AC motor voltage conversion?

For sale is an aircompressor which required 220v.
Seller states he will convert it to run on 110v.
How will he do that and what are the disadvantages?
Will the motor pull 2x the current? - Mike

mhorowit wrote:
For sale is an aircompressor which required 220v.
Seller states he will convert it to run on 110v.
How will he do that and what are the disadvantages?
Will the motor pull 2x the current? - Mike


Depending on the motor, it may be as simple as
changing a connection inside the control box.
Many units are built to run on either 110V or 220V
with the voltage setting configured at installation.

At 110V, the motor will pull 2x the current that
it does at 220V, and that is normal.

Don W.

At 110V, the motor will pull 2x the current that
it does at 220V, and that is normal.

Which is why they wire them for 220. It can be a lot.
If you can get 220v to the location, you will be a happy
camper.

Bill Hale

Don W wrote:
mhorowit wrote:
For sale is an aircompressor which required 220v.
Seller states he will convert it to run on 110v.
How will he do that and what are the disadvantages?
Will the motor pull 2x the current? - Mike


Depending on the motor, it may be as simple as
changing a connection inside the control box.
Many units are built to run on either 110V or 220V
with the voltage setting configured at installation.

At 110V, the motor will pull 2x the current that
it does at 220V, and that is normal.

Don W.

" wrote

Which is why they wire them for 220. It can be a lot.
If you can get 220v to the location, you will be a happy
camper.

I have such an air compressor, and it likes 220 the best. g

It starts quicker, and runs a little cooler, when running continuously. It is
possible to run it on a longer extension cord (made up for 220, of course)
without line loss being such an issue.

I have made up an assortment of pigtails to plug into dryer outlets, and welder
outlets. Yes, it is not protecting at the correct amps, but monitored, it is
not much of an issue, I think. A dead short will still kick even a 50 amp
breaker.

If yours is like mine, it pulls almost 15 amps running, and more at start. It
is necessary to have it's own circuit, if you want to run much else with it on
the same circuit.

My vote? Put up with the inconvenience (at times when you are using it away
from the shop) and run it on 220. It should last longer, and be happier.

The wire configuration for both voltages should be pictured on the data plate,
or on the cover where the terminals are, that need to be changed.
--
Jim in NC

Why does everyone think the voltage is 110/220??

If that actually was the voltage you had in your house you'd be very
unhappy. The nominal voltage is 118/236 with a +/- 5% range so you can
see that 110/220 is actually outside the acceptable range.

John

Morgans wrote:

" wrote

Which is why they wire them for 220. It can be a lot.
If you can get 220v to the location, you will be a happy
camper.


I have such an air compressor, and it likes 220 the best. g

It starts quicker, and runs a little cooler, when running continuously.
It is possible to run it on a longer extension cord (made up for 220, of
course) without line loss being such an issue.

I have made up an assortment of pigtails to plug into dryer outlets, and
welder outlets. Yes, it is not protecting at the correct amps, but
monitored, it is not much of an issue, I think. A dead short will still
kick even a 50 amp breaker.

If yours is like mine, it pulls almost 15 amps running, and more at
start. It is necessary to have it's own circuit, if you want to run
much else with it on the same circuit.

My vote? Put up with the inconvenience (at times when you are using it
away from the shop) and run it on 220. It should last longer, and be
happier.

The wire configuration for both voltages should be pictured on the data
plate, or on the cover where the terminals are, that need to be changed.

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:08:34 -0800, John Ammeter
wrote:

Why does everyone think the voltage is 110/220??

If that actually was the voltage you had in your house you'd be very
unhappy. The nominal voltage is 118/236 with a +/- 5% range so you can
see that 110/220 is actually outside the acceptable range.

John

I remember back in the fifties in vo-ag farm electrification class, it
was emphasized that you should make sure light bulbs were labeled for
120 volt. Perhaps prior to that they were rated 110 or 115? Maybe that
was the line voltage then. What is your take on it?

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

"John Ammeter" wrote in message
...
Why does everyone think the voltage is 110/220??

