# Nowhere to hook in my 220v compressor



## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

Or a junior dragster motor to run more guns at the same time:

http://www.jegs.com/p/Pure+Power/752549/10002/-1/10593


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

Well it sounds like I got two highly powerful and at one time, expensive, pieces of junk. Anyone want to buy them? New they are 1200 a piece.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

Save them and wire them in your garage when you move out of mom and dad's house.


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

MD. I don't mean to disrespect you in any way and obvisouly I did with all of the remarks that you have made to me. I have read a lot of your posts and it seems like you are one of the most knowledgable guys around when it comes to electricians. I have been trying to get those compressors up here from Utah and it has taken me about a year. I guess I didn't realize that once I got them that I pretty much wasn't ever going to get to use them. I was just trying to find some way that I could, and that is why I was asking so many questions. I'm sorry if I may have come across as hard headed which I guess I was. I will just go wish about getting them to work in one hand and s*it in the other and see which one fills up first.


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## acrwc10 (Dec 10, 2006)

mdshunk said:


> Save them and wire them in your garage when you move out of mom and dad's house.


You got me on that one :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I was laughing so hard I all most woke my wife.


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## Railman (Jan 19, 2008)

Webs,
Talk to your site superintendent, or your electrician. Most temps around here are set up with two line feeds, making 220 possible. I've seen some const sites std w/220 outlets. What is the amperage on the motor? Your electrician may be able to set you up. Be sure to tell him up front your needs so as to not waste his time. If the available amperage is lower, you may be able to change the comp rpm with pulley change, so as to lower the amp draw. If your comp has an unloader, actual amp draw not be as bad as listed.

If you decide to go the gas engine rout, set it up with a centrifigal clutch. That way when you go to start it, the engine won't be under load. It's near impossible to start a gas comp when cold without one, unless you jump the belts, warm up, & start again. 

Your problem is not unique to you. It's been going on for many decades!
Good luck,
Joe


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

Thanks railman. I will have to do a little research on the amps and whether it has an unloader. After reading how much of a hastle that it sounds like it is going to be, I think I might just go buy compressor number 4.


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## Electric_Light (Nov 25, 2007)

Well there's reason you can't run it on both 115v/230v like most compressors. It's a 5hp motor with 22A FLA @ 230v. If it can run on 115v, it will need 44A. 

You won't find a 5hp 115v motor.

The only way you can run it is the stove or a washer outlet. It looks like the previous owner had installed a stove outlet in his garage. 


I forgot where I read it, but if you're going to replace it with an engine, it's not 1:1. To replace a 5hp motor, you'll need an engine larger than 5hp.


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## Brock (Dec 16, 2007)

Webs said:


> Well it sounds like I got two highly powerful and at one time, expensive, pieces of junk. Anyone want to buy them? New they are 1200 a piece.


I would like to buy them from you. They look good in the photo's. Is there anyway you can put a smaller 3 prong plug on them for me? I only have standard outlets at my jobsite. Thanks


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

If I can put a smaller three prong plug on them, I am going to keep them for myself. I'm not selling them, I am going to make them work for me.


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## WarriorWithWood (Jun 30, 2007)

That was a JOKE!:whistling


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## Thomp (Feb 11, 2008)

Webs no one here wants make you feel bad, but we as electricians get this one too often and there is no good solution.


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## kgphoto (May 9, 2006)

Here in CA we have spider boxes that have 220 available as we have 220 at the temp power pole.

Web,

If you really want to make this work, befriend an electrician that works on your jobs and see if he can find some 220 for you on the site. IF he can, then he will know what to do to make your system work.

You are not qualified to do this by yourself and as it is so dangerous with your level of knowledge, no one wants to advise you.


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## [email protected]#e (Jul 5, 2007)

Hey webs. Sorry to see how these guys are treating you. I agree this forum is supposed to help everybody not make them feel stupid. But a lot of electricians are like that. What are ya gonna do. Hey but seriously if you have no use for those compressors I would be interested in buying them from you. Cheers and good luck


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## oldrivers (May 6, 2007)

I see floor sanders putting alegator clips on their cords and hooking them right onto the bus bars or whatever you call them in the electrical breaker box. why they the builders and electicians dont hook up a regular 220 outlet is beyound me . I thought these people were the most knowlegable on safety issues. i mean if you know a floor sander is scheduled that needs 220 how do they think there going to get it if the builder and electricians dont supply one. i think they pay to much attention to safety politics and ignore the real safety issues . How could something so obvious slip through the cracks like that.


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## OCRS (Apr 29, 2008)

You could put together a pony panel with a 30 amp 240 volt breaker in it. Have a 10 ga 4 wire cable at on end w/ bare wires and female connector, matching your 4 pin plug, on a cable at the other end. Ask the site super to arrange to have it connected for when you arrive.

