Results on converting my TS from 110V t0 220V

Don Baer

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Staff member
For those who caught my post on the OT forum on my onset of Adult ADD in this thread, http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1323, am posting the results of this work here. Today was the first time I really had a chance to test it under real conditions. The other night when I was done with the conversion and I really didn't pay much attention only checked to make sure the saw run fine. The first task I had to do was to rip and cross cut a piece of 1/2 Baltic birch. I set up the rip fence turned on the saw and flipped the switch and nearly jumped out of my skin. The saw literly jumped as the blade came to speed instantly. I pushed the piece of BB though as fast as I could and the little jet 1 1/2 HP motor didn't even hesitate. Nice clean rip. Next I put on the cross cut sled and again, instant on and cross cut as fast I could feed it, not even a moments hesitation. Same result on the cut. even though I hadn't changed blades from the rip blade 24 tooth to the cross cut blade I had no end grain tear out. So I said OK, it does this on 1/2 BB what will it do on something a little more substantial. I looked around and found a piece of 4/4 white oak about 3 feet long in the scarp pile. Put the rip fence back on and proceed to make 4 -1" rips in succession as fast as I could, nice clean cuts and no burning, If I had tried this with the saw at 110Volts I would have bogged down the and I would have had burning at the speed I was pushing the material through the blade. If anyone wants to know it running a tool on 220 V vs 110 V then this is proof positive at least in my eyes. For the cost of a male and female plug, a box, cover and a little wire (less then $50) it's like getting a new saw. :thumb: :D
 
Don,

I experienced the same thing with my Delta contractor TS. Quicker start, smoother run/cut.

There have been a lot of threads/posts on many forums on the difference, with a lot of indifference voiced by those who don't think it matters. All I can say is, like you, I found it a well worthwhile, inexpensive "upgrade". So much so, I'm thinking of also converting my 110/220V compressor and RAS motors to 220VAC operation.
 
Don,

I experienced the same thing with my Delta contractor TS. Quicker start, smoother run/cut.

There have been a lot of threads/posts on many forums on the difference, with a lot of indifference voiced by those who don't think it matters. All I can say is, like you, I found it a well worthwhile, inexpensive "upgrade". So much so, I'm thinking of also converting my 110/220V compressor and RAS motors to 220VAC operation.
I fully expected it to make a differance but it is differant to expierance it. When I got the saw (a Jet Contractor saw) I didn't do it because I knew I would be moving, When I mover from cali to Arizona I didn't since I am living in a rental until my new house is finished. I plan on having 6 seperate 220V outlets in the new shop and every tool that I can get will be running on 220. I'll even have some spare circuits just in case I add more tools.;)
 
Don, glad you are happy with the results of the 110/220 conversion. This leaves me with a fundamental question that perhaps some of our electrical wizzes can clear up. I have a 1.75 HP Delta TS that can run on either 110 or 220 as well. It does take nearly a 15 amp draw at start-up so I wired and fused that new circuit at 20 amps rather than running a 220 for it. If the 110 circuit provides adaquate maximum power to the motor, how does 220 improve over that, with the exception that the line capacity itself is less taxed? Does the motor itself find some new hidden ponys in 220 mode???
 
HP is HP regardless of voltage. My understanding is the motor windings are 110V. So when you feed it 220V your just supplying half the winding off one of the two 110V legs now and the other half off the other leg.

I think what happens and I have never bothered to check is that with the lower amp rating by feeding the windings from two 110V lines instead one results in lower voltage drops because the load is now half as much on each line.

When I converted my old Contractors saw over I saw the same 'jump to life' that Don saw. Scared me too. But I didn't see any difference other than that. Of course I am not surprised, each house is wired differently.
 
