# 220V extension cord?



## darbytee (Feb 8, 2005)

My wonderful wife got me a new 18" Rikon bandsaw for Christmas. Here's the problem. I'm in a rental house right now since we're only at this base for about a year. The only 220V outlet is for the dryer, which happens to be situated next to the garage. My initial thought was to make a 220v extension cord and use the dryer outlet to power the bandsaw. The concern is 1)that there would be no surge protection on the extension and 2)that the bandsaw uses much less amperage than the dryer. That being said, I have very little electrical knowledge (obviously). Could someone set me straight before I start an electrical fire? 

My other option is to talk to the landlord about having a 220v outlet put in the garage, but I don't really want to deal with that cost unless it is absolutely necessary.


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## TheHeretic (Feb 8, 2005)

The cord would not be a problem providing that it is of acceptable type and sizing.  YOu would however find that the dryer plug probably wont match up with the plug on the Rikon.   Surge protection is really not an issue unless you live in lighting prone or poor utility service areas.   The best bet is to simply unplug at the end of the day.   

The biggest negative is that the dryer plug is probably 220v 3 wire.  (2 hots, 1 Grnd/Neutral)   I am not familiar with the Rikon but many 220v appliances need 220v 4 wire (2 hots, 1 neutral, 1 ground))   I think that you will find the expense to put in a 220v plug in the garage isnt that bad.   


Dean
Columbus OH


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2005)

How many feet are we talking here?
Why not get some 10/2 with ground Extesion cord.
Cut the ends off and buy a plug that matches teh receptacle.
Take the OEM wire off the bandsaw and save for future use.
Rewire the bandsaw with the other end of the extension cord.
You could probably get by with 12/2 wire since the amperage is cut in half per leg.
It all depends on the length you need.
The reason I said to use an extension cord rather than buying it by the foot is ready made heavy duty cords are creaper than buying the wire by the foot.
Even Yellow Jacket cords which are considered one of the best.

I just looked at the Rikon site.
That motor can be wired for 110.
THere should be a diagram under the cover plate on the motor.
It's only a matere of moving 3 maybe only 2 wires.
It.pulls 12 amps, should be on a dedicated circuit no matter how it's wired.


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## Darley (Feb 8, 2005)

Well I though that in the States your power was 110v, I'm confused[?],
in the mean time you can use your bansaw while the dryer is not working or if you want use the bansaw any time in conjonction with the dryer then you will have to check you AMP drawing if not you will have power failure .

Serge


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## Gary Max (Feb 8, 2005)

Serge I am guessing that 220 volts is what you folks use for everything.
In the states we run 110 volt and 220 volts.


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## Rudy Vey (Feb 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Darley_
> <br />Well I though that in the States your power was 110v, I'm confused[?],
> in the mean time you can use your bansaw while the dryer is not working or if you want use the bansaw any time in conjonction with the dryer then you will have to check you AMP drawing if not you will have power failure .
> 
> Serge



It comes into your house as 220 V and then it gets split - that's what an electrician told me once. You can run a 220 from you breaker box. When we had our house built I asked for a 220V circuit and I got one (so far I have not used it, yet - maybe when I get the Oneway)
Rudy


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## btboone (Feb 8, 2005)

Yup Rudy, there are two hot wires of 110V each and a neutral.  The legs are out of phase with each other, so you can wire 110V by going from one of those to neutral, or to each other for 220V.  That's why the breakers for things like air conditioners or dryers have two poles.  They bridge between the two 110V legs, which alternate with each other down the row in a breaker box.  

The only potential bad part of the extension cord idea is that the breaker will probably be way oversized.  If the bandsaw were to ever overload, the breaker may not kick out until there's a pile of molten metal.  Rewiring the motor for 110V is the better solution.  It will pull as much as a powerful hair dryer, so should be the only thing on the circuit.


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2005)

Good point on the breaker for the dryer being oversized,I missed that.


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## Darley (Feb 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Rudy Vey_
> <br />
> 
> 
> ...



Thank rudy, I see that all of you have to be carefull to check the electric meter before connecting any machinery .

Yes Gary Max here we use 220v I think is easy when I take my lather ( and when I got the time ) somewhere I don't have worries to much for the power connection ( just bring with me my 25m power cord ( 83 Feets ) long ).

