I'm thinking if you are in an apartment you are not going to have access to a 120v circuit that's going to have the power needed. If you are experienced or have a friend who is there is a way to get 220v power from two 110v outlets.
Troy, here is your solution. We did this at the Virginia Symposium, where we only had 115v power available, but needed to be able to hook up several 220V lathes. Take a look at the pic I posted on the photo page...You may have to use longer extension cords than in the pic to reach your outlets. YOU MUST TAKE POWER FROM 2 115V CIRCUITS, NOT TWO OUTLETS ON THE SAME CIRCUIT!!!
Roger, I have done things like that myself. In fact, I made a "suicide cord" for my generator to back feed my whole house from my workshop in case of a power failure. But that is also a bit dangerous (especially if I don't flip the main breaker for the house). The Y-cord can be dangerous in the hands of someone who has no idea what they are doing. But in the hands of someone knowledgeable and careful, it could work in a pinch. Probably the biggest danger is if one of the 120 v breakers trip and the other one doesn't. BTW, if the 120 volt outlets are on GFCI (ground fault circuit interruptors), it won't work. The GFCIs will immediately trip. Of course, they could be removed.... But that adds some risk and would not be per code... Here is an article that I saw on the internet: https://electronics.stackexchange.co...into-240-volts - - it gives a variety of opinions and some drawings.
Part 2: Here is a company that sells ready made devices: www dot quick220 dot com - - I am not endorsing them, but thought that it was interesting that they are available. There is a button on the box so perhaps there is an internal circuit breaker?
Brice, the one you see in the pic has a lighted indicator when it is hooked up correctly. It was wired by an electrician, as well as the 220v version you see in the background. GFCI won’t work as you say. The idea is to power up when using the lathe, unplug when not in use. The Expoland convention center was on board with their usage, as their maintenace crew approved all before anything powered up.
The 2 outlet in the garage are under GFI and not independent so those boxes won't work, but are a great alternative to know exist. Thinking the transformer may be a viable option. Maybe some one can give me a link to something that will work. I prefer just to plug and play since I don't own this place. And if the transformer is just that I would be in.
Troy, try googling 120 to 240 volt transformer. There are tons out there. Even Rockler sells a 3000 watt one (that's about the lowest wattage that you would want. 5000 watts might make more sense. Amazon has a few reasonably priced 5000 watt units. Running the lathe intelligent inverter, you won't have the big surge that you would have starting say, a table saw. But if you are working with dry wood, dull tools and trying to take deep cuts, you may run out of power, or pop the 120 volt breaker. BUT - - first determine what size breaker/circuit that you have for your garage. If it is only 15 amps and the lights are also on that circuit I think that you are not going to have enough power to do much. Ideally it would be a 30 amp breaker, but that would be unusual for most garages. A 20 amp breaker might work if you take light cuts.
part 2: Is there a 240 volt receptacle anywhere else in the house (e.g., for an electric dryer?) that is within a reasonable distance from your lathe? Or is there another alternative phase 120 volt circuit close by in the house (to be used with Roger's Y-cable)?
Before investing in a transformer I would verify that you have an outlet that can deliver the power you will need. I think you could do ok with a 20 amp 115v outlet but it would have to have nothing else on that circuit. Even then the best you will do is get about 8 to 9 amps @ 240v out of it. As long as you take it easy you'll probably not trip a breaker. A 15 amp circuit is most likely closer to 13 amps. That's about 6 amps once you step it up. I think you'll trip the breaker each time you catch an edge.
Alex, your analysis agrees with my own intuition and analysis. I was tempted to pull the cover off of my breaker panel and use a clamp-on ammeter to measure the current. But I wasn't that motivated. I'll wait for the original poster to provide feedback on the questions I posed in my last post.
