JHCC Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 57 minutes ago, Steve Sells said: 8ga SRO cord What does "SRO" mean? I find "STO cable", which (according to one commercial website) is "Designed for extra hard usage with heavy tools, equipment, portable lights and power extensions." Is that what I want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Just realized that because we don't have a finished basement, not only is the wiring for the dryer outlet not behind drywall, but it's set up in such a way that I can move the outlet some thirty feet closer to where I need it. That will substantially reduce how much distance I need to cover, and I think I might even be able to get away with a 25 foot premade dryer extension cord. The question is, the ones I've seen for sale are have 10 gauge wire, not 8. Would that be sufficient for the shorter distance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 The only thing I can think of for SRO is School Resource Officer and believe me ours won't make a decent extension cord. I went and checked the cord that I made for the welder and it's AWG 10 ga ST cable. It works for the 40 ft welder extension cord but the welder is only rated at 25.5 amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 I think Steve meant to type "STO", but his finger hit the "R" instead of the "T". I've learned a lot about cable types over the last day or two, and now I'm wondering if SOOW would also be an option; it seems to be a close match to STO, but a bit easier to get hold of. I also realized that the wiring in the basement has a junction box between the breaker box and the dryer outlet, about 12-15 feet from the latter. Now I'm thinking that I might disconnect the wires in that junction box, run a wire to the garage, and reinstall the outlet there. If that's a possibility, I might even replace the NEMA 10-30 outlet with a NEMA 6-50, so that I could run a welder out there as well. Something else to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 I don't see why doing it like that wouldn't work just fine. Just be sure to run the new wire with the same and connect them with wire nuts or make a Western Union splice and solder them with good electrical tape for insulation. Hopefully Steve will see this and weigh in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 The main wiring of the house is aluminum, so I'll need to make sure I use the proper antioxidant paste on any connections (Steve talked me through this when I had to install a wall oven the day before Thanksgiving a couple of years ago). The breaker on the circuit is (I believe) 60 amps, but I can check that too. At that point, my only real concern would be whether the existing wire between the breaker and the junction box is sufficiently robust to handle the higher amperage on a welder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 And here’s what’s inside the junction box. The cable to the breaker box is on the left; the cable to the outlet is on the right. I confirmed that the circuit has a 60 amp breaker. Also, the junction box is only about eight feet from the outlet, so I can still move it to be about ten feet or so closer to where the outlet would be in the garage. On 11/12/2019 at 12:07 PM, JHCC said: On 11/11/2019 at 2:51 PM, Steve Sells said: I should add that making a cord from Romex is asking for trouble Certainly wouldn't do that! If I do put a 240v outlet in the garage, I suppose the appropriate gauge Romex would be good for the 50'-60' run from the breaker box, but not for anything that's going to be moved around, coiled out of the way, etc necessary for my little shop. Steve, what do you think of my running Romex of the appropriate gauge from the junction box to the new outlet in the garage? Also, I assume that the aluminum wire between the breaker and the junction box is sufficiently robust to handle the amp load of a 5 HP motor on The Pressciousss, but how can I check to see if it's sufficient for a 50 amp load for a welder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 you would need 6 GA al wire to safely handle 50 amps. 8ga for copper. ( 10 ga copper is safe for 30 amps, the voltage drop and flex cables wear and tear over time is why I said to use 8ga for the 5 HP motors SO cord @ 120v) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Thanks, Steve. I don't have a wire gauge, but I suppose I could take a pair of vernier calipers to the aluminum wire to see how thick it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Well, here's the wire, with apologies for a not-so-great picture. As you can see, the wire to the breaker is a lot thicker than the wire to the outlet. It's a six-strand wire that measures about 4.6-5 mm, so I think we're good for 50 amps. Interestingly (and this really isn't visible in the photo), each of those strands looks like it's made of copper with a dull gray layer on the outside. Should I plan to treat it like aluminum anyway, by adding an antioxidant when connecting the new wires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 