Another Electrical Question

[mtrager]

I am planning to daisy chain my 220 circuit since I only run 1 tool at a time and have a separate 220 for the DC. Some of my tools (planer and compressor) are 110 though. Can I run a 12/3 wire to them set up for 220 but only use the black and neutral for now and switch to the real 220 at a later time as I upgrade them to 220 machines? I guess I would just "tie off" the red line in the outlet box at the machine until a later date.

Thanks for your input,

Mitch Trager :drunken_s

 

[McRabbet]

Mitch,

I would advise that you use #10 wire for your 220 circuit for 30 Amp capacity. While I'm not certain, I believe it is a violation of the NEC Code to change wire size within a circuit. With either 10/3 or 12/3 wire for the entire circuit, you can put in a 110V breaker and only use the black and neutral now for 110 tools; later, you can pull out the 110 receptacles and breaker and reconfigure for 220. I'm not a proponent of mixing 110 and 220 on the same circuit because of load imbalance on the neutral.

Rob

 

[Monty]

I'm not sure if I'm reading what you're wanting to do correctly but I agree in principal with Rob - do not even try to mix 120 V and 240 V on the same circuit.

You can do what you're describing - run a new circuit for 120 V and convert it at a later time to 240 V. I am not an electrician, but in my experiece you do not have to use 12/3 wire for a 240 V circuit - if you do, you will have an unused lead when you convert the circuit to 240 V.

The only machine in my shop that requires a 30 amp breaker is my compressor, which will always require a dedicated circuit because it could come on while I'm using another machine. All the other 2 to 5 hp machines require a 20 amp... so I would think that 12/2 wire should suffice for most situations (but check your owner's manuals and go by that).

Finally, never trust any wiring advice (including mine!) unless you know and trust the source. Hire an electrician if you're not sure, or at least have one check your work before you use the circuit.

 

[Ray Martin]

Mitch,

Not sure if I'm reading your question correctly, but I would agree with the other posters to this thread... never mix anything on a single circuit.

Ray

 

[Travis Porter]

IMO, You would be better to home run the wires to the panel and wire them as 120V now and rewire to 220V later. BTW, I normally use 12/2 with ground for both my 110V and 220V circuits.

 

[mtrager]

Thank you all - seems pretty unanimous and a very good idea to home run a 110 and change to a 220 later.

Thanks again - the NCW is a great WW resource!

Mitch Trager