Serge


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## Daniel (Feb 8, 2005)

the danger of the breaker being to high amperage is to your band saw.
If you have the space in the breaker box it is not real hard to ad a 220 circuit. it's getting the know how that will be most of the work.
using a 1o gauge extension chord would also work if you can figure out how to wire it for the difference from the dryer to the band saw. basically use the two hot wires. (the red and black) and hook the ground to something. and ignore the white one but this still leaves you with the overload problem burning up your band saw motor. this woudl only happen if you jamb up the blade or something. it could also happen by cutting something that the saw is having to work to hard at. and then you may not notice until the smoke impares your vision. 
If it where me I would look around the net for how to install a 220 circuit. I sa a place just the other day. I will see if I can find it again. and post a link. 
but here are my direction. open your breaker panel.turn ll the breakers off then flip the 100 amp breaker that should be at the top of all the switches. this kills the power to all the breakers. but it does not kill the power to the two very large wires that you will be seeing in a minute.
remove the screws from the cover of the breakers and remove it. you will now be looking at what should be a very neat rats nest. behind the breakers at the very top center of the box you should see two very large wires. these are the power feeds and are still hot. each of these wires are connected to a metal bar. and the breakers are conected to these bars. if you connect a breaker to only one bar you have 110 volts. if you connect a double breaker to both of them you have 220 volts. the breaker will simply snap onto these bars but you have to make sure you are on both of them. you can get the breaker installed where both sides of the double breaker are actually on the smae bar. look at any other duble breaker int eh box to see where the wires go. but in short. you will want at least 12/3 WG wire. and maybe even 10/3-WG what this means is 3 wires 12 gauge with a ground or bare copper wire. you will hook the black wire to one side of the breaker. the red or other colored wire to the other side of the breaker. then connect the white wire to the bar where all the other white wires are connected. and the bare coper wire to the bar where all the other bare copper wires are running. in the case of yoru band saw you will most likely not be using the white wire at the other end.
run the wire to where you want the outlet. you should not have to worry about wire size unless you are using more than 100 feet. as far as knowing if you have the right wire gauge. your dryer would run on 10 gauge. an electric oven would do fine with 12 gauge. the rest of the house is running on 14 gauge. for a 15 amp 220 curcuit 12 gauge is enough and much easier to work with. runing the wire through conduit is probably the easiest. but keep in mind the normal "Romex" wire cannot be ran through conduit. that's the white or yellow plastic covered wire. if you have to run a short piece through conduit. say from the ceiling down to the outlet. simply strip the plastic cover off it.(NOT THE INSULATION FOR EACH WIRE)but the thin cover that keeps all the individual wires together. it would be best to simply ask the hardware guy if the wire is safe for conduit. the problem yo are trying to avoid is the wires overheating when confined to the conduit. It is illegal to just have the wire hanging out in the air where it can be damaged. you can just run it along unprotected as long as it is in the crawl space, walls or abov ethe ceiling where normal activity would not be going on. but as soon as it interes living space the wire must be protected. sure nobody is going to come arrest you if you do it anyway. but it will void your homeowners, or renters insurance. even if it was not the cause of a fire.
other than that the best rule I can give you. is keep the work looking neat. cut the wires itn he breaker box to the right lenght so they run nice and neat with all the others. don't let the wire coil and flop all over in the rafter space or crawl space. and pay the few extra bucks for a box at the outlet end. actually mount it solidly. etc. as a mome remodeler ther is nothing worse than the feeling when you open an electrical box and the first thing you see is wiring that you know was not done by a pro. I have walked off jobs because of it. a wire in the wrong place can get you killed. once it is all wired up and you think you are ready. put the breaker panel back together. then flip ont he 100 amp breaker. nothign will happen at this point as all the other breakers shoudl still be on. flip each one on one at at time. nothign shoudl happen here either except everythign that went off when you flipped them the first time should come back on. if it any time one of these breakers flips right back off. you have crossed some wires with all your fiddling in the breaker box. very unlikely. but if it happens the problem is in the breaker box. lastly turn on the new breaker. if you did not get it right this will be either very drematic and the breaker will flip right back off. or nothign will happen at all. go see if the saw works. if it doesn't you didn't get the wires hooked up right at some point. you should only have connections at teh panel, the outlet and the saw. spend your time checking these. i don't care how hard you had to pull on the wire you did not break it. so best bet is something didn't get hooked up right. remember the black and red wires are the incoming power. the white wire is just the one that runs back to complete the circuit. I really don't expect you will have any problems as long as you hooked up the new breaker like the other double breakers are hooked up.
now al little info because you are working with a band saw. if the motor is liek the one on  my nephews air compressor. you will not need 3 wires you will only need 2 and a ground wire. so this woudl be 12/2-WG. 
this will give you a black wire and a white wire as well as the bare copper wire. problem with explaining this wireing is I am not sure how it goes at the breaker box. black woudl still go where the balck went before. the bare whire woudl still go where it went before. but I think the white wire woudl go where the red whire went in the explaination. or to the other half of the double breaker. and nothing would go to the bar withthe white wires. but I am not at all certain about that white wire. I wire stoves, dryers, hot tubs, and electric heaters. I have always used the 3 wire configuration. anybody able to fill this in with certainty?
and one final warning. never, never, even by the grandest of accidents, never contact those two large wires at the top of the breaker box. there si a very good chance that the only people that know you did are the ones that find your body. they are live and connected to the big power on the pole out back. the only way to avoid that risk is to have the power company disconnect your meter. then there is no power near you at all. they woudl also most likely not want you doing your electrical work either but they could verify that you got it right and alot of places don't charge for doing so. the disconnect or the inspection after you are done.


