Electrical question

[Rob Leslie]

I have one 220/230 Volt, 20 amp outlet in my garage/shop. I currently use it to power my Powermatic 3520B lathe. If I wanted to add a 220/230 volt air conditioning unit, would it be reasonable to run it off of the same connection? Is there such a thing as a "splitter" for 220, like there are power strips for 110 volt equipment? I'd prefer to not have to have an electrician run an additional 220 outlet. Suggestions/electrical info. would be very much appreciated.

[Rob Will]

I have one 220/230 Volt, 20 amp outlet in my garage/shop. I currently use it to power my Powermatic 3520B lathe. If I wanted to add a 220/230 volt air conditioning unit, would it be reasonable to run it off of the same connection? Is there such a thing as a "splitter" for 220, like there are power strips for 110 volt equipment? I'd prefer to not have to have an electrician run an additional 220 outlet. Suggestions/electrical info. would be very much appreciated.

I don't think you will find any sort of "power strip" for 220V. Perhaps you can simply unplug the lathe and plug in the A/C?

Another approach would be to overlay the existing outlet with a surface mounted box. Come out of each side with a receptacle set up for each device.

If the combined load of the lathe and A/C do not overload your breaker, you'll be fine. Otherwise, just don't run them at the same time.

Rob

[John Terefenko]

Do not run the air conditioner and tablesaw off the same circuit. It is not big enough. One or the other.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

The simple answer is NO. Each one requires its own circuit. The ideal solution is to run another separate circuit for the lathe or A/C.

[Dave MacArthur]

The air conditioner is a device that will "auto" come on-- you don't have precise control over it's load usually. It should be on it's own dedicated circuit. An airco that is 220v rather than 110 (window?) is so because it's amperage load is too high to reasonably run on wire at 110. Therefore, we're usually talking about 10-15 amps on a 20 A circuit probably. You would NOT be able to run a lathe on the same 20A circuit with most airco designed to be run at 220v therefore. Also, airco often have a high starting amperage which would kick the CB if another load brought it close to max.
The powermatic has a 2HP TEFC motor, which usually run about 10A on a 230V wiring, or 20A on a 110 setup (if it can be changed). I would think that when set for 10A, you just should not be running anything else on the circuit at the same time, and definitely not a pretty high load device such as an airco.

It is not very hard at all to run an additional circuit from the breaker panel however, and can be done yourself for less than $100 for most circuit lengths. There is lots of help to be had here if you decided to do that, trust me--everyone on here is either a real electrician, or a NEC-quoting DIYer ;) Tempers may flare over electrical advice, but it usually all adds up to decent advice spanning a min-run to exceed-code spectrum. Good luck!

[James Suzda]

It is not very hard at all to run an additional circuit from the breaker panel however, and can be done yourself for less than $100 for most circuit lengths. There is lots of help to be had here if you decided to do that, trust me--everyone on here is either a real electrician, or a NEC-quoting DIYer
After reading some of the posts about electrical work and electricity in this and other forums I shutter to think of the “DIYer” digging around in their main breaker box armed only with what they have read online. Granted there are volumes of excellent advice posted, but still when you start pulling wires into, and working on your main, there is a lot of places in there that will make your toes stick straight up forever!
Believe me when I say there is a smell you will NEVER forget when you have to re-connect a service where someone one was electrocuted, died and after the resulting fire was put out you are commissioned to reconnect the service so the farm could continue operations. (I had to do this over 40 years ago and it has never left my memory especially after driving past the place.)
My little bit of advice is that if you are NOT absolutely sure of yourself when working inside your main, hire someone, or have someone with the knowledge and experience, to make your final connections. There are powers in those main service panels that will “bite” you and you will never know it happened. Even with the main tripped it is still “live” where the power comes in. (Only when the meter is pulled is that area not energized, and your power company really frowns on anyone other than them pulling the meter!)
Jim

[Steven Wilson]

Rob, you may have one 220v machine now but you'll probably end up with a few more later (like a decent bandsaw, DC unit, tablesaw, planer, etc) so you should consider installing a sub pannel in your garage. That way you can add circuits when you need them. As for placing an air conditioner on the same line as your lathe. You can do it but if (probably when) the load exceeds the capacity of the circuit then the breaker will trip, which is very likely to happen. It is much better putting these on separate circuits.

[James Stokes]

Harbor freight does have a 220 pigtail splitter.

I have a couple of 220 8 guage extension cords that have 2 boxes on the ends. Each one has a 220 plug and 2-110 plugs in each box. Never had a problem with them. I used these on job sites and more than once both 220 plugs and all 4 110s were being used at the same time.

[Jim Becker]

Air conditioners are a high draw appliance and really should be on their own circuits. And certainly not attached to the same circuit as your VFD controlled lathe...