Help Help - 230V rewire questions....

[Tom Slick]

side info:
The reason why I was asking is a 20a 115v plug (nema 5-20p) has one blade sideways. technically any 16a to 20a 115v appliance (machines) has to have that plug, but I have never seen one actually installed. a 20a 230v plug (nema 6-20p) has the other blade sideways, opposite of the 20a 115v plug (nema 5-20p) and a 15a 230v plug (nema 6-15p) has the both blades turned sideways.

your machine is designed to run on a115v 15 amp circuit but there is certainly nothing wrong with running it on 230v.

[drumpriest]

Yeah, there are quite a few different types of 230v plugs out there. The one I got has a 90 degree as part of one of the prongs, I have a receptacal to match that. Also bought some 12x3 cable already in conduit to make the run. Finished tapping that from the box, now running it over to the bandsaw, then just change the plug and rewire the motor, and pray to the electrical gods that the BS runs!

Thanks already to all who have posted, you guys have been a great help!

[sd]

There are special tools for that type of strain relief, although I don't think it's worth buying them if you're only going to use them once. Search for "Heyco strain relief pliers" if you're interested.

[LCHIEN]

The reason for going to 230V is to draw less current. So if it was a 15A @115V tool then it will be a 7,5A@230V tool. You can go with a smaller wire rather than that behemoth dryer pigtail you bought,

Wire uses larger gauge copper to handle more amps. And thicker insulation to handle more volts. In either case, it makes the cable look more bulky and heavy duty. Most all power cords nowadays are rated for 600V and are plenty for 230V use. The gauge of the wire, if good enough for 15A will be more than good enough for 7.5A. So you don't need to change the cord, just the plug, if you want. You rpobably won't find anythig less than the heavy duty pigtails with 230V plugs at local hardware stores, there's little demand for lower power 230V appliances that need new cords. But a medium duty cord is all you need.

Personally, unless you are short 115V outlets and have extra 230V outlets, I don't see any reasonable advantage to changing over.

Those strain reliefs are sized for specific cordsets, if you change to a cord set wth another gauge wire you won't be able to make it work.
The can squeeze the little wedge (with the little loop) toward the cable with a pair of needle nose pliers while using another tool to push the strain relief from the hole. The little loop keeps the wedge from getting lost, the wedge has a groove on the outside that fits the panel and a peg on the inside facing the wire that puts a bend in the wire to keep to from pulling out.Its all a VERY tight fit and is a pain in the neck unless you have the special tool for installing them. The U-groove in the relief has a recess to match the peg less the cable thickness. The panel hole is round on the ends and straighton the sides to keep the relief and wire from rotating.

Personally, as much as I've dealt with those reliefs, I'd cut the cable and replace the connector.

[drumpriest]

Conversion done! Loring, my reasoning for changing over to 230v is that the saw states that it requires a 20a 115v circuit, much like the 22-44 drum sander, and I only have 15 amp to the shop in 115v. I have 30a 230v though, which runs my PM2000, my 8" jointer, and now my 18" bandsaw. I have a bunch of lights in there also running on the 115v, so though the BS wasn't tripping the breaker at start-up, it was certainly straining the circuit heavily.

Additionally I have my 230v circuit on a master cut-off switch that is ok for me to reach, but impossible for kids to reach.

The switch over wasn't too bad, ran some cable in conduit, rewired the motor, put a new outlet in and a new plug on the cord. Now the saw starts up quicker and doesn't make the lights go out. I was a bit concerned about heavy resaw on the 15amp setup as well, now I know that I'm not starving the saw, if resaw sucks, it's the saw's fault, not the power setup, or my lousy technique, of course.

[BobSch]

Here's a link to all the common A/C connectors: http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/S...NRML_R0_EN.pdf

It's easy to get confused. There's a lot of choices out there.