This is assuming of course that you have enough hose to go from the panel to where you're working.

You might want to have the wiring on the compressors checked out first to make the plugs were wired right in the first place.

Don't try to hook it up to the lugs. One wrong move, you're fried.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

oldrivers said:


> I see floor sanders putting alegator clips on their cords and hooking them right onto the bus bars or whatever you call them in the electrical breaker box. why they the builders and electicians dont hook up a regular 220 outlet is beyound me . I thought these people were the most knowlegable on safety issues. i mean if you know a floor sander is scheduled that needs 220 how do they think there going to get it if the builder and electricians dont supply one. i think they pay to much attention to safety politics and ignore the real safety issues . How could something so obvious slip through the cracks like that.


I will, and do, install temporary 220V receptacles for floor sanders when ordered to do so by the GC. I'm certainly not going to do that on my own or for free. When a hot 220 doesn't exist on the jobsite, it is 100% a failure on the GC's part for not ordering one.


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## fridaymean (Feb 17, 2006)

The reason electricians dont supply a temp 220 receptacle for construction without a request......there is no standard. Everyone would need something different.


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## billy d (Mar 12, 2008)

Hi webs this could help you on the other hand it could kill you.In the uk on building sites we use 110v but on HO work every thing is 220-240v so every one carry's a transformer from 220-240 to 110,I haven't lost you so far I hope.On the site all our tools are 110v but I saw a guy hook up a transformer the opposite way round so there was 110 coming into it but 240 coming out.Man it was scarry how it worked I don't know but it worked.May be Mdshunk can explain it I cant I just know what I saw but don't blame me if anything goes wrong.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

fridaymean said:


> The reason electricians dont supply a temp 220 receptacle for construction without a request......there is no standard. Everyone would need something different.


True enough. The floor sander guys normally want a 20 amp, but they seem to also normally have the adaptors to plug into a range or dryer receptacle.


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## OCRS (Apr 29, 2008)

I need 30 amp for my sander, probably 'cause it's so old. For the plug, just take a stove plug and cut off the netral pin, fits stove or dryer.


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## Waco (May 22, 2008)

I can't say I've ever been on a site with 240 available, but it could be done fairly easily.

No, there is no kind of "box" that could be made because the temporaries just don't usually have 240 running to them.

At least not in my experience.


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## nap (Jan 27, 2008)

Alright. You guys are going to have to tell me how you have a temp service using POCO power and not have 240.

I have never been on a job that did not have 240 available if it was POCO power.


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## Waco (May 22, 2008)

There is 240, but the temps aren't wired to use it. They could be, but it just hasn't been that way on the sites I've been on -- at least where the voltage is accessible by the trades.

But then, I've led a sheltered life.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

nap said:


> Alright. You guys are going to have to tell me how you have a temp service using POCO power and not have 240.
> 
> I have never been on a job that did not have 240 available if it was POCO power.


Certainly 240 is "available", but very darned rarely am I asked or required to provide any manner of 240 receptacle. Even when I am asked to put in a "220 outlet", the next question is, "Okay, which one?". That gets some pretty stupid non-responsive answers too.


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## nap (Jan 27, 2008)

Waco said:


> There is 240, but the temps aren't wired to use it. They could be, but it just hasn't been that way on the sites I've been on -- at least where the voltage is accessible by the trades.
> 
> But then, I've led a sheltered life.


what do you mean the temps aren't wired to use it? If you have both legs of the service, it is wired to use it. If your electrician does not know how, then find an electrician because that guy is just impersonating an electrician.


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## nap (Jan 27, 2008)

mdshunk said:


> Certainly 240 is "available", but very darned rarely am I asked or required to provide any manner of 240 receptacle. Even when I am asked to put in a "220 outlet", the next question is, "Okay, which one?". That gets some pretty stupid non-responsive answers too.


anytime I work a job that I am responsible for temp power, hooking up 240 for machines is all part of it. I do not typivcally install receps though. The crews needing 240 power have figured out if they bring a pig (cord connector of the proper configuration, a foot or two of appropirately sized SO or SJ cord and free ends. I land the ends on a breaker and off they go to sand the floor or whatever.



It just seems much easier for me than you guys seem to have experienced. The last job I had temp on, we probably had at least 4 or 5 machines that were 240. their little pig and a romex connector in the side of the panel and viola` you have 240 volt power.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

nap said:


> anytime I work a job that I am responsible for temp power, hooking up 240 for machines is all part of it. I do not typivcally install receps though. The crews needing 240 power have figured out if they bring a pig (cord connector of the proper configuration, a foot or two of appropirately sized SO or SJ cord and free ends. I land the ends on a breaker and off they go to sand the floor or whatever.