Don, glad you are happy with the results of the 110/220 conversion. This leaves me with a fundamental question that perhaps some of our electrical whizzes can clear up. I have a 1.75 HP Delta TS that can run on either 110 or 220 as well. It does take nearly a 15 amp draw at start-up so I wired and fused that new circuit at 20 amps rather than running a 220 for it. If the 110 circuit provides adequate maximum power to the motor, how does 220 improve over that, with the exception that the line capacity itself is less taxed? Does the motor itself find some new hidden ponies in 220 mode???
Rick, I was an electrician in a former live, got a degree in Physics and spent the better part of my career, applying motor, motors controls and such, so I knew what would happen. A motor actually draw 6-9 time the running current on start-up. Most ammeters are to slow to see it. I happen to have a recording amp meter that can show me the Peak amps draw, and the average amps draw as well as the instantaneous amp draw. My saw is rated at 1 1/5 Hp and a motor running on 110 Volts will draw approximately 10 amps/hp at full load, and 1/2 of that at 220V. My motor should draw 15 amps at full load, 9 time that means that the motor will draw worst case 135 amps on 110 volts and 67 1/2 at 220 Volts. One of the major limiting things especially in an in home shop is the wire size and the length of the wire to the load. The dia. of the wire and the length of the wire create a resistance which cause a voltage drop This is measured in Ohms). The voltage drop is easy to calculate since you only need to take the amps drawn time the resistance. So lets assume in the case of my motor that at the instant I push the button the motor draws 135 amps and lets also assume that I have .1 ohms of resistance in my wiring. that would mean that the motor would only receive 110 Volts-13.5Volt drop that leaves 96.5 Volts to start the motor. Does this make sense. Once the motor gets up to speed the amp draw drops to nothing to the motor is up to speed. Now lets take the case of performance. Lets assume that we have the same motor on 220 Volts and it is drawing 67.5 amps on start-up. Now we have 220V-6.75 volt drop or 213.5Volts delivered to the motor. Which case do you think would be better for the motor. The same scenario could be draw for when you lead the motor to full load. I hope this makes sense.
OK Frank Chaffee I made it too complicate again didn't I..:(
 
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:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Yep. I've been in some heavy debates about the 110-220 conversion.
Science [according to the elec. wizards ] say it makes no difference.

But I know better.

6-7 years ago I switched my Jet 6x89 sander to 220

I noticed a very noticeable difference.:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
 
I hope this makes sense.
OK Frank Chaffee I made it too complicate again didn't I..:(
The proof is in the puddin’. The purpose of a saw is to cut wood well.

I understand starting current and voltage drop during the brief time it takes motors to come to running speed. Maybe this is why your saw jumps on the 220V start and not the 110V? OK. Fine.

But since your shop wiring has been of sufficient gauge for both voltages, I do wonder why the performance is better at 220V.

The nameplate on my Delta saw gives HP ratings of 1.5 and 2.0 at low and high voltage. When the voltage is doubled the amperage draw is not halved. Why?

The Service Factor at low voltage is 1.15, compared to 1.0 at high. Temp, I suppose. But this is contrary to so many arguments I have heard about motors lasting longer at high voltage.

Still confused,
Maybe hopelessly so,
Frank
 
So gents, if I am understanding this correctly, it's really all about line loss. From a practical prospective, the longer the distance between source and load, the more attractive 220 looks.
In my case, it's only 10 feet from the panel and properly gauged for 20 amps so looks like nothing to be gained. However, had that been 40 or 50 feet, maybe a different story and likely need to jump down another gauge meaning replace wire anyway.
Thanks for the explanation.
 
Don.......You're the physicist so correct me if I'm wrong.........There is something to be said about the length of time required to come up to speed based on the applied voltage versus time constants. Thus in a given amount of time, the 220 should bring it up to speed faster. It's not a linear thing so it won't be twice as fast but faster. 2ndly, the line loss based on any resistance in the line (loose or bad connections) times the current drawn results in less power loss in the lines ....thus more available for consumption by the motor. The total power available remains the same but less current drawn through a bad connection/resistance results in less loss there and more applied power to the motor.
 
