# Delta carbide tool grinder wire question.



## ridgeway (Nov 10, 2013)

I got an old Delta carbide tool grinder at an auction and have a wire question.  The tag on the grinder specify single phase 220v.  Well, the grinder has a conventional 110v three prong plug on it.  Would be possible the person wired it for 110?  The tag does not specify 110/220, just 220.  How can I really tell?  I dont want to put a 220 plug and feed it 220 if ts wired for 110.


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## xalky (Nov 10, 2013)

ridgeway said:


> I got an old Delta carbide tool grinder at an auction and have a wire question.  The tag on the grinder specify single phase 220v.  Well, the grinder has a conventional 110v three prong plug on it.  Would be possible the person wired it for 110?  The tag does not specify 110/220, just 220.  How can I really tell?  I dont want to put a 220 plug and feed it 220 if ts wired for 110.


If you can get into the wiring compartment where the motor wires are , there should be a tag showing the different wire configurations. Try that before you start experimenting...) Most of the time the motor tag will show the different wiring possibilities.


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## ridgeway (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestion.  There is no motor plate.  The wire goes directly into the pedestal base.  The motor tag is stamped 220v and the tag under the switch is tagged 220v.  Maybe the guy used conventional plugs on his equipment? The shop was was very old where it came from.  I dunno.


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## xalky (Nov 10, 2013)

ridgeway said:


> Thanks for the suggestion.  There is no motor plate.  The wire goes directly into the pedestal base.  The motor tag is stamped 220v and the tag under the switch is tagged 220v.  Maybe the guy used conventional plugs on his equipment? The shop was was very old where it came from.  I dunno.


 It's probably 220 volt. Did you try running it on 110 yet? A quick plug in aint gonna hurt it. Maybe they were running it on 110v 

I have a chineese version of the baldor that runs on 110v. It takes like 20 seconds to ramp up to speed.

Marcel


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## Charley Davidson (Nov 10, 2013)

I was in a shop once that had 110 outlets that were actually 220, they had painted them red


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## ridgeway (Nov 10, 2013)

xalky said:


> It's probably 220 volt. Did you try running it on 110 yet? A quick plug in aint gonna hurt it. Maybe they were running it on 110v
> 
> I have a chineese version of the baldor that runs on 110v. It takes like 20 seconds to ramp up to speed.
> 
> Marcel




I just tried it on 110.  It powered up fine...took maybe 5-8 seconds to power up to speed.  I just dont want to damage it running on 110 if its not supposed to be.


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## xalky (Nov 10, 2013)

It would probably fire up a lot quicker and have more power on the 220. That whole thing about painting 110 outlets red to make them 220 gives me the willies. I wonder how much stuff the new guys fried working in that place.:nuts:


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## ridgeway (Nov 10, 2013)

Charley Davidson said:


> I was in a shop once that had 110 outlets that were actually 220, they had painted them red


I can relate.  The old time shop at my familys' farm had 220 going to two prong outlets, but wasn't marked.  You can imagine what happened if you didn't know or wasn't paying attention.


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## rdhem2 (Nov 11, 2013)

*WOW!!!

The reason and use of special plug configurations--do ya think?*


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## Hawkeye (Nov 11, 2013)

If you run a motor wired for 220 at 110, it will draw a lot more current than it should. This will eventually burn out the motor. 

Can you post some pictures of the unit? Whole unit, so we can understand the 'pedestal', and shots of the motor itself, including wire connections. We can always help you a lot quicker with pics.


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## ridgeway (Nov 12, 2013)

Ok, I was able to pull out the switch assembly to expose all the wiring.  The light is wired in so it can be turned on without the grinder being on.  I took several pictures and some will show the switch turned on in forward and off.  I did not see any tag or diagram showing a wire schematic.  I have no clue what its wired for.


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## Pacer (Nov 12, 2013)

I dont know if it will hurt or hinder but --- I have that same grinder (tho probably older) and I run it on 110v. A bit of background - I found mine in the weeds outside the sprawling shop of a deceased machinist, I approached the widow and offered $20 for the badly rusted machine and took it home. After an extensive clean-up I plugged it in to 110 not even thinking about it maybe needing 220 - and not knowing if it would even run - it did and Ive ran it that way for some 15yrs now. It comes up to speed quickly - I could try and get an estimate of how quick if you would like a comparison...

Your switch is identical to mine, but I'm afraid I cant say on the wiring match.

Its a heck of a tool and I use mine a lot, I have a diamond on one side and a white wheel on the other.


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## CluelessNewB (Nov 12, 2013)

It is probably 220 only, it may run on 110 but not very well.  It would not be the first machine that I have seen with a 110 plug that was actually a 220 machine.  

That grinder was made in 

110 single phase AC (both 50 and 60 Hz) 
220 single phase AC (both 50 and 60 Hz)
220/440 3 phase AC  (both 50 and 60 Hz)
115V DC 
230V DC 

Later machines came as dual voltage 110/220 but I believe it would be marked as such. 

Disclaimer: I don't own one but I have been looking for one and researching for a while.


