3hp sawstop is coming, now the outlet question

[Forrest Gon]

Hello, I ordered a 220v 3hp sawstop table saw last week, I figured it could use the 220v 50amp outlet in the garage for the tesla, today I realized it is not that simple.

Sawstop needs a nema 6-15R 20amp outlet, and the outlet for tesla is a 14-50R (50amp), I was wondering will an adaptor like this work?

The adapter has 3 outlets, each of them is rated 20A, in that case, the saw should only sees and draws 20A at maximum, correct?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (14-50 50Amp Plug to 6-20R 15/20Amp 250Volt Adapter)

I also ordered a 220v 20amp dust collector, will it be a problem if i plug in both power tools to the above adapter? (the adapter has 3 nema 6-15/20, 20 Amp, 250 Volt, T-blade Connectors)

Thanks!

[Doug Dawson]

[QUOTE=Forrest Gon;3091686]Hello, I ordered a 220v 3hp sawstop table saw last week, I figured it could use the 220v 50amp outlet in the garage for the tesla, today I realized it is not that simple.

Sawstop needs a nema 6-15R 20amp outlet, and the outlet for tesla is a 14-50R (50amp), I was wondering will an adaptor like this work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (14-50 50Amp Plug to 6-20R 15/20Amp 250Volt Adapter)

I also ordered a 220v 20amp dust collector, will it be a problem if i plug in both power tools to the above adapter? (the adapter has 3 nema 6-15/20, 20 Amp, 250 Volt, T-blade Connectors)[/QUOTE]

Could you do that? Almost certainly. _Should_ you do that? The house breaker for the circuit is 50 amps presumably, which is there to protect the house wiring. If there’s a fault in either machine, such as a shorted motor or cord, etc., you can have up to 100 amps of angry pixies rampaging thru their cords before the house mother notices a problem and shuts things down, hopefully before stuff melts. It’s best to run a couple of extra circuits with the recommended rating. BTW what country are you in?

[Rod Sheridan]

[QUOTE=Doug Dawson;3091695]

Hello, I ordered a 220v 3hp sawstop table saw last week, I figured it could use the 220v 50amp outlet in the garage for the tesla, today I realized it is not that simple.

Sawstop needs a nema 6-15R 20amp outlet, and the outlet for tesla is a 14-50R (50amp), I was wondering will an adaptor like this work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (14-50 50Amp Plug to 6-20R 15/20Amp 250Volt Adapter)

I also ordered a 220v 20amp dust collector, will it be a problem if i plug in both power tools to the above adapter? (the adapter has 3 nema 6-15/20, 20 Amp, 250 Volt, T-blade Connectors)[/QUOTE]

Could you do that? Almost certainly. _Should_ you do that? The house breaker for the circuit is 50 amps presumably, which is there to protect the house wiring. If there’s a fault in either machine, such as a shorted motor or cord, etc., you can have up to 100 amps of angry pixies rampaging thru their cords before the house mother notices a problem and shuts things down, hopefully before stuff melts. It’s best to run a couple of extra circuits with the recommended rating. BTW what country are you in?

The short circuit current on a 50 ampere circuit will be somewhere around 20 times rated current (depending upon the circuit and fault impedance), so 1,000 amperes would be a reasonable estimate for short circuit current in a household 50 ampere circuit.

The overload trip current rating is 50 amperes, not 100.......Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Forrest, that would work however it has no overload protection, and therefore I doubt it has an electrical approval.

If it were me I would use the feeder for a small permanent panel with a 2P 50A breaker for the vehicle charger and quantity 2 X 2P 20A breakers for the saw and extractor, assuming the extractor needs a 6-20R.............Regards, Rod.

[Doug Dawson]

[QUOTE=Rod Sheridan;3091712]

The short circuit current on a 50 ampere circuit will be somewhere around 20 times rated current (depending upon the circuit and fault impedance), so 1,000 amperes would be a reasonable estimate for short circuit current in a household 50 ampere circuit.

The overload trip current rating is 50 amperes, not 100.......Rod.

From practical experience, 100 would be a typical melting point. :^) That’s what I was implying.

[Jim Becker]

If you are going to use an existing outlet that happens to be a higher amperage than required, then replace the plug on the saw (if it even comes with one pre-installed) with a plug that matches the wall outlet you intend to use. Since the saw only requires 20 amps, using it on a 50 amp circuit is just fine...the breaker protects the wiring, not the device plugged in. While you could make up an adapter pigtail, it would be redundant and expensive compared to just putting the heavier plug on the machine. If you later decide to add a machine circuit or build a new shop, you can simply change the plug back to whatever is used on the wall that's at least 20 amps.

