"Doug Miller" wrote in message
m...
In article 5qbae.4326$lz1.1003@lakeread01, "DL"
wrote:

I will have 15 240v outlets in the workshop area.

That's an awful lot. I don't have that many 120V receptacles in mine, and
I
haven't found there to be a problem.


Has more to do with the shape of the workspace than anything, not being the
traditional rectangle shaped space.

[snip]

Why do you have to replace power cords "anyway"? I'm not following you
here.

If I compare the cord on my 240v air compressor with that of other the
equipment that is rated for 120v and 240v but prewired for 120v, the cable
difference is significant. I understand that the size of the cord varies
based on the amps required by the equipment, but since I will be switching
the wiring out at the equipment to make it run on the 240v power,
installing
a better quality cord makes sense to me instead of just replacing the plug
end (obviously where needed).

The part that I think you're missing here is that a tool draws *half* the
current at 240V that it does at 120V. Thus, for any given tool, the cord
needs
to be heavier for 120V use than for 240V. Your 240V air compressor has a
heavy
duty cord because it draws a lot of current, not because it runs at 240V.
There's no reason IMO to replace the cord: if it's heavy enough to carry
the
current the tool pulls at 120V, it's already *twice* as heavy as it needs
to
be to carry the current the tool will pull at 240V.

I understand that the amps drop on the 240v equipment, and I probably used a
bad example with the air compressor. A better example would be a comparison
between my Delta dust collector and my Grizzly tablesaw. Both have 1.5hp
motors, and both work fine, but the quality of the cord on the Delta is much
nicer than my 12+ year old Grizzly. The general quality of some of the
cords are not to my liking so if I have to replace the end to match a
receptacle, I might as well upgrade the entire power cord.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?