110 v. 220

[John Branam]

Well if the whole house inspection goes well on my current house my wife and I will be moving to a new larger home. This home already has an 800 sqft woodworking shop set up in the basement (that in no way influenced my decision on buying this house ). So with the new shop space I will have room to keep my Ridgid contractors TS in a fixed location and I can run 220 to it. Is there a big advantage in going to 220 from 110?

[Frank Pellow]

The big advantage to me was that I could run machines with higher horsepower. I now run my table saw, jointer, planer, and dust control cyclone on 240 volts. My old 120 volt table saw stalled or tripped circuit breakers A LOT. Is is so good to put those days into the past.

[Steve Clardy]

Well. Others may disagree, but I feel like theres more power in 220 than 110. Math wise, it doesn't compute that way.
I changed over a Jet 6x89 edge sander I bought new to 220.
I ran it on 110 until I got my new shop up and running, then changed it over to 220.
Seems more durable, doesn't pull down, seems to run better.
Steve

[John Shuk]

You can also use smaller guage wire with 220 since it draws half the amps.

[John Branam]

I had not thought of switching the jointer, and dc over. I will have to check the manuals on those to see if they are able to be switched easily.

[Don Baer]

Running on 220V will have a several advantages. The reason why it seems to make motors run better is effeciency. The amount of lost power can be computed as follows you take the amp draw and square it then multiply it by the resistance of the wire. If you motor draws 10 amps on 110 volts and the resistance of the wires between the panel is 1/4 Ohm then the losses will be 25 watts. On start up the same motor can draw between 6 and 9 time the running current so on start up that same motor would draw 60 to 90 amps so the line losses would be 900 to 2025 watts. On 220 Volts the motor current would be 5 amps so during running that same line losses would be 6 1/4 watts running. On start up the motor would draw between 30 to 45 amps and the losses would be between 225 and 500 watts. The current draw through the conductor causes anther problem and that is voltage drop since e=IR then the voltage drop on start up for the 110 volts circuit is between 15 and 22 1/2 volts but on the 22o volt line it goes to between 7.5 an 11.25. Thats why the motor seems to run better and why the motor start up seems to be better because it is not being starved for voltage. The same senario would hold true when you are taking a heavy cuts.

Hmmm maybe this is TMI I'm begining to sound like another poster on this forum..

[Bob Johnson2]

I got lost half way through what Don said, but I'd believe him and go 220 if it's convenient.

[Mike Cutler]

John. Here is a link for you. Read Rick's article on "Electricity in the Woodshop".
Lot of good info here.

http://home.att.net/~waterfront-woods/

[Steve Clardy]

Running on 220V will have a several advantages. The reason why it seems to make motors run better is effeciency. The amount of lost power can be computed as follows you take the amp draw and square it then multiply it by the resistance of the wire. If you motor draws 10 amps on 110 volts and the resistance of the wires between the panel is 1/4 Ohm then the losses will be 25 watts. On start up the same motor can draw between 6 and 9 time the running current so on start up that same motor would draw 60 to 90 amps so the line losses would be 900 to 2025 watts. On 220 Volts the motor current would be 5 amps so during running that same line losses would be 6 1/4 watts running. On start up the motor would draw between 30 to 45 amps and the losses would be between 225 and 500 watts. The current draw through the conductor causes anther problem and that is voltage drop since e=IR then the voltage drop on start up for the 110 volts circuit is between 15 and 22 1/2 volts but on the 22o volt line it goes to between 7.5 an 11.25. Thats why the motor seems to run better and why the motor start up seems to be better because it is not being starved for voltage. The same senario would hold true when you are taking a heavy cuts.

Hmmm maybe this is TMI I'm begining to sound like another poster on this forum..

Naw. Surely not. You're not as wordy as the other.
Just good info

[James Biddle]

Running on 220V will have a several advantages. The reason why it seems to make motors run better is effeciency. The amount of lost power can be computed as follows you take the amp draw and square it then multiply it by the resistance of the wire. If you motor draws 10 amps on 110 volts and the resistance of the wires between the panel is 1/4 Ohm then the losses will be 25 watts. On start up the same motor can draw between 6 and 9 time the running current so on start up that same motor would draw 60 to 90 amps so the line losses would be 900 to 2025 watts. On 220 Volts the motor current would be 5 amps so during running that same line losses would be 6 1/4 watts running. On start up the motor would draw between 30 to 45 amps and the losses would be between 225 and 500 watts. The current draw through the conductor causes anther problem and that is voltage drop since e=IR then the voltage drop on start up for the 110 volts circuit is between 15 and 22 1/2 volts but on the 22o volt line it goes to between 7.5 an 11.25. Thats why the motor seems to run better and why the motor start up seems to be better because it is not being starved for voltage. The same senario would hold true when you are taking a heavy cuts.

Hmmm maybe this is TMI I'm begining to sound like another poster on this forum..

This becomes more of an issue when you already are running other equipment, like lights, DC, air filter, shop fridge, radio, etc., especially if your running your shop through a subpanel not sized for this kind of load. In general, I like running my equipment at the highest voltage it and my shop is capable of.