[Chuck Saunders]

Short answer, it will work fine
Chuck

[Andrew Nemeth]

If you have a variety of things you need power for in your shop, you could build or buy a portable power distribution panel. I believe they may also be referred to as “spider boxes” in some trades. I built one that has served me well for quite a few years. I built mine by running power from the outlet into a small panel and back out to outlets. Since each outlet is its own circuit, all the wiring is protected by circuit breakers at the appropriate rating. I just mounted a small panel to a sheet of plywood that I hang next to the outlet I am using to feed it from (some people mount it to a board attached to a hand truck for real portability). In my case, I have a 4–wire 50amp 220c outlet in my garage. I feed the panel with appropriately sized SOOW wire connected to a 50amp pull plug that are traditionally used for RV hookups. I have several 110v outlets and two 220 volt outlets mounted to the plywood and to the panel through panel knock outs using metal conduit fittings. The outlets are all run with appropriately sized romex wire for the 110v outlets , and I believe I ended up using individual THHN wires for the 220v outlets. The advantage of this type of set up is that you can wire up a your whole shop anywhere you have a 50amp 220v outlets. I think I spent less than $200 on all of the components for mine at one of the big box stores, and I had it all wired up in a few hours while taking my time. There are lots of online DIY resources for building such a panel, just make sure your sources are reliable and that you truly understand what you are doing. Let me know if you are interested in this route and I can send you a few photos if need be.

Disclaimer: I should say that I am not an electrician, but I am very comfortable with residential worrying from my days in the building trades. If your not comfortable with the ins and outs of wiring a sub panel and running new circuits, either opt for a simpler solution, purchase a prebuilt unit, have it wired by an electrician, or have your work checked by an electrician.

[Bill Dufour]

I would install a small breaker panel upstream of the 50 amp outlet. Six or more breaker size. You will only have to buy two feet of #6 wire. Does that 50 amp outlet have a neutral so you can tap off 120 volts from the new panel?
Total cost in materials will be under $150.
Bill D
A main lug panel would be fine and a little cheaper. I would be shocked if craigslist didn't have a loaded panel you could use for 50$ within a week. Best to use same breaker make as rest of the house so things can be swapped around for testing and as things change. Unless Zinsco or federal pacific

[Forrest Gon]

Could you do that? Almost certainly. _Should_ you do that? The house breaker for the circuit is 50 amps presumably, which is there to protect the house wiring. If there’s a fault in either machine, such as a shorted motor or cord, etc., you can have up to 100 amps of angry pixies rampaging thru their cords before the house mother notices a problem and shuts things down, hopefully before stuff melts. It’s best to run a couple of extra circuits with the recommended rating. BTW what country are you in?

I am little bit confused, the adapter has 3 outlets, each of them is rated 20A, in that case, the saw should only sees and draws 20A at maximum, right?

I was originally thinking about changing the outlet to a subpanel, the there are a few issues, it is only a 50A, and i need 30A(tesla) + 20A(sawstop)+20A(dust collector), my current tesla charger won't fit the new 30A receptacle, a permit is also needed...

[Forrest Gon]

Thanks a lot!

I am relative comfortable working with wires, but I think doing things like this is going to need a permit and the county won't be happy if I just go ahead and do this

[Ron Selzer]

No permit needed if you go with the portable power distribution panel. as recommended by Andrew
Good luck
Ron

[Forrest Gon]

Hi Forrest, that would work however it has no overload protection, and therefore I doubt it has an electrical approval.

If it were me I would use the feeder for a small permanent panel with a 2P 50A breaker for the vehicle charger and quantity 2 X 2P 20A breakers for the saw and extractor, assuming the extractor needs a 6-20R.............Regards, Rod.

Hi Rod, the upstream of the outlet is a 50A breaker, if I replace the outlet with a sub panel, with a 50A breaker for the tesla charger and 2 20A breakers for the saw and extractor, 20+20+50, that will be bigger than the 50 capacity?

[Bruce King]

How much does the Tesla actually draw?
You are getting into the realm of needing an electrician for many reasons.

[Forrest Gon]

How much does the Tesla actually draw?
You are getting into the realm of needing an electrician for many reasons.

Tesla draws 30A, but I won't be using the charger when I use the power tools