Silly me for wanting to do things the NEC compliant and safe way. :sad:


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## kingsmurf (Apr 19, 2008)

*kingsmurf*

wait a minute . .this is at least the second time I have seen this very topic! . . .or am I having Vooja Day?

all you need to use the free 220volt compressor is an 800 220volt generator . . .there ya go...problem solved

I hear an echo


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## nap (Jan 27, 2008)

mdshunk said:


> Silly me for wanting to do things the NEC compliant and safe way. :sad:


what isn't NEC compliant or safe about my install?


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## brian11973 (Apr 13, 2006)

Does your machine require a 120/240 volt plug ( 4 prong) or 240 v plug ( 3 prong)???? Does your machine require a Neutral OR a GROUND ??What amperage does your machine require (15, 20, 30, 50, or more????) Each one of these requires a different outlet so you can use your machine. We are looking at SIXTEEN DIFFERENT outlets that you may need. Do you need GFCI protection?? ( 32 DIFFERENT OUTLETS AND BREAKER COMBINATIONS!!!!) Do you see where the electricans are going!!!!!!!!!!!) THEY ARE GOING CRAZY, TRYING TO MAKE YOU HAPPY, WITH THAT STUPID MACHINE , THAT YOU GOT CHEAP!!!!!)

(DEEP, DEEP BREATH, BEFORE YOU STRANGLE THE CARPENTER)



1. Most job sites have 240 volt, the temp pole is next to the transformer.

2. Most temp poles have 240 volt power ( see #1)

3. Tell the GC that you need a DIFFERENT OUTLET, than what you find in your house.

4. Make sure the Electrican KNOWS about YOUR NEEDS before you start work!!

5. TELL THE GC YOUR NEEDS AGAIN!!!

6. TELL THE ELECTRCIAN YOUR NEEDS AGAIN!!!!

7. Make sure the GC KNOWS about YOUR NEEDS before you start work ( An emergency on your part does not constite on emergency on my part!!!!)

8. The electrican IS NOT going to bend over backwards on Monday morning to make YOUR compressor( or sander or what ever) workS right ( JUST GET A SLIGHTLY SMALLER COMPRESSOR ( SANDER OR WHAT EVER), RETARD!!!, YOUR GUYS ARE NOT THAT SMART( THE COMPRESSOR WILL OUT DO THEM!))

9. Have you thought about a generator??

10. DO NOT USE ALLIGATOR CLIPS !!!! I DO NOT WHAT TO SEE YOUR SANDER EXPLODE, BURST INTO FLAMES, DUE TO NOT HAVING OVERCURRENT, OVERLOAD PROTECTION!!!------( REALLY, I DO WHAT TO SEE THIS, I DO WHAT TO SEE WHAT 400-600-800 AMPS DOES TO A 30 AMP SANDER, JUST FROM A VERY SAFE DISTANCE!!!)

10. Have you thought about a gas compressor?


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## ottik1 (Jun 8, 2008)

hmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

Ya I haven't really even been that worried about using my compressor. I have another one that hooks up to 120 that I have been using. I just got temp power for my jobsite and they installed 30 amp 250v power so I will be able to use the compressor when I get the right plug. 

I didn't know that this thread was going to stir up so many electricians. You guys must get a lot of other trades bugging you about hooking up power or something. Again, thanks for all of the help.

no i don't use alligator clips.

yes i have thought about using a generator. I hate using a generator because they are so loud but I have had to use one on 2 out of the last 3 jobs.


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## nap (Jan 27, 2008)

it seems to have stirred some more than others. If my company has been contracted to supply temp power, this is a normal part of the job. 



get a 2 or 3 foot length of SOW cable that is large enough to handle whatever load you need. Then get the appropriate cord connector for your plug. No need to do anything to the ends that don;t have the cord end on. The electrician should install a cord grip ( to be a good guy, you can even supply this) in the side of the panel and attach your pigtail to the proper connections within the panel.

I do not supply pigtails or cord connectors (for free, anyway) but I do install other trades gizmos without a charge. It is part of temp power for any job I have ever worked on.

If it is a great amount of work, then there may be a charge but a typical install is not an additional charge.

You need to supply an extension cord capable of carrying the load yourself. Be sure to consider voltage drop when figuring out what size wire you need in the cord.

sparkies are open to bribes of lunches or ,if they imbibe, a 12 pack of their favorite beer. Just be careful it does not come on the jobsite.


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

Today I finally got to use my compressor. I got the right plug put on it last night and hooked it up this morning. This compressor is pretty sweet. It is really quite and it doesn't have to work hard to keep up with all the guns and staplers that I am running.


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## OCRS (Apr 29, 2008)

Which plug end was put on Webs?


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## Webs (Dec 7, 2005)

it was a 30a 250v twist lock


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## OCRS (Apr 29, 2008)

Didn't one of the compressors have a 4 wire plug on it before?


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