Is it possible, and safe, to run a 110 outlet off a 220 outlet? The electrician said it was, but out of code, so he would not. BUT I know one of the mag's had an article last year which showed how.
I am not an electrician, so please be as clear as possible..thanks..
If you have a 15 or 20 amp dedicated outlet for something like an airconditioner, it can be converted at the breaker panel from 240 to 120 volt, but if you're looking to tap 120 volts from an existing 240 volt outlet, it would need a neutral conductor, which many 240 volt outlets won't have
How many amps is the circuit? How many wires is the circuit?
Assuming you want to install a 120v 20a (or 15a) outlet, the 240v circuit cannont be over 20a (or 15a). And it will have to be 3wire so you have a neutral for your 120v outlet; and that would be odd to find on a 20a 240v circuit.
So, you probably have too much amperage, or not enough wires; so you probably can't do it. The electrician might have been thinking of using the ground wire as a neutral. That is certainly against code, and while it would work, isn't something you want to do. I hope a magazine didn't recommend it.
How can he have too much amperage available? If the wires two the 120 volt circuit are as big as the wires to the original circuit, and the receptacle is big enough to handle whatever is plugged in, how can there be too much amperage?
The rest I agree with.
I'm assuming that the OP wants to hook up a standard 15A duplex receptacle. If the original circuit is more than 20A then generally you cannot wire a 15A receptacle to it.
Chris
Ignoring code, if it is a 4 wire 220V outlet with 2 hots, a neutral and a ground, an adapter that connected to one of the hots, the neutral and the ground would be safe. OTOH, if it is a 3 wire 220V outlet, with
2 hots and a ground only, then there is no neutral to connect to. It would be possible to get 120 by connecting to one hot and the ground in this case, and in fact for small loads like lights or controls on 220v appliances, this used to be common practice. Personally, I might use such an arrangement for a temporary, one-time job, perhaps connecting a light or small powertool if there was no other outlet within convenient distance, but not for a permanent outlet. to
That's probably the most important part of your post. If you're not an electrcian, why are you even thinking about doing something you clearly don't understand.
They sell plugs that will do just this. I bought one for my Bosch washing machine. 220 plug with the blades turned 90 degrees from normal and a normal
120 for the dryer. It was nice to find because I thought I would have to add a box to get 220 to the new washer.Rich
It's real simple: the electrical code requires that the receptacle's amperage rating cannot be less than that of the circuit. The only exceptions are that
15A receptacles are permitted on 20A circuits, and receptacles rated less than 15A are permitted on 15A circuits.
Well, if it is a 50a 240v circuit, you can't get get 20a 240v out of it without installing a load center with a 20a breaker in it. That probably goes beyond what the OP wants to do.
...unless you replace the 20A breaker with a 15A.
That's the whole point of asking a question in a newsgroup. Unlike many of the pros here, most of weren't born with this knowledge. The only way to gain this knowledge is through research. The newsgroups seem to be a good source for useful information from those who have already acquired this knowledge and are willing to share it. It's also a good source for a list of gotchas from those who have already made mistakes. This is, essentially, a DIY newsgroup. As such, there are people here who are determined to do it themselves. Far better that they embark on their adventure with an idea of what they're doing rather than totally blind. If "Don't do it yourself!" was a universally acceptable answer, I could just ask my Mom.
Many posts seem to indicate that electricians are not electricians.
*If* there is a neutral wire at the 220 outlet, yes you can. You haven't given enough information here to give you a straight answer.
You might have to install a fused outlet to limit the current (see link below) for instance, you want to tap 110V for a washing machine off the
220V dryer outlet if it has 4 wire. It's a really bad solution because you will trip the breaker every time you run the dryer on a high heat cycle and run the washer at the same time.However, let's say you want to replace an electric range with a gas range, and there is no 110V outlet for the igniter. This might actually make sense -- but if it's only a 3 wire circuit you'll need to convert it to 110V at the breaker box. (You'll end up with a 20A 110V outlet wired with 8 guage wire) If it's a 4-wire range outlet, install something like this next to it and get your electrician friend to tap into one side of the range circuit:
If it's a 220V outlet for an air conditioner, and you are installing a
110V unit, you just replace the receptacle with a 110V and rewire it at the breaker to give one hot and one neutral wire instead of 2 hots. (people do this one all the time)Bob
OK. I don't get it, but I'll bear it in mind, and I won't do it either.
>
The point is that Code doesn't permit 20A receptacles on a 50A circuit.
The basic problem is that the breaker provides some protection to the receptacle, as well as the wiring. If you try to draw 30 A from a 15 A receptacle on a 15 A circuit, you'll trip the breaker. If you connect a
15 A receptacle to a circuit wired and fused for 30 A, you can draw 30 A continuously, and that's safe for the wire but the receptacle may overheat.The breaker *also* provides some protection for the wires in the power cord of the device plugged into the receptacle, until you get downstream of the fuse in the device (if any). A short caused by frayed insulation in the power cord will have to trip the branch circuit breaker. (This isn't true in the UK, where individual plugs have fuses sized to protect the cord and/or device).
Dave
So why not just install a 50A recepticle and be done with it?
Because ordinary appliances can't be plugged into a 50A receptacle.
It's possible to have a 220 socket without a neutral. So, to make
110 you'd have to run another wire back to the socket.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.