natenaaron Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 It dawned on me today that the mill drill lathe I inherited with our business may have begun life as a 220. My father in law obviously put the 110 plug on. It is made out of what you wire a house with. There is no spec info on it anywhere that I can find. It was bought from enco quite a while ago. Is there a way to tell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Image of spec plate on motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Most that I have seen are 110/220 motors. There should be a wiring chart with the motor, or you can download the manual online if you have the model number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 7 hours ago, Anachronist58 said: Image of spec plate on motor? That's what I am trying to get too. It is mounted on a steel bench and even if I unbolted it, I could not move it. Darn things weighs a couple hundred pounds at least. More info coming soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 No tag on the motor. It is no big deal, it gets the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timgunn1962 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 If you can get the cover off the connection box and get a photo with a phone, it might be clear from the terminal configuration: 2 windings connected in parallel for 110V that can be connected in series for 220V. Smartphone pics are pretty much my default way of reading rating plates, etc. nowadays. They'll get into spaces far tighter than I could ever get my head into and they'll focus close in. Otherwise, I need at least 18" of extra clearance now to accommodate my ageing eyes. Pretty much the only thing good about getting older seems to be that it's better than the alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 I don't mean to offend anyone, but please be sure to unplug everything before you open the cover. Machine tools may be full of conductive debris that can make removing a junction box plate highly dangerous. It's unlikely that you'd get decent performance out of an improperly connected motor. If it was a 220V only motor connected to 110V, you'd probably get half speed and a lot of heat. If it was a three phase motor, it probably wouldn't run at all on a single leg of 110V. It sounds like you're saying the cord is made of NM-2 or "Romex" cable when you say "it's made of what you wire a house with". The jacket on NM-2 is not intended for an exposed application like that. Most machine tools will use a SO or SJO cord which has finely stranded conductors , flexible insulation, and an oil resistant outer jacket. An SO cord is what you'd expect to see on any typical UL listed power tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 1 hour ago, rockstar.esq said: t's unlikely that you'd get decent performance out of an improperly connected motor. If it was a 220V only motor connected to 110V, you'd probably get half speed and a lot of heat. I do not have a machine to test the speed but I swear I am not getting full RPM. Heats up a bit too. This got put on the back burner so nothing was taken apart. No offense taken. I try to be as safety minded as I can but no one is totally focused all of the time. The cool thing about that part of my shop is it has only one outlet. Why is this cool you ask? I have to unplug one machine to plug in another. The only machine plugged in is the only machine able to be turned on. This is not the case in the larger shop. Some numb head came in once and for some dumb reason picked up a grinder and flipped the switched on. When it fired up it jumped out of his had. He wasn't hurt thank goodness, and neither was I. He got impolitely asked to leave when he said "How come it was left plugged in?" Apparently he was too dumb to notice I was welding something at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Glad you're staying safe. Let me know if I can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notownkid Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Don't I remember taking the end plate off and changing a couple connections on the back of the motor and it went from 220 to 110 or reverse? We used a 220 bulb in a 110 outlet for years as a night light outside a vol. fire department dim but did it's job even moved it when we moved into a new station. Steve Sells should be able to "enlighten" us on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 notownkid, I'm a Journeyman Electrician and I used to run a motor rewind shop. There are some motors tapped to allow the user to run at 110 or 220V. Generally you have to move jumpers to connect the windings properly for the voltage applied. As I mentioned earlier, if you had a motor configured for 220V and you connected it to only 110V you'd get half speed, no torque, and a lot of heat. Running it for any appreciable amount of time could cook the winding insulation. I'd caution anyone against assuming that visible taps in a motor proves it's a multi-volt. Single phase motors can have separate start windings that are connected to a capacitor. Capacitors are really dangerous until they're discharged. Ever notice how licking a 9V battery only tingles? Put that same battery in a stun gun it's a whole different story. Capacitors are the reason why. There are other motors that are only tapped for 220V. There are way more motor variations than just those two. Running an incandescent lamp at lower voltage will reduce it's output. Standard dimmers are variable resistors that reduce the voltage to the lamp, thereby dimming it. The same amount of energy is consumed as the fully lit lamp, it's just converted to heat at the dimmer. The reason people used 220V lamps in 110V sockets is for durability. All things being equal, the 220V lamp filament will be twice as thick as the 110V lamp. But they're half as bright when connected to 110V. There are "rough service" lamps on the market and I've long suspected they're really 220v lamps that were re-labeled with half their original wattage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notownkid Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 we only used the dim light to see getting the key in the lock in the middle of the night but half the guys didn't have their key anyways in an emergency and stuck their elbows through the window to get in. We cured the key business in the new station and but in a push button lock on the doors and the dim light lets you see just enough to get the right buttons sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Many many moons ago, when I was a young buck in my new house, I bought a brandy-new table saw. It was a well known make (rhymes with 'belta') and came to me wired with a 110 plug. I was happy with my new toy, and took every opportunity to make small pieces of wood from larger pieces. I worked with the rhythms of the new saw and all was well with the world. For some reason, at some point, I opened up the connection box and looked at the wiring diagrams. Whaaaaa? It was wired up inside for 220. I looked, looked again, then once more for good luck. Yup, 220. Put a 220 plug on the end of the properly sized cord, plugged it into my 220 outlet, and ---- holy cow, the power the saw now had. I turned into a 2" thick oak- ripping fool. That saw was hungry, and I fed it well. Luckily, no damage to the motor. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.