Don.......You're the physicist so correct me if I'm wrong.........There is something to be said about the length of time required to come up to speed based on the applied voltage versus time constants. Thus in a given amount of time, the 220 should bring it up to speed faster. It's not a linear thing so it won't be twice as fast but faster. 2ndly, the line loss based on any resistance in the line (loose or bad connections) times the current drawn results in less power loss in the lines ....thus more available for consumption by the motor. The total power available remains the same but less current drawn through a bad connection/resistance results in less loss there and more applied power to the motor.

That's absolutely correct first of all the lower percent in voltage drop results in increased torque. As the speed of the motor increases resulting in less amps drawn to start the motor and less voltage drop. Actually, I believe (need to review my calc) the amps drawn go down as a square of the increase in speed. Because of this the motor gets up top design slip speed faster and the amps drain drops off faster with the higher voltage supply. That why the table saw seems to jump, more torque in a shorter period of time.
You are also correct in that not only the line losses due to conductor size and length contribute to the resistance (Voltage losses). There are high resistance connections where the wires screw into the Circuit breakers, where the plugs plug into each other and where the line wire connect to the motor. These all add to the problem.

The proof is in the puddin’. The purpose of a saw is to cut wood well.

I understand starting current and voltage drop during the brief time it takes motors to come to running speed. Maybe this is why your saw jumps on the 220V start and not the 110V? OK. Fine.

But since your shop wiring has been of sufficient gauge for both voltages, I do wonder why the performance is better at 220V.

The nameplate on my Delta saw gives HP ratings of 1.5 and 2.0 at low and high voltage. When the voltage is doubled the amperage draw is not halved. Why?

The Service Factor at low voltage is 1.15, compared to 1.0 at high. Temp, I suppose. But this is contrary to so many arguments I have heard about motors lasting longer at high voltage.

Still confused,
Maybe hopelessly so,
Frank

First of all lets consider the ratings of your motor. If it is rated at 1.5 hp at 120 Volts then that means it can handle 1.15% full load on a continuous rating assuming STP (standard temp and Pressure) as defined by NEMA (the National Electrical Manufacturers Association). They define it this way because of cooling. If the ambient of a motor is hotter such as you will find in Tucson in the summer or the atmospheric pressure is lower then sea level such as you would find in Denver then you must create the motor. Standard temp assumes an ambient of 80 degrees F. Now your two HP rating at 220Volts is because of the lower I squared R losses in the motor. In any motor the internal heating is defined as the load amps squared times the internal resistance. Take your 2 Hp 220 Volt motor at full load it will be carrying 10 amps. Lets assume an internal resistance of 1 ohm then the watts loss or heating in the motor would be 100 watts. Think of touching a 100 watt light bulb.
Now lets take you 1.5 HP 1.15 110 volt rating. The would translate into a full load amps rating of 17.25 amps. Now because the motor is wired for half the voltage lets assume the internal resistance is dropped in half. The the IsquaredR losses are around 150 watts which would be equal to the heat generated by a 150 watt light bulb.
That should address the service factor issue.
Now to address the torque issue at various voltages. HP = Torque RPM/ 63025 (assuming you want the answer to be in in.lbs.) That means that a 1 HP motor that runs at 3450 Rpm will deliver 18 in. Lbs of torque. This is a law of physics. So at 2 hp and 3450 Rpm at 220 Volts can deliver 36 In. Lbs. of torque.. The same motor that delivers 1.5 HP at 110 volts can deliver 27 in.lbs. and the rest is given up in internal motor losses.

OK Frank any more questions...:D
 
Thanks Don. I had been under the impression (mistakenly, I see), that motors don’t know whether they are wired for 110 or 220, and only line conductor size was affected. Shows what I know. Will put that I^2 R up on the bulletin board.:eek:

The HP=Torque RPM/63025 formula really does answer my basic question… and I didn’t think to use it. Thanks.:)

OK Frank any more questions...:D
Just one Don; why is the sky blue?:D
 
And here all this time I thought the only way to add horsepower was NITROS:thumb: I guess I better find a way to rewire the Chevelle SS to 220.

Kidding fellas, I made the conversion on my Delta Contractors saw last year to 220 and I'm glad I did.
 
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