Converting Rikon 14 Band Saw from 115 to 230

[wghatcher]

I am in the process of assembling my Rikon 14 inch band saw and planning to convert to 230. I will have an outlet in my new shop setup for this saw.

My question: Do I need to buy a new plug for this band saw? The manual has a chart for changing the wiring, but says nothing about changing the plug.

My electrician is coming over on Thursday to finish some electrical details on the new shop. Should I have him convert the saw to 230 and change plug if necessary - rather than doing it myself?

Thanks for any feedback,

Greg

 

[Bryan S]

Yes, you do have to change the plug for one that is designed for 220v. The configuration is different to prevent plugging in a 110v piece of equipment to a 220 outlet, and is required by code.

As far as whether or not to let your electrician rewire the equipment or do it yourself. Let you comfort level guide you. Wiring is not hard to learn, but it is not an area that you want to make a mistake, wiring mistakes can be very unforgiving. If you are unsure, uncomfortable or have doubts, let him do the wiring.

 

[zapdafish]

congrats on the bandsaw, are you putting it on a mobile base?

I am thinking of getting one too, prob going to wait till next month when woodcraft has them on sale for fathers day.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

As far as whether or not to let your electrician rewire the equipment or do it yourself. Let you comfort level guide you. Wiring is not hard to learn, but it is not an area that you want to make a mistake, wiring mistakes can be very unforgiving. If you are unsure, uncomfortable or have doubts, let him do the wiring.

I agree 100% however I will add that switching the voltage on your saw is very straightforward. You basically undo a few wiring caps, change the wires per the diagram (in the manual and I think on the motor itself), and tighten the caps back on. Swapping the plug is also very straightforward. You can pick up a new one at the BORG (needs to match the ampacity of the circuit, most likely 20A for this tool). The only difference in wiring a 240v volt plug is that there is no neutral. There will be two "hot" terminals on the plug, white goes to one, black to the other (doesn't matter which). Ground goes to ground (usually green) just as in 120v.

As already said though, if you're not comfortable doing it, have the electrician do it.

Travis

 

[Phil S]

Yes you should change the plug - It is only about $5 and takes less than 10 minutes to change and be safe. I changed my Rikon over to 220v last year and it made a difference in power

 

[wghatcher]

Guys, thanks for the responses. I guess I naively expected the 230 plug to be included in the package. I will look for a plug in the next day or so.

To answer the question about the mobile base, yes I am using a mobile base. I bought the HTC base that was on sale at Woodcraft. I built the mobile base and saw stand first and added the base to the stand before putting the saw on the stand. I still need to finish assembling the saw.

Greg

 

[toolferone]

Greg,

this has been talked about before, but the only reason to change to 230 would be if you had a really long run from the outlet to the panel. Your saw will not have any more power. The motor has 2 @115 volt windings. You are droping your amps in half by switching so it would help with line loos if you had a long run. The motor has the same rpm and horsepower either way. Save your 230 and money for the BIG tools.

 

[RayH]

Greg,

this has been talked about before, but the only reason to change to 230 would be if you had a really long run from the outlet to the panel. Your saw will not have any more power. The motor has 2 @115 volt windings. You are droping your amps in half by switching so it would help with line loos if you had a long run. The motor has the same rpm and horsepower either way. Save your 230 and money for the BIG tools.

All true, but it does drop the amps on each circuit. My converted saw spins up quicker and no longer dims the lights. If you have a dedicated circuit for the saw, it probably makes no difference. If, like me, the circuit is shared with other stuff, it does.:tinysmile_cry_t:

 

[McRabbet]

Greg,

You must change the plug and the receptacle for 230 volt use for the reasons cited above. I happen to believe that plugs on cords should be secure, so I always install 3-wire twist lock plugs for my 230 volt circuits rather than basic spade-style prongs found on straight plugs. Refer to this chart of NEMA (National Association of Electrical Manufacturers) configurations for receptacles (that's why they have the "R" suffix) for appropriate models -- I use the L6-20R and L6-20P for the receptacle/plug sets for my 20 Amp circuits and L6-30R/L6-30P for 30 Amp circuits. You must be certain that the wire in both your cord and circuit is at least 12 AWG for 20 Amp and 10 AWG for 30 Amp applications (all less than 50 feet from the breaker).

If you do wire them yourself, first verify that the circuit breaker is Off and test the wires at the wall box to be certain that they are de-energized! The bare copper (or green) conductor is connected to the prong that has the turned "lock" end on it (marked "G" on diagram and may have a green screw on the receptacle) and it is the Neutral -- the other two conductors are connected to X and Y (usually brass screws) and each carries one 120 volt phase. Be sure that you follow the diagram shown inside the motor connection plate for conversion to the 230 V configuration. The wire in the wall will undoubtedly be solid; form a loop for each screw on the receptacle and place it so the loop is clockwise. If the cord wire is stranded, I prefer to use crimp-on flanged spade connectors (has a "U" shaped end that goes around the screw) or a ring style. They need to be the correct size for the wire you are using.

Good Luck. Please be advised that I am not a licensed electrician and if you are not comfortable with this process, rely on your electrician to do it for you.

 

[wghatcher]

Just to clarify, I am not considering doing any shop wiring. The shop was just wired including a 230v line for this saw. I will check with the electrician for what type of plug he will use, so I can get the correct cord. I will take a look at the saw to determine how straight forward the conversion is.

Tom, I appreciate your comments. At this point I have no other 230 volt tools and likely will not be buying any soon. If I do, they will share this plug. While I will not get more power from the 230, some of the reviews I have read stated the saw could be tough on start up for a 115 circuit. And some do think it runs better after moving to 230. That is why I had the 230 outlet put in.

Thanks, Greg