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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
My house was built in the 1960's and is "electrically challenged."
Rewiring would be the optimal solution, except for the cost. ;-) For now I'm trying to figure out if I can get a 220v dust collector without rewiring. (The service box is maxed.) My shop is right next to the laundry room. I already unplug the washer and plug in a heavy duty extension cord to run my contractor saw -- I found out the saw and shop vac on the same circuit can trip the breaker halfway through ripping a 2"x4". Any reason I couldn't build an extension cord to make use of the 220/110 of the dryer outlet, converting it to a standard 220 outlet for a dust collector? Or is this A Very Bad Idea (TM)? TIA. -- Mark |
#2
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
It is not legal. Dryers, before 1996, were not required to have a separate
neutral and ground. You will be sharing them and that is a bad idea. You also have the amperage problem. |
#3
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
"Gfretwell" wrote in message ... It is not legal. Dryers, before 1996, were not required to have a separate neutral and ground. You will be sharing them and that is a bad idea. You also have the amperage problem. Dryers in Canada were. My house in Canada, built in 1979, had 4-prong stove and dryer outlets. |
#4
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
I didn't pull the cover off the service but I assume the dryer is 20A...
They are usually 30. I suppose it's just 3 wire, but maybe I could pulle something that could handle the 220, 110 & ground. If you can pull a new wire in why are we dancing around. Just put in a bigger breaker, pull in some fat 4 wire and put a sub panel to serve the dryer and your shop. We beat that subject to death a few days ago but we can hit the high points again if this is a possibility. |
#5
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
"Wilson Lamb" wrote in message nk.net...
Obviously, you shouldn't get into any hookups unless you know what you are doing. Get a qualified pal to help if necessary. I worked on a TS the other day. Someone had used a 240V plug, but it was wired to make the case of the saw 120V above ground!! Hopefully the previous owner had miswired their outlet to match. The scary part is that the TS was in a school shop! That reminds me of visiting the shop that belonged to the brother of a friend of mine. He had a rule: never plug white painted plugs into red sockets or vice versa --- see they were all 110V connectors but the red ones were wired 220V. He was very impressed that he a) saved all that money avoid spendy 220 plugs and b) could use regular old 110V extension cords anywhere. Well you can guess where this is going ..... he plugs in two cords (one 110, one 220) and they are both orange and indistinguishable on the other end........ Some years later the building burned down and nobody knew quite why. hex -30- |
#6
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Gfretwell,
If you can pull a new wire in why are we dancing around. Just put in a bigger breaker, pull in some fat 4 wire and put a sub panel to serve the dryer and your shop. ;-) There's a large time & effort difference between making a short extension cord & getting up in the attic where the the wild dust bunnies have free range. The last time I was up there I almost came through the ceiling -- 40 year old 1/2" 3-ply plywood doesn't like my 250+ lbs... I wanted to try "fast" & "cheap" first. ;-) We beat that subject to death a few days ago but we can hit the high points again if this is a possibility. I just discovered this NG yesterday & I don't see the topic in my downloaded messages. Do you recall the title? I can google group for the info. Thanks. -- Mark |
#7
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Doug,
If by "maxed" you mean that there is no room to add additional breakers, perhaps you could replace four existing breakers with two tandem half-height breakers. This would give you the space to add a double-pole (220V) breaker for your new dust collector circuit. This has been done on one of the positions in the subpanel from the main box. I'll look into it. Thanks. -- Mark |
#8
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
There's a large time & effort difference between making a short extension
cord Take a look at the wire. It *may* be 10/3 with ground. If so you could do something with it. |
#9
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
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#10
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Wilson -- Your writing shows you know something about electricity. Let
