110v or 220v?

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fireguyfire

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I recently picked up a 70’s luxcut lathe. The lathe can be wired either 110v or 220v and had the diagram to wire both ways in the manual; neither of which jive with the way it’s wired now so I’m going to do a full reset and confirm it’s correct from the plug out.
So the age old debate question, should I go 110 or 220? 110 would be far easier for me but I can do 220.

And secondly, if I go 110 I’m assuming a dedicated 20amp circuit with 12 gauge wire would be the way to go?
1c92a91190923025d9f8e63f24af68d9.jpg

8e1ff26764753afe8f21809f751526c2.jpg
 
220v

Looks similar to my machine, I upgraded to 3 phase with a VFD. You might consider this if funds are available, it's very nice to be able to tweak in just the right speed.

The contactors in my control box were intermittent and troubleshooting them seemed like a waste of time. Plus, I had variable speed on my previous lathe and really like it.

John
 
You can "get away" with 110, but really should have a 30 amp circuit, needs to be larger than the motor FLA rating. But, it will work on a 20 amp 110 circuit, just may trip the breaker.

220 on a 20 amp breaker would be best.
 
Yup. 21A rating for a 120VAC circuit would really want a 30-amp 120VAC circuit. That would require 10-gauge wire and a lot of palaver, plus forget any use of a readily available cord. The advantage to the higher voltage is that the current, and therefore the required wire size, is much less. I'm running my single-phase 2-HP South Bend with 240VAC on a (short) 12-gauge extension cord from a 240VAC 20A receptacle. (It's a NEMA 6-20 that uses a vertical and a horizontal prong so that it won't plug into a 120VAC receptacle). That motor jumps into life despite the high starting load of a clutchless journal-bearing lathe with an 80-pound chuck on it.

At their recommendation, I'm also using 12-gauge wire and a 20-amp circuit to power my 5HP Rotary Phase Converter, which will power the 3-phase 2-HP head on the incoming Bridgeport. 12-gauge wire is easy-peasy and the 6-20 receptacle fits fine in a standard wall box (read, it doesn't require a 4x4 box). I can even buy 240VAC 12-gauge extension cords with molded-in 6-20 plugs and receptacles from Amazon.

Rick "higher voltage saves on copper" Denney
 
fireguyfire said:
I recently picked up a 70’s luxcut lathe. The lathe can be wired either 110v or 220v and had the diagram to wire both ways in the manual; neither of which jive with the way it’s wired now so I’m going to do a full reset and confirm it’s correct from the plug out.
So the age old debate question, should I go 110 or 220? 110 would be far easier for me but I can do 220.

And secondly, if I go 110 I’m assuming a dedicated 20amp circuit with 12 gauge wire would be the way to go?
1c92a91190923025d9f8e63f24af68d9.jpg

8e1ff26764753afe8f21809f751526c2.jpg
Click to expand...
If you have 220 available, use 220, lower amperage, less heat better performance longer life.
 
rwdenney said:
Yup. 21A rating for a 120VAC circuit would really want a 30-amp 120VAC circuit. That would require 10-gauge wire and a lot of palaver, plus forget any use of a readily available cord. The advantage to the higher voltage is that the current, and therefore the required wire size, is much less. I'm running my single-phase 2-HP South Bend with 240VAC on a (short) 12-gauge extension cord from a 240VAC 20A receptacle. (It's a NEMA 6-20 that uses a vertical and a horizontal prong so that it won't plug into a 120VAC receptacle). That motor jumps into life despite the high starting load of a clutchless journal-bearing lathe with an 80-pound chuck on it.

At their recommendation, I'm also using 12-gauge wire and a 20-amp circuit to power my 5HP Rotary Phase Converter, which will power the 3-phase 2-HP head on the incoming Bridgeport. 12-gauge wire is easy-peasy and the 6-20 receptacle fits fine in a standard wall box (read, it doesn't require a 4x4 box). I can even buy 240VAC 12-gauge extension cords with molded-in 6-20 plugs and receptacles from Amazon.

Rick "higher voltage saves on copper" Denney
Click to expand...
I bought a 12/3 romex (red, black and white) last night to eliminate the extension cord on my lathe, I am running through the attic from my box to the lathe. 12/2 with a ground works for short distance but I am running 30 foot total on this one. Bought 100 foot roll cuz 50 foot wuz 109.00 and 100 wuz 137.00..... I also bought 250 foot of 14/2 with a ground for lighting, my wallet had such a bad convulsion when I went to pay for it that my a$$ is still sore.
 
I paid at least twice that for wire when I built my shop, but then I was buying wire at Covid prices. The #6 we ran for the on-demand boiler for the radiant floor heating system was a check I don't ever want to have to write again.

The 14-foot ceiling in my shop makes me unwilling to run new Romex, because I'd have to run it over the ceiling and drop an armored cable down to a hanging receptacle over the machine. I already have a 240 30-amp box for my 3-HP cabinet saw, so I'm going to sister a 20-amp receptacle in a box right next to it. American Rotary told me the AR5 RPC I bought can use up to 50 feet of 12-gauge cord, and that box I'm going to use is supplied by 10-gauge wiring, so I installed 45 feet of cord onto the RPC. That came from a 50-foot 12-gauge extension cord after cutting off the receptacle end. Both the lathe and the mill will be out in the middle of the floor between bays, not up against a wall. It sure is nice to have access all around the lathe, and I figure the mill will enjoy that, too.

The only 15-amp circuits put in the shop run hard-wired lights. All outlets are on at least 20-amp circuits.

Rick "still has most of a roll of 10ga and half a roll of 12ga Romex left over from construction" Denney
 
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