I'm facing a decision along these lines right now. I just received all my Dad's old workworking equipment and am setting up shop in the third bay of my garage. The stinking cheap builder only put one outlet in the WHOLE garage. Luckily, the breaker box is in the garage and has about
15 slots still unused.The first step is to check the motors for current/power requirements and multi-voltage capability. Here is what I found for 120/240V
DC : 15A/7.5 TC : 12A RAS: 11A/5.5A DP : 11A/5.5A
Throw in a shopvac, assorted routers, and other hand tools, maybe some lighting, and sundry stuff and you quickly see that power management is a problem.
The DC won't spool up to full speed before kicking out the 15A breaker on its circuit. I've NEVER actually managed to get to run yet. Nevermind running it WITH comething making sawdust. When you consider that the DC works equally hard wheather or not I'm cutting at the moment, and its fan load keeps it close to its rated power for its entire run, that circuit is a candidate for considerable I^2*R heating. Considering that the DC also starts under load, it has the worst life.
Starting the TS or RAS causes a considerable ammount of dimming of the halogen light on the same circuit. Starting puts a motor in its max current condition. Now having the line not sag so badly would help with starting performance and reduce the chance of tripping the whole circuit.
This is what I'm planning on.
1 240V 20A circuit w/2 outlets. One dedicated to the DC. 3 120V 20A circuits with just 2 duplex outlets per circuit. 1 120V 20A circuit for lighting. I hate looking for the blown breaker in the dark.While selecting the electical hardware at Menards (what color of BORG is that?) I noticed a considerable range in the price and quality of duplex outlets. I chose the commertial grade outlets over the residential grade. The low end outlets get as cheap as $.39. The ones I got were about $2.39. The commertial outlets are supposed to withstand more plug-in cycles than residential. There were industrial grade outlets for about $6.00. If my commertial outlets don't pass muster, I'll go with the industrial.
Here are some advantages I see in configuring some of my heavy loads for
220V.1). No TWO heavy 220 loads will overload the 220 circuit.
2). Offload the 120 circuits so combined loads are unlikely to cause problems. 3). Reduce the number of running (non stall) breaker trips. The motor's thermal protection should keep you from overloading the motor. Tripping the breaker in the middle of a cut is a bummer. 4). having some 240V outlets already wired allows me to bring in new machinery without worry about their power needs.I consider the DC the hardest working motor I have. It works an hour for each minute the TS, RAS, Drill Press, or any other tool works. Getting it onto a low current circuit can only help avoid low voltage issues.
How many outlets do you place on a circuit? What current are your workshop circuits? How many circuits?