me as a question about dust collection system grounding. I've done enough internet searching and reading in books & magazines to know this is a bit of a religious issue. ;-) Suppose for arguements' sake I'm a member of the Grounders sect. - A neighbor told me the grounding is "weak" in the houses in our 40 year old subdivision. - What good does it do to attach a grounding wire to the body of a double-insulated but no ground wire router? - Likewise, attaching to a TS that is grounded but not plugged in doesn't do any good. - If my DC isn't plugged in all the time it won't be grounded either. Is there any reason to not separately ground the DC ductwork, such as by driving a 6' copper rod in the garden outside the shop and running a wire to it? Thanks. -- Mark |
#11
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Is there any reason to not separately ground the DC ductwork, such as
by driving a 6' copper rod in the garden outside the shop and running a wire to it? Thanks. -- Mark The reason is this won't clear a ground fault. (trip the breaker) The ground has to be bonded to the center tap of the utility transformer. This is accomplished in your service panel via the main bonding jumper. A separately driven rod is required to be bonded to the service grounding system by the NEC. What they are probably telling you is that some of your branch circuits don't have grounding conductors in the wiring method. There has not been a sifgnificant change in the code in reference to grounding the service in close to a century. Homes that were built to "GI Bill" or FHA standards after WWII should have a grounding conductor brought to the box but you still could have 2 prong receptacles. You can pigtail a ground out to a 3 prong receptacle if this is true. If the house was built to minimum code it may only have a 2 wire cable serving the branch circuits. The only fix in that case is to run supplimental grounding from the panel or to rerun the cable feeding the circuit. |
#12
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
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#13
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Gfretwell,
Is there any reason to not separately ground the DC ductwork, such as by driving a 6' copper rod in the garden outside the shop and running a wire to it? Thanks. -- Mark The reason is this won't clear a ground fault. (trip the breaker) The ground has to be bonded to the center tap of the utility transformer. This is accomplished in your service panel via the main bonding jumper. A separately driven rod is required to be bonded to the service grounding system by the NEC. So what is your opinion of this solution, quoted from http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworki...e/Ducting.html Thanks. -- Mark -------------- Brent Dugan was the Maintenance Supervisor/Plant Engineer for a large 'Meltblown' polypropylene manufacturer (oil sorbents) for 9 years. He shared his way to eliminate those nasty static shocks: "Our product was plastic and our conveying systems, both air and mechanical were plastic. Polypropylene fibers traveling through 3" or 4" PVC piping creates massive amounts of static electricity. Our problem was so severe that we had sparks jumping 1 1/4" from our piping that would leave burn marks on your skin. Our employees dreaded working with the equipment. We tried all of the available methods you proposed and more; e.g., wire inside, wire outside, wrapped wire outside, etc. We spent quite a bit of my company's money to try and solve the problem with consultants and experts all to no avail. I finally came up with a solution. It was so simple and inexpensive that you will not believe it. As you stated, static is electrons building on the surface of an object. Well, I solved the problem by sticking 2" wide aluminum foil tape to the outside and inside of the PVC piping and then grounding that tape. Putting the tape on the outside of the piping was easy, just stick it on. Unfortunately that was not enough and I also had to put a strip of tape on the inside of the duct. Putting the tape on the inside was an interesting challenge. I wanted my tape inside and tape outside to end up right next to each other with just the PVC in between so I could use a screw and nut to ground the two layers together. I was only able to make the aluminum tape with a backing like double-sided tape work on the inside. To do so I started by sticking the aluminum tape to the bottom edge of the PVC pipe. Slightly peel the backing and adhere the aluminum tape to the end of a piece of 1/2" emt, conduit pipe, or other long rod. Feed the aluminum tape through the pipe as you unroll it from the roll. When you have the tape through the PVC, stick the aluminum tape to the end of the PVC pipe. Now 'tape' the backing to the rod then stretch the aluminum tape tightly angling it towards the top of the PVC piping (12 o'clock position). This keeps it from sticking