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## Fred in NC (Feb 8, 2005)

Daniel, the house is rented ....


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## btboone (Feb 8, 2005)

Daniel, that looks correct to me.  As for the white wire, you wrap it with black electrical tape to signify that it's a hot wire also and not a neutral.  You do this at both ends.  Always check with a meter to be sure the breaker contacts are off.  Never ASSume.  The Reader's Digest books for wiring at Home Depot are good for this kind of stuff.  They show it in good detail and put what to watch out for in there too.  I've done all my own wiring at several shops including the 3 phase stuff.


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## Daniel (Feb 8, 2005)

Fred. notice this statement.copied from the original comment.

My other option is to talk to the landlord about having a 220v outlet put in the garage, but I don't really want to deal with that cost unless it is absolutely necessary.

If putting in an outlet is an option it is well worth the cost and the time.
By the way. I work on rentals all the time. most landlords don't mind as long as your work is "checked out" Electrical companies don't think that Home Depot sells truck loads of electrical supplies to only contractors. and they usually will check the work done by a non pro to prevent injuries or fire. since you can go to any hardware store and buy everything to wire your house from the meter on. reality dictates that homeowners are going to do there own wiring. one trade I can think of that this is not true is refrigeration. try to buy enough freon to recharge your cooler. won't happen unless it's black market or you have a liscense.


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## Gary (Feb 8, 2005)

I hope he's got a good umbrella liability policy! And Daniel, I hope you have a good Errors & Omissions policy!



> _Originally posted by Daniel_
> <br />the danger of the breaker being to high amperage is to your band saw.
> If you have the space in the breaker box it is not real hard to ad a 220 circuit. it's getting the know how that will be most of the work.
> using a 1o gauge extension chord would also work if you can figure out how to wire it for the difference from the dryer to the band saw. basically use the two hot wires. (the red and black) and hook the ground to something. and ignore the white one but this still leaves you with the overload problem burning up your band saw motor. this woudl only happen if you jamb up the blade or something. it could also happen by cutting something that the saw is having to work to hard at. and then you may not notice until the smoke impares your vision.
> ...


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## Daniel (Feb 8, 2005)

Bruce, I have found locally they twist a pig tail on the white wire if it is hot. for a sporadic electrician like me it is easy to overlook. I like the tape method better. it's hard to get all the details in one pass so thanks for double checking it.


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## btboone (Feb 9, 2005)

I certainly agree that if there's any squeamishness about doing this, it is best done by an electrician or at least checked by one.  The breaker box is a bad place to learn about electricity.

As I've said before, tuition at the School of Hard Knocks and Electrical Shocks is steep indeed.


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## TheHeretic (Feb 9, 2005)

Daniel I would NOT ignore the white wire unless you are intimately familiar with the saw in question.  IF any part of it needs 110V this is how it would do it.  Hot to neutral leg.   Your oven is an example.  It takes 220v 4 wire.  It uses the 220 for the heating elements and the 110 for the clock.   It needs the 110 or you will burn out part of the oven.  Same with the saw.   

The other thing that you have to consider is the liability.   He is not the homeowner and unless he is a liscensed electrician he cannot do the work on the electrical system legally.   If there were a fire than he is than liable.  A homeowner can do repairs and work to his own home and not run afoul of the law in that matter.  A homeowner still needs to get inspection when its done if he ever wants to sell the home.   There is a lot of people who are not familiar with electricty or the code as to what is required and figure "why not?" and end up doing damage and injury to themselves and/or the home.  Electricty can and will kill you if it is not done correctly.

Bottom line is either rewire the saw for 110 or pay to have the 220 line put in.  It is usually fairly reasonable.

I dont mean to sound like an alarmist.  I have in the past worked as an electrician at many levels from homeowner to commercial and industrial wiring.   I have also been called into fix other peoples "fixes" and some were just accidents that didnt know it was time to occur.


Dean
Columbus OH


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## loneeagle (Feb 9, 2005)

Dean is correct!

Mack Casey
Master Electrician (25 years)


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## J. Fred Muggs (Feb 9, 2005)

Fred:
Find yourself a local experienced electrician who is familiar with the National Electrical Code.  I assure you the breaker for the dryer is too high a rating.  That would mean you'd have to have a larger conductor for the extension cord and then you would have to install the proper breaker or fuse at the saw end or run the risk of burning up the saw motor. <b>It just ain't worth it!</b>.  <b>GET PROFESSIONAL HELP!</b>


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## darbytee (Feb 9, 2005)

Thanks for all the responses and good info. I think I'm going to call an electrician. Bad part is, my FIL is an electrician, but he's 1200 miles away.


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