220 power for a lathe

ChopStick

ChopStick

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I recently bought a 13x40 Acra lathe. It was only $1500 and it appears, at least to me to be in good condition. I live in an apartment with a garage. I can't have 220 power run out there. I was considering one of the 110 to 220 converters. Would one of those have enough amperage to run a lathe that size for light duty?

One of my buddies suggested I make an extension cord and run it off the dryer outlet. Cable that size will get pretty expensive for a cord that long.
 
It is single phase. I run an air compressor and a drill press out there with no problem on 110. So, the existing line may be able to handle it.
 
You can run up to a 2 hp motor on 110

Just check your breaker panel that supplies that outlet and see what the amp rating is. Also check the lathe motor spec plate and see what power it requires. Some motors can handle a wide range of power sources. If the motor is not single phase you can replace it with a new one. Look at Harbor Freight for cheap motors. You can most likely go as little as 1.5 HP for cues I think. Then you can easily run on 110. Also make sure the motor is reversible. If all this sounds Greek then find an electrician or industrial millwright to help you rewire for whatever your source power is. You can also buy a device to make your 230 single phase to three phase: to power a 3 phase lathe motor, but it may be cheaper to just get a new chinese motor.
 
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I have a 220 single phase running through a 110 - 220 transformer.It is rated at 1500 watt continues use. My motor is 3/4 hp about 560 watts. I am not sure what the current demand is on startup. But it runs fine. It came from a company in Ca and was very reasonable price. About $70 a year ago.
Neil
 
ChopStick said:
I recently bought a 13x40 Acra lathe. It was only $1500 and it appears, at least to me to be in good condition. I live in an apartment with a garage. I can't have 220 power run out there. I was considering one of the 110 to 220 converters. Would one of those have enough amperage to run a lathe that size for light duty?

One of my buddies suggested I make an extension cord and run it off the dryer outlet. Cable that size will get pretty expensive for a cord that long.
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Even though your question is simple enough there are several things to be considered. You need to look at the info plate attached to the side of the motor carefully. Most machinery is run on 3 phase power, particularly lathes and mills. You CAN NOT instant reverse with single phase power. You CAN with 3 ph. Instant reverse is almost mandatory when tapping holes. A single phase lathe will not come to an immediate halt when you cut-off the power. It's has momentum. A 3 ph. mtr. will instantly reverse with a throw of the switch. You can reverse a single ph. mtr. but it will have to come to a complete stop before you put the switch into reverse. Otherwise, it will keep running in the same rotation.

Given your circumstance, you may have to change the mtr. to one that is single phase. If this is the case, I'd recommend that you spend your money on a quality American made mtr. of the same HP as the one that is currently in the machine. There are deals to be had, shop around.

Wiring for single phase 110v should not be used for 220v single. 110v wiring consists of 1-hot, 1-neutral and 1-ground. 220v uses 2-hot, 1-neutral and 1-ground. 220v is basically 2 ph. I don't think that you can get true 220 from a single source 110v even with a transformer. Since you may be stuck with 110v, make sure your circuit breaker is sized correctly. It's going to be drawing a lot of amps.
 
ChopStick said:
I recently bought a 13x40 Acra lathe. It was only $1500 and it appears, at least to me to be in good condition. I live in an apartment with a garage. I can't have 220 power run out there. I was considering one of the 110 to 220 converters. Would one of those have enough amperage to run a lathe that size for light duty?

One of my buddies suggested I make an extension cord and run it off the dryer outlet. Cable that size will get pretty expensive for a cord that long.
Click to expand...

I'd be careful running your lathe off a dryer outlet. Those typically have 40A breakers, and 40A can burn up things very quickly if something goes wrong.

Use the plate current rating on the motor itself for sizing things, never the motor "horsepower". If the motor is rated at 7A or less @ 220V then it can be driven by a typical 15A 110V outlet with a step-up transformer with similar ratings.