prematurely. Now gently pull the rod out of the PVC which also removes the 'backing strip' off as you go. Keeping the aluminum tape stretched tightly lower it to the bottom side of the PVC pipe. To smooth it onto the inside I slipped in a longer piece of PVC and simply rolled that pipe inside to "iron" the aluminum tape down. Having the tape back to back made grounding easy. I drilled a hole near each pipe end through both layers of foil, inserted a 1/4-20 screw from the inside of the pipe, put on a nut to make a good circuit, then connected each section using 14 gauge wire. I connected each end with alligator clips to another strip of the aluminum tape adhered to the concrete floor. That totally eliminated the massive static electrical discharges and earned me a bonus!" |
#14
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
So what is your opinion of this solution, quoted from
http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworki...e/Ducting.html Apples and oranges. Grounding static electricity is a different animal than bonding against electrical faults. As he says, you can ground out a static charge in the manner he described. I connected each end with alligator clips to another strip of the aluminum tape adhered to the concrete floor. |
#15
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
I am usually slow to jump on the "you need a sub panel" band wagon but from
what you have said here (out of circuits, questionable grounding etc) this may be the best long term option. Then you would have the ability to install the circuits you need in your shop and be assured that the grounding pins of your tools are actually grounded. |
#16
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
If you are still going with the "extension cord" route, give me the name plate
rating of your dust collector (voltage, HP and FLA) and I will tell you how to set it up. The answer will probably start another fight ;-) If your dust collector is 1HP or less at 240v you can probably use a 14ga cord .... on that 30a breaker and still be within the code. (using the NEC article 430 rules) |
#17
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
I misspoke ... "2 HP or more"
danm dyslexia! |
#18
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Mark Jerde wrote in message ...
Any reason I couldn't build an extension cord to make use of the 220/110 of the dryer outlet, converting it to a standard 220 outlet for a dust collector? Or is this A Very Bad Idea (TM)? I'm working on the same problem -- only have a 120V/15A service into a detached garage and picked up gloat mode on a nearly new 3hp unisaw at an estate sale for next to nothing gloat mode off. I made up a 'cheater' cord to run from the range receptacle in the house to the saw in the garage until I upgrade the electrical service out there. I'm assuming you've got a dryer receptacle on the wall for the standard four-prong dryer plug. Have a look to make sure it has the separate ground back to the panel. Get a spare dryer cord, a receptacle that matches the plug on your DC, and a steel box, matching cover plate, and box connector, if necessary. The dryer plug has the U-shaped ground prong, two straight prongs on the sides for the main lines, and a L-shaped prong opposite the ground for the neutral line. Your 240V DC doesn't need the neutral line. Use a hack saw to cut off the latter prong at the face of the plug. Cut the white wire off at the other end of the cord. Then connect the two lines and ground wire to the proper terminals on the receptacle for the DC plug. Do the wiring inside a metal box. Run a jumper inside the box to ground it, too. The circuit is good for 30 amps, which is good for 5 hp or so. The potential issue is that if your motor overloads, and doesn't have its own overload protection, it'll cook long before the breaker trips. This shouldn't be a problem on a dust collector, however. Good luck, Tim |
#19
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
In Canada, separate ground wires were mandated sometime in the late '50s or
early '60s. Outlets for ranges and dryers were made law in 1970, at the same time they required all NMD cable to have 90 degree celsius insulation, 60 degree insulation was dropped. US was much later in requiring these standards. "Guy" wrote in message ... "Gfretwell" wrote in message ... It is not legal. Dryers, before 1996, were not required to have a separate neutral and ground. You will be sharing them and that is a bad idea. You also have the amperage problem. Dryers in Canada were. My house in Canada, built in 1979, had 4-prong stove and dryer outlets. |
#20
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Gfretwell wrote:
If you are still going with the "extension cord" route, give me the name plate rating of your dust collector (voltage, HP and FLA) and I will tell you how to set it up. I currently have a Sears 110v shop vac which doesn't do too bad with my sealed-up contractor saw and router table. But it would be overwhelmed by what I hope to be able to afford in a little while, a joiner & planer. Plus, I've been reading about the health hazards of micro-sized sawdust, and according to the site below 800CFM is needed to suck up all the little nasties. http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworking/cyclone/ All the 800 CFM DS's need 220, which I don't have in the shop yet... Thanks. -- Mark |
#21
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
I still advise against trying to use the dryer circuit for any 120v loads but
if your dust cyclone is 240v you could just use a hard service cord, sized the same as the manufacturer recomendation and put a dryer plug on it. |
#22
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Gfretwell wrote:
I still advise against trying to use the dryer circuit for any 120v loads but if your dust cyclone is 240v you could just use a hard service cord, sized the same as the manufacturer recomendation and put a dryer plug on it. I'll remember that. Thanks! -- Mark |
#23
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
" Wilson -- Your writing shows you know something about electricity. Let me as a question about dust collection system grounding. I've done enough internet searching and reading in books & magazines to know this is a bit of a religious issue. ;-) Suppose for arguements' sake I'm a member of the Grounders sect. - A neighbor told me the grounding is "weak" in the houses in our 40 year old subdivision. Questionable report. Who knows what he means. Someone talked about two wire wiring, which is pretty common. I wouldn't worry about it except in a kitchen or bath, where upgrading could be worthwhile. There should be a good ground rod at the box. - What good does it do to attach a grounding wire to the body of a double-insulated but no ground wire router? None. Did someone suggest it? Most such tools are plastic. Do you have something else? - Likewise, attaching to a TS that is grounded but not plugged in doesn't do any good. Are you talking about the duct ground for spark suppression? No, the TS won't isn't a ground if not plugged in. Interestingly, it may have enough leakage through a concrete floot to suppress static buildup, even if not plugged in. This is spooky stuff and explosions are rare, but it's easy to do the grounding and be sure. - If my DC isn't plugged in all the time it won't be grounded either. True, but so what? If it isn't running it can't build up static??? Is there any reason to not separately ground the DC ductwork, such as by driving a 6' copper rod in the garden outside the shop and running a wire to it? No. Any sort of ground will do it. If you have a neutral connected to the body (3 wire cord), just take the static collecting wire to the frame of the DC. I like someone's idea of the subpanel to serve the dryer and shop. You could mount it at the dryer location and run wires to outlets in the shop. Check the feed. It's probably 10 ga for a dryer. That's rated at 30 A, but can do 40 in tool service, although that's not "legal". I think the 30 A main we discussed, either in the main box or in the sub will do you fine. I don't remember if your DC is 120 or 240, but if it will run on a house 120V circuit you would have the 240 V circuit for big tools. Otherwise, you'll have to do both on 240, which is probably OK. I looked back and find your question ambiguous. Are you running the saw on 120 from the dryer outlet, or 240? I'm sure the vac is 120. If you don't have the DC, just put the saw on 240 and you're there. Rigging the panel and a couple of plugs will be nice for you and make you ready for a big planer! Don't forget, you can also put in a 120V 30A circuit if you need it for a tool that won't go on 240. Good luck and let me know if you need help, Wilson -- Mark |
#24
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
"Mark Jerde" writes:
wrote: I'm assuming you've got a dryer receptacle on the wall for the standard four-prong dryer plug. Have a look to make sure it has the separate ground back to the panel. Nope, three-prong. :-( Same with the range, IIRC. I suspect I'm going to have to do this "right." Talk to a real electrician or go to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever and read a book on wiring. You only need three wires for a 220V circuit. Modern dryer circuits have four wires because a dryer has both a 110V motor and controls and a 220V heating element. Your dust collector only needs 220V with no 110V. Your dust collector will work fine if you make an extension cord with a dryer plug on one end. Brian Elfert |
#25
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Really you only need two. The third is a safety ground.