On 4/24/2020 at 12:24 PM, Steve Sells said: ( 10 ga copper is safe for 30 amps, the voltage drop and flex cables wear and tear over time is why I said to use 8ga for the 5 HP motors SO cord) Steve, would I would be correct in assuming that a 30 amp switch between the motor and the SO cord would be most appropriate? The switch currently installed on The Pressciousss is rated for 20 amps, which I assume would be insufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 yup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 Excellent; thank you. In other news, I determined yesterday that the Lovejoy connection between the motor and the pump will work with a 7/8" diameter motor shaft -- indeed, I'd forgotten I'd had to get an adapter to make it work with the 5/8" shaft on the current 3 HP motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 The new motor has arrived! All the other supplies for wiring the press and installing the new outlet have been ordered. Everything except the 8/3 SOOW cord will be curbside pickup at the local big box; the cord should arrive fairly soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 On 4/24/2020 at 12:24 PM, Steve Sells said: you would need 6 GA al wire to safely handle 50 amps. 8ga for copper. ( 10 ga copper is safe for 30 amps, the voltage drop and flex cables wear and tear over time is why I said to use 8ga for the 5 HP motors SO cord) Steve, my local electrician friend tells me “#8 copper is rated for 40A. Of course code is always a wee bit conservative but I wouldn't advise pulling 50A on #8 wire.” I’m going to go ahead and wire the socket with 8 ga for now, as I am only going to be running the 5hp motor on The Pressciousss at present. If I ever do get a 220 volt welder, I can always run some 6 ga wire from the socket to the junction box. Does that sound right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 I am typo king but my numbers are correct for thhw/thwn, he could he thinking UF which is only rated for 40, as I said before installations effect amperage, that includes insulation type as well as length Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 Okay, so 8 ga SO cord and 8 ga Romex (for now) is good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 I double checked the rating of the wire that I bought, and its maximum amperage is 40 (I really should have checked before placing the order. Oh well; live and learn). Should be OK for that motor, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 also remember breakers are sized for the wires amperage rating. so use the correct breaker/fuse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 Hmm. The current breaker is 60 amps, so I suppose I should replace it with a 40 to match the 8 ga Romex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 Well, the receptacle is installed. I wired a plug to the spa pump motor and plugged it in. The motor spun, and there were no sparks. Just need the SO cable to wire up The Pressciousss, and we’re good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 Will you be dressing up like Gollum to use the "pressciousss"? (The wife and I re-watched the first Hobbit movie last night, (Peter Jackson one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 5, 2020 Author Share Posted May 5, 2020 The SO cord has arrived, and I plan to wire up The Pressciousss this evening. I'll keep you posted. 17 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Will you be dressing up like Gollum to use the "pressciousss"? If memory serves, Gollum only wears a little rag as a loincloth. No-one wants to see me dressed like that, and I suspect it would provide minimal protection from hot scale. 17 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: (The wife and I re-watched the first Hobbit movie last night, (Peter Jackson one). My condolences. It is still a matter of great disappointment to me that Jackson could have achieved such a triumph with the Lord of the Rings movies and then made such a hash of The Hobbit. He made the absolutely correct decision not to make a trilogy of complex books into a single film, but then made the utterly horrible decision to make a trilogy of films out of a single, fairly simple book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 I could understand removing stuff to make it easier to film and keep the length down---but then he adds in a lot of stuff not in the book that often takes away from his story IMNSHO. On the other hand 2+ hours snugging with my wife on the couch without her smart phone in her hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 6, 2020 Author Share Posted May 6, 2020 The motor is installed, and the cord attached. Unfortunately, I ordered the wrong switch, and the one I have won’t accommodate 8 ga. wire. I’ll have to find a better one. The good news is that everything works nicely. I haven't tried it out on hot metal yet, but it did make a marginally deeper dent on a bar of 1/2" round brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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