice.

I bow out of any 3-phase conversations!

[Bert Delisle]

VFD's use a DC Buss that gets charged up with input ac line voltage and then through the wonders of modern electronics it provide a Variable Frequency( read speed) output to a 3 ph motor.
Electricity and motors whether single phase or 3 phase are simply volts x amps machines. resistance to current (amps) flow in wires creates heat. Wires all wires in the circuit see the heat generation, supply wires in walls and the winding wires inside the motor. Resistance can be reduced by using bigger wire cross section size. Typically motor winding are very thin compared to supply cable cross section. That one reason I tend to use 220 volt wiring methods when I can because it uses less heat generating amps. At risk of over simplifying consider;
1 horsepower (750watts) will draw 750watts divided by 110 volts results in 6.8 amps
1 horsepower (750watts) will draw 750watts divided by 220 volts results in 3.4 amps
now consider that if you use a long supply wire and an extension cord will smaller gauge wire than the building wire, then line loss voltage occurs. The motor does care it just puts out horsepower and if voltage line loss occurs then amperage will be higher. Amps time volts equals watts or horsepower. Many folks fail to recognize that the nice flexible 16awg extension cord 50 feet long can cause line loss which will contribute to breakers tripping. Electricity is very consistent and Ohms Law prevails, I tend to use 220 volt supply when possible for this reason.

[Thomas Wilson80]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will see about getting a quote to upgrade capacity to 220v. I checked with Laguna's cs and they said the 110v and 220v models are not interchangeable.

Thanks again.

[roger oldre]

1 horsepower (750watts) will draw 750watts divided by 110 volts results in 6.8 amps
1 horsepower (750watts) will draw 750watts divided by 220 volts results in 3.4 amps
now consider that if you use a long supply wire and an extension cord will smaller gauge wire than the building wire, then line loss voltage occurs. The motor does care it just puts out horsepower and if voltage line loss occurs then amperage will be higher. Amps time volts equals watts or horsepower.

The windings see the same load wired for 110 or 220. the windings are designed for watts the unit of power. In a 110 scenario the windings see 750 watts as they are wired in parallel. In a 220 scenario they are wired in series each sees 750 watts. Nameplate amperage is PER leg of power. 110 One hot and one not (plus ground). 220 two hots no nots( plus ground) amperage is split between two legs. Hertz determines speed in an AC motor, the motor will run the same speed regardless of voltage but wired for 110 and run on 220 it will have twice the power! till the windings designed for 110 /750 watts give up because they are experiencing 1500 watts of flow and the magic escapes the confines of the motor to permeate the atmosphere of the shop!

It is useful and interesting to understand the use of the PIER chart.

[Russ Halsema]

Tom,
To get back to the original question I recently had a 220v outlet installed in my shop for a lathe. I had an electrician come out and do the work. My breaker panel is in my garage and I needed the outlet installed in my shop in the basement. We measured the distance at 80ft. So the electrician bought 100ft of wire, the outlet and a double circuit breaker. There was no room in my panel so he made room by installing the double and giving the 220 outlet its own circuit. The work was done in about six hours. He ran the wire from the panel into the garage attic and down through the walls into the basement. Total charge $400.00

[Michael Greco]

Not always true. The Nova DVR-XP runs 1 1/2 HP running on 110 and 1 3/4 HP on 220.

Specs are actually 1.75 HP @115v and 2 HP @ 220v.

As for running 220 if the panel is below the garage get a breaker and correct gauge wire and outlet and run it yourself.

[ELY WALTON]

When I first started up my shop, 1993, I read every book I could find on tools, shops, and motors. Every single one said that any motor 1 hp and more ran better on 220 volt. [...]
robo hippy

robo hippy

Yes, that is true in theory and in my experience also. One thing to consider is the formula for power: current squared times the resistance. Look at it like this -- the resistance of supply wiring and motor windings is fixed -- a function of the cross sectional area, length and material of the conductors -- fixed resistance. If you change a machine from 110V to 220V, the current is essentially cut in half. And halving the current will reduce the lost power/heat to only 25% of what it was at 110V -- more power available to the motor and cooler operation to boot....

That said, if you are using a VFD, such as the Delta Electronics S1 box that is on the back of most modern lathes, along with a three-phase motor, there is a bunch of other factors... Regardless, it is still good practice to use 220V wherever practical.

BTW, love your videos and hope to perhaps get to meet you one day, Robo!

Ely

[James Maccubbin]

Just had a professional electric company come out and put in six new 220V outlets and run them to the breaker - each at 20A. Total cost was $1500 and took three guys ~4 hours.

[Ted Graham]

If given the option chose running tools at 220v instead of 110v if the motors are capable. Doubling the voltage to a motor will cut the amperage requirement for the same motor power in half. Less amperage = less heat, smaller wire conduit requirement and less chance of surge tripping breakers at startup. V x A = W (voltage x amperage = watts).

Plan ahead for expansion. If you are gong to run a new circuit then run at least a 50 Amp 220v circuit from your main electrical panel to a sub-panel (a.k.a. pony-panel) in your garage. 50 Amps is more than enough to simultaneously run a large wood working machine hooked up to a large cyclone DC. Once the required power is put into the garage auxiliary circuits can readily be run around the shop in both 220v and 110v circuits. The 110v circuits can even be 20 Amp circuits for "power hungry" 110v machines. With 50 Amps now in your garage you (or a future owner) could even run a larger arc welder or let an overnight RV guest get access to 30 amps for their rig. The material cost is minimal compared to labor cost. Running a single 220v circuit would take basically the same labor as running a pony panel if hiring out the job. To really save some money do all the grunt work like hole making and wire running yourself. Let the electrician do the certified hook up to the main breaker. One other savings tip is let the electrician source the supplies for you...they will pay less.

As an added safety bonus the power to the garage can readily be cut off at the main breaker panel to prevent curious hands from getting hurt.

[Edward Weingarden]

"Even if you do hire an electrician you could do most of the work yourself by running the wire(s) from the shop to the electrical panel and let the electrician do the final connections. At that point it shouldn't take him more than an hour, actually more like 15 minutes."

If you hire an electrician, make sure he/she will use the wire you installed. Some electricians will not touch anything when they have not done the complete install. I would imagine its a liability issue.

[Thomas Wilson80]

Thanks for the replies - I am not trained at all in electrical so I hired this out completely a couple of years ago and for around $500 they ran the wire through the walls to my garage and put in several 220v and 110v outlets. It worked out great. I just moved and my new home has space for a shop in the basement, which I'm thrilled about, but no 220v so I will be going through this process again!
Happy New Year!
Tom