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## xalky (Nov 12, 2013)

The wire nut in that picture doesn't look like a factory setup. The wire is green, is that an actual ground wire? I can't believe that there's no wiring diagram in there somewhere.


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## f350ca (Nov 12, 2013)

Might be an overly simplified check but is the light bulb 110v? Unless they use one leg to ground, (doubt if a factory would wire it that way) it would require a 220v bulb. Not to say the bulb wasn't replaced.

Greg


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## ridgeway (Nov 12, 2013)

xalky said:


> The wire nut in that picture doesn't look like a factory setup. The wire is green, is that an actual ground wire? I can't believe that there's no wiring diagram in there somewhere.


Yes, the green is the ground.  Its connected to the ground prong on plug.  The wire for the light looks like lamp wire and could have been replaced at one time.  No diagram anywhere.

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f350ca said:


> Might be an overly simplified check but is the light bulb 110v? Unless they use one leg to ground, (doubt if a factory would wire it that way) it would require a 220v bulb. Not to say the bulb wasn't replaced.
> 
> Greg


Never gave it a thought to check the bulb that came with it.  It got broken when I unloaded from my truck.  Picked the glass up and pulled the remains from the socket and threw it away.  Looked like a regular incandescant.  I scewed in a 110 fluorescent and it works.


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## ridgeway (Nov 12, 2013)

Pacer said:


> I dont know if it will hurt or hinder but --- I have that same grinder (tho probably older) and I run it on 110v. A bit of background - I found mine in the weeds outside the sprawling shop of a deceased machinist, I approached the widow and offered $20 for the badly rusted machine and took it home. After an extensive clean-up I plugged it in to 110 not even thinking about it maybe needing 220 - and not knowing if it would even run - it did and Ive ran it that way for some 15yrs now. It comes up to speed quickly - I could try and get an estimate of how quick if you would like a comparison...
> 
> Your switch is identical to mine, but I'm afraid I cant say on the wiring match.
> 
> Its a heck of a tool and I use mine a lot, I have a diamond on one side and a white wheel on the other.




Thats a pretty nice find!  I paid $220 for mine at an auction where several others wanted it!  It takes 8 seconds for mine to cme up to speed.  I have a horrid task force that takes a few seconds to get up to speed, but try grinding a 1/2  HSS bit is another story!  This Delta cuts like butter with the wheels on it now.  I have what appears to be a diamond impregnated wheel on the one side and a regular wheel on the other.  The diamond wheel looks like leather, but it does cut carbide.  What brand is your diamond wheel?  I want a new one.


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## ridgeway (Nov 12, 2013)

CluelessNewB said:


> It is probably 220 only, it may run on 110 but not very well.  It would not be the first machine that I have seen with a 110 plug that was actually a 220 machine.
> 
> That grinder was made in
> 
> ...



You are probably right.  The ironic thing though, it runs quite well on 110.  I also believe the guy used it himself on 110.  If hats the case, its been on 110 for a LONG time.  LOL

Believe me, this Delta running on 110 is a a night and day upgrade compared to what I have been using.  Hate to say it, a 1/3 HP Task Force from Lowes!  Talk about painful grinding HSS!


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## Pacer (Nov 12, 2013)

I dont think mine takes 8 secs ro come up - Ill have ck in the morn.

Shars has 4 choices of diamonds around $40 -- I have one of theirs  ----  http://www.shars.com/product_categories/search/?search=diamond+wheel

cdco also has the diamonds for $69 ----  http://cdcotools.com/  - under machine tooling

- - - Updated - - -

I dont think mine takes 8 secs ro come up - Ill have ck in the morn.

Shars has 4 choices of diamonds around $40 -- I have one of theirs  ----  http://www.shars.com/product_categories/search/?search=diamond+wheel

cdco also has the diamonds for $69 ----  http://cdcotools.com/  - under machine tooling


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## rdhem2 (Nov 13, 2013)

I have been giving your problem quite a lot of thought.  I have come to the conclusion the best thing to do is strap the grinder to a pallet and send it to me to deal with.  That way it is out of your hair.

And Mr. Pacer has a great avatar!

P.S. PM me for ship address.

Have a great day!


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## ridgeway (Nov 13, 2013)

rdhem2 said:


> I have been giving your problem quite a lot of thought.  I have come to the conclusion the best thing to do is strap the grinder to a pallet and send it to me to deal with.  That way it is out of your hair.
> 
> And Mr. Pacer has a great avatar!
> 
> ...


LOL...replace it with a high end Baldor equivalent and we have a deal!

- - - Updated - - -

Ground a couple bits today and it did a pretty good job.  I could actually slow the grinder down while grinding, so 220 is definitly a good idea.  I almost need to wire in a sub panel in my garage to do so.  Will be in the works sooner or later.  

Not sure what kind of tool steel I ground, but it is way hard.  Barely made any sparks...nowhere near import steel! Took a bit to grind, but way better than my task force grinder!  Shaped up another HSS bit and it cut through it like butter!  I can see this will get alot of use and will be using more HSS tool bits from now on.


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