Air conditioner outlet is 220 v; how can i run a 110v line off this?

[humblejohn38]

Hi Everyone: I just moved to an apartment and it has a 220 volt a/c outlet. I don't need all the btu's that the 220 volts would provide. I would like to run a 110 v air conditioner off of this 220v line. I have been looking on the internet but they all talk about international voltage--i.e. 220 to 110 in Japan etc. I could care less about international. All I would like to know is, for a reasonable cost, can I run a 110v a/c off a 220v line? The 220 v line is dedicated which means I won't have to worry about blown fuses etc. If you can help thanks.

[Ted]

In principle you can replace the outlet and move wire in the panel to the neutral bus, but why would you want to change? It is better on 240.

[John Grabowski]

If it is a dedicated line you would need to go into the fuse box/circuit breaker panel and change the wiring a little. This is not recommended for an amateur. You would also have to change the receptacle.

[RBM]

I have all Gmail blocked, so I don't see the OP, but yes, in your panel there is a double pole breaker with both conductors attached to it providing the 240 volts. Replace the double pole breaker, with two single pole breakers, (one is just to fill the empty space), attach one conductor to a single pole breaker and the other to the neutral buss, then replace the receptacle with a 120 volt outlet. It may just be that the OP doesn't have a

240 volt unit, but does have a 120 volt

[hallerb]

you could make up a adapter cord, 240 in to 120 out.

building owner might not want tenants poking around inside breaker box and changing outlets.

adapter cord is cheap easy fix

[hallerb]

[Mikepier]

As others aid it is easy to convert the 220V to a 110V plug. But a few questions: First off, how many amps service is your panel? If its 40A like most typical apts and condos, be aware that you are increasing the amperage draw if you convert your outlet to 110V. For example, a 10000 BTU A/C normally uses about 5 amps on 220V, but uses 10amps on 110V. So if you have other power hogs in your house, you might be pushing the panel to the limit. Also, what size BTU's are you looking for? It is possible to find 220V A/C in the size you need. In my Dad's condo I put in a Friedrich

13,200 BTU that is 220V.

[RBM]

you could make up a adapter cord, 240 in to 120 out.

building owner might not want tenants poking around inside breaker box and changing outlets.

adapter cord is cheap easy fix

You can not make "a adapter cord" The 240 volt outlet does not have a neutral

[Don Young]

you could make up a adapter cord, 240 in to 120 out.

building owner might not want tenants poking around inside breaker box and changing outlets.

adapter cord is cheap easy fix A dedicated 240V air conditioner circuit is very likely to not have a neutral. If that is true, an adapter cord without changes in the breaker panel is not safely possible. The required changes should not be expensive so call an electrician to do it properly.

Don Young

[Ted]

First off, how many amps service is your panel? If its 40A like most typical apts and condos, be aware that you are increasing the amperage draw if you convert your outlet to 110V. For example, a 10000 BTU A/C normally uses about 5 amps on 220V, but uses 10amps on 110V. So if you have other power hogs in your house, you might be pushing the panel to the limit.

---------- That's a good one, pretending you don't know they use exactly the same current!

[Mikepier]

???????

[John Grabowski]

Current draw changes with a voltage change. Watts consumption remains the same.

[Ted]

Lets say we have two 2400w air conditioners. One is 20a at 120v, and the other is 10a at 240v. The first takes 20a off one hot. The second takes 10a off each of two hots.

They each put exactly the same demand on the electrical service (which I hope the poster knew). The 240v is just balanced; which might be good or bad, depending on the other loads.

[Chris Hill]

How you know a 110 ac is going to e big enough? It isn't August yet. If you're just trying to be cheap on buying an ac, you might want to rethink it. If your outlet has three holes, forget it, there is no safe way to adapt. If you have four, you could build something with the proper plug, maybe a dryer corrd set or something going into a box with a 110 outlet wired to one hot, neutral and ground.

[John Grabowski]

????? I guess I picked the wrong day to stop shooting heroin.

[hallerb]

around here all 230 volt connections have a neutral, except stoves and dryers.

I mentioned this to the middle inspector once, it must be a local thing.

a good number of the machines i service have 240 volt plugs on them but only use one side of the power line, the machine manufacturer said that was fine, and at one time even sold them that way by special order.

[Chris Hill]

None of the ones in this house do, they are all three wire. I suspect many older houses will also only have three wire plugs available. The

220v ac my parents had when I was a kid was definitely three wire. I remember the shock when I stuck my finger in the outlet, as well as how it was designed quite well.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, Commercial or residential? I doubt residential wiring has neutral meaning real 3 phase power. It's two hot and ground.(3 wires)

[hallerb]

around here 2 hot, one ground and a white neutral.....

[dpb]

That's "new" NEC code (don't recall year; been a while but relatively recently). Before then, 240V single phase was 3-wire universally accepted. It's quite probable that's all there is since it hasn't been that long that 4-wire wasn't required to meet Code.

--