Brian Elfert wrote: "Mark Jerde" writes: wrote: I'm assuming you've got a dryer receptacle on the wall for the standard four-prong dryer plug. Have a look to make sure it has the separate ground back to the panel. Nope, three-prong. :-( Same with the range, IIRC. I suspect I'm going to have to do this "right." Talk to a real electrician or go to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever and read a book on wiring. You only need three wires for a 220V circuit. Modern dryer circuits have four wires because a dryer has both a 110V motor and controls and a 220V heating element. Your dust collector only needs 220V with no 110V. Your dust collector will work fine if you make an extension cord with a dryer plug on one end. Brian Elfert |
#26
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
Not quite. The four wire outlet has two hot wires (110 VAC each), a
neutral, and a ground. The older 3 wire plugs lack the ground. Even with the 3 wire outlet, you can get 110VAC from connecting to either hot wire, and the neutral. Modern dryer circuits have four wires because a dryer has both a 110V motor and controls and a 220V heating element. |
#27
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
you can get 110VAC from connecting to either hot wire,
and the neutral. I have avoided saying it but this is "hold your nose" legal if you put it on a GFCI. |
#28
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
As an owner of a 1962 house, I can tell ya that I had NO grounds connected
at any outlet, nor a ground pin on any outlet. On the rare occasion when I run out of projects, I rewire the outlets in a room up to the current code. Fortunately, my wires did have a ground wire, but it was never connected. At least I have copper wires, unlike some coworkers. My washer is now connected to a GFCI, but my drier still has the 3 wire outlet, and consequently, it isn't grounded. Since you bring it up, have you checked to see if a GFCI is rated for a 1HP+ motor? If you don't have water in your shop, why would you want a GFCI? "Gfretwell" wrote in message ... you can get 110VAC from connecting to either hot wire, and the neutral. I have avoided saying it but this is "hold your nose" legal if you put it on a GFCI. |
#29
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
If you don't have water in your shop, why would you want a GFCI?
The code says all 120v 15 or 20a receptacles in garages, unfinished basements or out buildings shall be on GFCI. More to the point of my post, it also says when there is no ground present the only way you can use a 3 prong 120v receptacle is with a GFCI. (No a GFCI does NOT require a ground to function) As for motor loads, the code requires GFCI protection on most spas and they usually have big motors. I have GFCI protection on all 120v circuits in my shop with no problems. |
#30
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
"Gfretwell" wrote in message ... If you don't have water in your shop, why would you want a GFCI? The code says all 120v 15 or 20a receptacles in garages, unfinished basements or out buildings shall be on GFCI. Well, dammit, I didn't know that! :-) Found this online: "According to the National Electrical Code, all garage-wall outlets must be GFCI outlets or standard outlets protected by GFCI circuit breakers" (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/prin...216662,00.html) I have a LOT of outlets in my garage/workshop. I might consider getting a GFCI breaker rather than rewire all the outlets (or daisy chain some). More info I found online: Workshops - Of special interest to the DIYer. Your workshop, when in a garage or outbuilding with a floor at or below grade, must have GFCI protection on the 120 - volt receptacles. A 1999 change to the code dropped the word "unfinished" in reference to workshops and storage areas in garages and accessory buildings. So don't think that just because your shop has a finished floor it meets the code. Most workshops have a concrete floor, which tends to hold moisture, which increases shock potential and isn't considered "finished" for the code. Basement workshops follow the rules for basements. Two hundred twenty - volt outlets aren't specifically addressed in this part of the code. However, in a workshop setting they're generally for large machinery like table saws. Because the outlets will not accept a standard 120 - volt appliance cord, they fit the "not readily accessible" exception. (http://www.handymanclub.com/document.asp?cID=55&dID=862) Learn something new everyday. |
#31
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Dryer to Standard 220 Extension Cord
I have a LOT of outlets in my garage/workshop. I might consider getting a
GFCI breaker rather than rewire all the outlets You just need to put a receptacle GFCI in the first outlet in each branch circuit, connect the outgoing wires to the "load" terminal. If you have "home run" each receptacle that won't be as easy and the breaker route may be an easier, if more expensive, solution. From a real world perspective, the most important outlets are the ones that you will be using line powered hand tools on. "Fixed in place machines" with line cords safely routed out of the way are significantly safer than a hand tool that could have a damaged cord, missing ground pin or whatever. There is an exception to the GFCI rule that would cover the fixed in place equipment if there are no other accessible outlets on that circuit. You are also more likely to be sitting on the concrete floor when you are using that hand held tool. This can provide a very dangerous fault path through your body and that is why the GFCI rule was implimented. |
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