If that actually was the voltage you had in your house you'd be very unhappy.
The nominal voltage is 118/236 with a +/- 5% range so you can see that 110/220
is actually outside the acceptable range.

Well, duh, John!

Why is a car called a car?

People (except you and a few others) don't really care what comes squirting out
of their wall plugs, and what to call it, as long as it makes things work.

It isn't 120/240 either. It is way too awkward to call it 118/236, even though
that is most accurate. Calling it 110/220 gets the idea across... Let the
electrical engineers and others that get hung up on exactly what it is, figure
out how to fight convention.

To me, it's still 110/220.

Now, let's get really weird, and figure out what comes out of the plugs at my
school. Three phase, split off to use single phase, now is it Delta or Y? 95%
of the people in the US don't know and don't care. What will they call that
208?
--
Jim in NC

John Ammeter wrote:
Why does everyone think the voltage is 110/220??

If that actually was the voltage you had in your house you'd be very
unhappy. The nominal voltage is 118/236 with a +/- 5% range so you can
see that 110/220 is actually outside the acceptable range.

John

actually in my travels, ive seen 90-140 volts nominal for the
"standard" 110V outlet. so it is a bit more than 5% tolerance

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:08:34 -0800, John Ammeter
wrote:

Why does everyone think the voltage is 110/220??

If that actually was the voltage you had in your house you'd be very
unhappy. The nominal voltage is 118/236 with a +/- 5% range so you can
see that 110/220 is actually outside the acceptable range.

John


Officially here it is 115/230 and right now it's 119/238
Morgans wrote:

" wrote

Which is why they wire them for 220. It can be a lot.
If you can get 220v to the location, you will be a happy
camper.


I have such an air compressor, and it likes 220 the best. g

It starts quicker, and runs a little cooler, when running continuously.
It is possible to run it on a longer extension cord (made up for 220, of
course) without line loss being such an issue.

I have made up an assortment of pigtails to plug into dryer outlets, and
welder outlets. Yes, it is not protecting at the correct amps, but
monitored, it is not much of an issue, I think. A dead short will still
kick even a 50 amp breaker.

If yours is like mine, it pulls almost 15 amps running, and more at
start. It is necessary to have it's own circuit, if you want to run
much else with it on the same circuit.

My vote? Put up with the inconvenience (at times when you are using it
away from the shop) and run it on 220. It should last longer, and be
happier.

The wire configuration for both voltages should be pictured on the data
plate, or on the cover where the terminals are, that need to be changed.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

In article ,
John Ammeter wrote:
Why does everyone think the voltage is 110/220??

Because that *is* what it 'used to be'.

If that actually was the voltage you had in your house you'd be very
unhappy. The nominal voltage is 118/236 with a +/- 5% range so you can
see that 110/220 is actually outside the acceptable range.

Over the years, the 'standard' has changed. *Several* times.

110V

115V

117V

120V

were _all_ the 'standard' over the years -- I have pieces of equipment
with all those voltages on the manufacturer's 'plate'.

In 'common'/casual usage, even when the 'standard' was 115V or 117V,
it was frequently referred to as "110V". In part because of 'mental
inertia' -- the standard had been 110V for a lot of years before the
'nominal' network voltage was raised to 115V. And it wasn't all that
many years before the 'standard' went to 117V, and then on to 120V.

Essentially, it is a 'class label', not an exact value.

There's even _more_ 'inertia' with regard to naming of the "2 hots, 180
degree out-of-phase" voltage level. It is *still* not infrequently
referred to as "220" even though the actual line voltage has been much
closer to 240 for 30+ years. A lot of people don't even recognize the
inconsistency of referring to '1 hot' as 120V, and '2 hot' as 220V.

The 'silliness' continues at the next higher voltage step. 'plates' on
gear will likely state (correctly) 480V, but calling it '440V' is still
_very_ common.

"commonly accepted wisdom" is that 110V, 115V, 117V, and 120V all
refer to the same thing, and similarly for 220V, 230V, and 240V.

It's similar to the "fact" that a "12 V battery" typically puts out 13.6V.