dust collector wiring

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Roy99664

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Location
.Seward, Alaska
Hi Folks,
I bought a Delta model 50-760 dust collector less than a month ago and yesterday the motor burned up. I could smell that burnt wiring smell and it was very hot to the touch. Lowes agreed to replace it, so I have to make a trip to the city tomorrow.( 270 mile roundtrip) When I get the replacement should I convert the motor over to 220 volts? It comes prewired for 120 volts but can be wired either way. Would wiring it 220 be any easier on the 1 1/2 horse motor.
 
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It would seem that it would run "cooler" in that you would get sufficient power to run the motor without as much line resistance due to the drop in amperage.

The motor is going to take the same amount of electricity to run regardless of 110 or 220, but the line loss is less due to the reduced amperage. It is not going to be any noticeable amount.

At least if my memory serves me correctly, which it rarely seems to these days.

I am sure that someone with a better understanding and much more active use of electrical knowledge will chime in somewhere though.
 
110 vs 220 is a pretty common debate on lots of WW forums. The consensus is that it's no different to the motor, really, IF the 110v is truly supplying enough current. That is to say that R. Gundersen's thoughts on current drop are correct. It wouldn't be a noticeable amount.

The real benefit of going to 220 is the drop in beefiness in equipment required. By that I mean the wire can usually be thinner, the outlet, the breaker, etc. A 110v motor drawing 18 amps would only (usually) draw 9amps on 220. That doesn't mean less, though. 220 is just 2 legs of 110 and that 18 amps gets split between the two hot 110v legs. But what that does mean is since less current is pulled through a single bit of copper, it can be thinner.

For an 18 amp machine, a 20 amp circuit would be a minimum, obviously. That would require 12 guage wire and you probably wouldn't be able to run much of anything else on that circuit. But for 9 amps per leg on the 220 lines, you can run 14 guage wire (rated at 15a) and still have some room for other stuff on there. Now, generally speaking, code won't allow you to take that 220v circuit and later down the run split off 2 110v lines - i've seen it done, but I don't think it's kosher. So that "additional room" you have on the 220v line might be unused unless you have another (probably somewhat smaller) 220v tool available. I have 5 tools wired for 220 in my shop and I'm loving it - because otherwise I would have been stuck with 20 amp 110v circuits - which my 2hp jointer motor would have blown easy, but at 220, it only draws 12a on each 110v leg of my 20amp 220 circuit.

Holy crap that's a lotta numbers ... once it clicks in your head, it all makes good sense. But it sometimes takes a little jolt to make it click on.
 
not sure about electricity savings in home shop size equipment. But I know there is a huge savings in electricity with 2 phase (220) and three phase(330)on big motors. less wear and tear, less current less heat, slower wear on the motor. or at least that's the theory.
 
I just recently had a capacitor burn up on my 1.5 horse delta dust collector. Motor was fine, but the durned capacitor caught on fire and the motor kept running!

I agree with Beamer. 220 versus 110 is primarily a choice in wiring. The motor is grabbing the same amount of lectricity, it's just grabbing it through 2 pipes instead of 1.

So what you need to do is make sure you have a decent supply going to the motor. This means no cheesy extension cords. Ideally, it should be plugged directly into a dedicated outlet.
 
Thanks for the help on this guys. I think for the time being I'll just leave it wired 120. Once I get my other tools set up with collection ports I'll switch it over to 220. That way it will be on a dedicated circuit. All my tools are too old to have collection ports so I have to design some. Maybe it's a good reason to go buy all new tools. :)
Thanks again
 
Don't know the power grid in the Seward area but are you getting a full 110/220V to your shop? Ever check that? A blower running on say 95V would heat up quickly. Check the voltage on both legs of your 220 service. Check it several times a day. If there are any heavy industries near by, check it when they are starting up. Does your current drop when they throw on the demand?
 
Originally posted by beamer
<br />Holy crap that's a lotta numbers ... once it clicks in your head, it all makes good sense. But it sometimes takes a little jolt to make it click on.
Click to expand...
If anyone is thinking about "jolting" this information into your head, may I suggest you do so on 110 and not 220[:D]
 
Make sure you are not using an extension cord for the motor. A light gauge extension cord can reduce the voltage at the motor and cause the motor to overheat too.
Brad
 
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