[Carl Eyman]

Don't ask questions. Don't read the theoretical treatises on why one is better than the other. JUST RUN EVERYTHING ON 220 !

[Howard Acheson]

All convertable 120/240 motors run on 120 volts internally. There are two coils each running 120 volts and using 1/2 the 120 volt amperage (The coils act as a resistance and split the amperage). All you do when you re-wire the motor to run on 240 is change the wiring connecting of the coils from parallel to series. When wired for 240 volt operation, one 120 volt leg and its associated amperage is routed to each individual coil rather than a single 120 volt line providing 120 volts to both coils. The same voltage and amperage runs through the individual coils no matter how it it wired. It is amperage that creates heat, and because the amperage in each coil is the same for both wiring configuations, there is no difference in the heat produced by either wiring configuation. The motor is perfectly happy with either voltage and doesn't even know you made the change.

The only advantage to re-wiring for 240 is that it reduces the amperage in shop wiring running from the breaker to the wall outlet. This means that the voltage drop in the wiring is lessened. If your wiring is properly sized for the amperage and run length, voltage drop will be minimal and well within the operation range of any good motor. Voltage drop will be almost equal if the wire size is the required size for each different motor amperage. Only if your wiring is inadequate for the higher amperage of 120 volts will the motor run better when you convert it to 240. In this case, upgrading the 120 volt wiring one size and making it a dedicated curcuit, will accomplish the same as installing a 240 volt circuit and wiring the motor for 240.

If a motor coming up to speed very slowly or is tripping a breaker during start up or when under normal load, you either have other loads on the circuit, or the circuit is undersized for the amperage or the run length. The fixes are: remove the other loads from the circuit or upgrade the circuit. To upgrade the circuit, either rewire with heavier wire and a larger 120 volt breaker, or convert the circuit to 240 volts which has the affect of lowering the wiring amperage draw. Either of these solutions will equally fix the problem. Again, the motor doesn't care and won't perform differently as long as it gets clean power.

[Barry O'Mahony]

You can also use smaller guage wire with 220 since it draws half the amps.

That's the short 'n sweet answer: you can use cheaper wire for a 240V branch circuit, and end up with the same efficiency, than if you had wired up a 120V branch with heavier wire.

Anecdotally, you hear alot of people saying "I wired up my motor for '220' and it runs better". I think this comes down to the fact that in a lot of cases, the attempt is made to use the motor in 120V on an existing branch circuit, which is usually too small in ampacity and may have other equipment installed on it. They wire up a 240V branch, which requires smaller wire and is probably only serving one machine at a time and, surprise-surprise, it runs better. It has nothing to do with the motor being put into the 240V configuration, but all to do with it finally being served by and adequate branch.

[Don Baer]

Don't ask questions. Don't read the theoretical treatises on why one is better than the other. JUST RUN EVERYTHING ON 220 !

What Carl said is true. In my next shop any motor 1 HP or above will be 220V. I have worked in around and with electrical "stuff" for over 45 years and it is easy to SEE the differances. I tried to explain why in my previous post to this thread but obviously I got a little to technical for the faint of heart.

The long and the short of it is if you can go with the higher voltage.... Just don't touch it... ... DAMHIKT

[Frank Hagan]

All convertable 120/240 motors run on 120 volts internally. There are two coils each running 120 volts and using 1/2 the 120 volt amperage (The coils act as a resistance and split the amperage). All you do when you re-wire the motor to run on 240 is change the wiring connecting of the coils from parallel to series. When wired for 240 volt operation, one 120 volt leg and its associated amperage is routed to each individual coil rather than a single 120 volt line providing 120 volts to both coils. The same voltage and amperage runs through the individual coils no matter how it it wired. It is amperage that creates heat, and because the amperage in each coil is the same for both wiring configuations, there is no difference in the heat produced by either wiring configuation. The motor is perfectly happy with either voltage and doesn't even know you made the change.

The only advantage to re-wiring for 240 is that it reduces the amperage in shop wiring running from the breaker to the wall outlet. This means that the voltage drop in the wiring is lessened. If your wiring is properly sized for the amperage and run length, voltage drop will be minimal and well within the operation range of any good motor. Voltage drop will be almost equal if the wire size is the required size for each different motor amperage. Only if your wiring is inadequate for the higher amperage of 120 volts will the motor run better when you convert it to 240. In this case, upgrading the 120 volt wiring one size and making it a dedicated curcuit, will accomplish the same as installing a 240 volt circuit and wiring the motor for 240.

If a motor coming up to speed very slowly or is tripping a breaker during start up or when under normal load, you either have other loads on the circuit, or the circuit is undersized for the amperage or the run length. The fixes are: remove the other loads from the circuit or upgrade the circuit. To upgrade the circuit, either rewire with heavier wire and a larger 120 volt breaker, or convert the circuit to 240 volts which has the affect of lowering the wiring amperage draw. Either of these solutions will equally fix the problem. Again, the motor doesn't care and won't perform differently as long as it gets clean power.

This is exactly my understanding in talking to the folks at motor manufacturers like AOSmith, Magnetek (Century) and Franklin Electric about single phase, small horsepower convertable voltage motors.. The motor doesn't care, but the wiring in the circuit does.