Dave

<hey, this's post # 4K>
 
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KJ Cues said:
Wiring for single phase 110v should not be used for 220v single. 110v wiring consists of 1-hot, 1-neutral and 1-ground. 220v uses 2-hot, 1-neutral and 1-ground. 220v is basically 2 ph. I don't think that you can get true 220 from a single source 110v even with a transformer. Since you may be stuck with 110v, make sure your circuit breaker is sized correctly. It's going to be drawing a lot of amps.
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This is only partially true, subject to both application and your local electrical code. A 220V 1P motor can be driven by the 2 hot's, no neutral required (but a ground is essential). Things like dryers and stoves that need both 220 for the elements and 110 for the motor (in a dryer) or a light bulb need the neutral to get 110.

If you do happen to convert a 110V wiring to 220V use (starting at the breaker) it is important to use the correct plug (swap out the standard NEMA 5-15 plug with a NEMA 6-15 plug so that later nobody plugs in a 110V appliance into the now 220V circuit). Also wrap some red tape around the white wire so that others know it is hot rather than neutral.

NEMA plugs : http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/dept_id_963.htm?sid=70D88165FDA9A1636937B9FB4AFC2070&pid=1208

All that being said, you may want to find a friendly electrician to help you, messing with this stuff can be very hassardous to your health and done improperly can cause fires .... fires that your insurance may not be willing to pay for.

Dave
 
Electrical current hook-ups vary depending on what part of the country/continent/world you are located.
For example, Europe uses a 220v single ph.current that only has 1-hot wire.
Around here, Southern Mich., we have a 220v single that uses 2-110v hots that are opposing phase to one another. That's why I referred to it as 220v 2ph. because basically, that's what it is. I don't think that a step-up transformer would work here because it would require that the phase of one of the 110v legs be shifted. But then again, it depends on where you're at. I would think you'd need more of a converter that includes a transformer. Otherwise you would be able to run the same 110v lead to both hot terminals on the motor and call it 220, right?

I haven't worked in industrial maintenance for 20 yrs. now so please forgive me if I'm a little rusty.
 
KJ Cues said:
I don't think that a step-up transformer would work here because it would require that the phase of one of the 110v legs be shifted. But then again, it depends on where you're at. I would think you'd need more of a converter that includes a transformer. Otherwise you would be able to run the same 110v lead to both hot terminals on the motor and call it 220, right?

I haven't worked in industrial maintenance for 20 yrs. now so please forgive me if I'm a little rusty.
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No problemo Rusty ;)

A simple step up transformer will work. If you really need to support a "neutral" then all you'd need is a center-tapped 220V secondary. In pure electrical terms the 220V circuits that we are used in North America to are single phase with 2 "legs". It is a bit non-intuitive that 2 AC voltages separated by 180 degrees are the same phase, but opposite polarity :eek: :confused: :eek:

Our systems are identical, and interconnected at many points. That's why some utility in Rochester (?) can cause a blackout though most of the eastern seaboard including Canada :eek:

Have a great weekend folks, I'm off to have a beer then go practice a bit o' pool :)

Dave
 
If you have 2 seperate circuits running out to the garage, that are on different legs in the circut panel. Run an extension cord from both, then make a 'Y' adaptor that takes the 2 hots, put one on each outer prong of a 220 plug, then combine the neutrels to the middle prong, you will get single phase, 220. We do this all the time with chain lifts on a site where we're lifting 2000 lb speaker clusters. PM me for a diagram.
Dave
 
i was in the same boat as you and went to Home Depot and bought stuff to fabricate a 220 extension cord.the wire wasn't cheap as you said,but the whole setup was under $50.

if you need a cord that is really long,like 50' or so,you might want to look into something else.i think i made mine 15' long
 
I'd look long and hard inside the motor wiring box because more that a few 220 single phase motors can be easily reconfigured to run off of 110.

Expect to blow the circuit breaker regularly if you run the compressor and lathe off of only one 110 circuit.

Dave K's suggestions are solid and Dave38's are the most economical if you happen to have two separate (out of phase) circuits available.
If not, I think I'd choose the dryer circuit and be sure to heed Dave K's cautions by using very heavy wire (see chart below. Base this on the circuit, not what the lathe draws) and/or rig up an inline circuit breaker close to the outlet if the distance is substantial.
Gauge Amps
14 15
12 20
10 30
8 40
6 65
 
Also the longer the cord the heavier the Ga. You can easily cause an electrical fire if the incorrect size wire is used.
 
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