120 vs 220V

[Brian Penning]

When you have a machine that can be wired either way what's the difference performance wise?
With the 120V the motor spins the same but will get bogged down under load?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian,

Generally speaking there is absolutely no difference.

[Darius Ferlas]

My understanding is that, if the circuit is configured correctly (proper wire awg and breaker) there will be no difference in performance. I finished wiring my garage a couple of weeks ago. I added 220 outlets (mostly for my new DC) and I upgraded my lone 15amp circuit which I used for all my tools. I have now few 20 amp circuits. I noticed that my Ridgid TS (rated at 13 amps) starts up much faster now on a 20 amp circuit than it did on a 15 amp one. Before it took about 2 to 4 seconds before the blade was spinning at full speed. right now it's almost instant, but I don't have a sense that the saw is any stronger.

I was going to rewire the motor to 220 but now I am on the fence on that one.

[Matthew Chamberlin]

There really shouldn't be any performance difference, unless you are using undersized circuits.

Either way the motor uses the same amount of power (Power = Amps x volts) if you use 120 you will draw twice as many amps but half the voltage, 240 twice the volts but half the amperes. If this is a repetitive, useless ramble i apologize

That being said, I'd use which ever one had the most convenient receptacle location. If you have to run new wires, if would be cheaper and slightly* more efficient to use 240.

[Josiah Bartlett]

My garage subpanel is 100 feet from my main panel. I have enough voltage drop on my neutral that my lights either get dimmer or brighter when I turn on a 120V motor depending on which circuit its on. I need to rewire that thing. Not a problem with 240.

[Jeff Bratt]

Inside the motor, there is no difference between 120V and 240V (make sure the wiring jumpers are in the right place for the voltage). However, when you consider the wiring in your walls, then there might be a noticeable performance difference. If there is a long run back to the main power panel, or other electrical loads on the same circuit as the motor, and depending on the HP rating and load on the motor, you could see a improvement going from a 120V to 240V circuit. If you notice:
1) the lights dimming when starting the motor
2) circuit breakers tripping during heavy current demands on the motor
3) motor bogging down under heavy cutting load
(This could also be caused by dull or dirty blades or cutters, fence misalignment, using the wrong type of blade, or simply overloading the motor.)
4) motor coming up to speed slowly
then you should consider changing the wiring. If you don't notice things like those, you shouldn't have to worry.

[Rick Fisher]

If you have a shortage of 115V outlets.. go 220V.. And visa-versa..

I get dimming of the lights when I have the 220V dust collector running and fire up the bandsaw or planer.. Both run on 30 amp breakers..

[Tom Veatch]

Brian, as others have stated, with wiring that is properly sized for the load, you should see little, if any, difference in the motor operation between running on 120 or 240.

Theoretically, because of the higher amperage draw running 120, there will be slightly more power loss in the wiring to the motor, which means running 240 you could see slightly more electrical power available to the motor than when running 120.

In practical application, depending on the specific electrical installation, it may be noticable, or it may not. Some report noticable improvement with 240, others report no noticable difference. Strictly depends of the specific circumstances.

If you can run on 240 without going to any additional hassle or expense, you'll lose nothing by doing so, and there's a small chance that you might be one of those who will report noticable improvement. If it involves any significant expense or inconvenience to run 240, go with the 120.

[Jeff Bratt]

Originally Posted by Darius Ferlas

I noticed that my Ridgid TS (rated at 13 amps) starts up much faster now on a 20 amp circuit than it did on a 15 amp one. Before it took about 2 to 4 seconds before the blade was spinning at full speed. right now it's almost instant, but I don't have a sense that the saw is any stronger.

The current draw of an induction motor is at its highest during start-up. If there is any performance difference going from 120V to 240V, that is where it will be most noticeable.

[Brian Penning]

Thanks a bunch.
Reason for asking is I'm considering an upgrade to a Delta DJ20 jointer.
If I leave it as 220 then I'll have to use the same receptacle as my Sawstop. Which shouldN't be a problem as one normally doesn't run both machines at the same time. (Er...though I have forgotten to shut one or the other off occasionally)
Otherwise I could use the same receptacle as my old 120V jointer.

[Myk Rian]

That's what I plan on doing, Brian. The jointer is 220, so I ran a circuit for it. The TS will be switched over soon.
I've been wanting to do it anyway, so getting the jointer was the push I needed to actually do it.

[Brian Penning]

Originally Posted by Myk Rian

That's what I plan on doing, Brian. The jointer is 220, so I ran a circuit for it. The TS will be switched over soon.
I've been wanting to do it anyway, so getting the jointer was the push I needed to actually do it.

Sorry, not following you.

[Joe Scharle]

Originally Posted by Josiah Bartlett

My garage subpanel is 100 feet from my main panel. I have enough voltage drop on my neutral that my lights either get dimmer or brighter when I turn on a 120V motor depending on which circuit its on. I need to rewire that thing. Not a problem with 240.

240 'travels' about 4X 120. If you run 240 to a local sub panel, and split your local circuits from that sub panel, your 120 line loss will be minimized.

[Myk Rian]

Originally Posted by Brian Penning

Sorry, not following you.

It was a matter of switching the jointer over to 110, or keeping it at 220 and doing the TS. Switching the TS over was always a plan, so I ran the 220.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

Performance of the motor, I think its been covered. But, another consideration is the impact of capacity. In my garage (detached) the panel (really a sub-panel to main in the house) was only 30 amps. By using 220 wherever possible I don't have to worry about running multiple pieces of equipment...lighting, heater, recharging portables, DC and TS. 120 is easier if you are already wired and have plenty of capacity...just something to include in you decision making.

Matt