Is there an adapter for the many varied 220 volt plugs and receptacles?

M

Maelstrom78

Joined
Sep 21, 2013
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I know that maybe RVs have some of them but does anybody have a good source of premade adapters? I'd like some 220 to 220 adapters. That way I can just have an adapter for the regular 30 amp 220 that comes with some of the 220 machinery. I know I can make my own to but premade would be nice.

Thanks!
 
Be careful. The 20, 30 and 50 amps styles and the number of prongs are generally different for a reason.
 
RV and Marine supply houses would be a source. If you know the NEMA codes for what you are trying to adapt to and from it should not be too hard to find an adapter if one is made. Maybe I'm missing something here, but assuming the 220V power is configured correctly for the machine you want to plug in, and the machine is using less than the rated capacity of the outlet, why not just change the male plug on the power cord from the machine?
 
Short answer, no. All the various plugs are a scam to force us to buy multiple high dollar plugs that are all basically the same. Sure, I understand the difference between them, but it's still annoying. Yes, I've got a drawer full of plugs/receptacles, just in case someone brings something over and we need to make it fit.

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Mahoney said:
RV and Marine supply houses would be a source. If you know the NEMA codes for what you are trying to adapt to and from it should not be too hard to find an adapter if one is made. Maybe I'm missing something here, but assuming the 220V power is configured correctly for the machine you want to plug in, and the machine is using less than the rated capacity of the outlet, why not just change the male plug on the power cord from the machine?
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Yep that is what I have been doing. The "dryer type" three prong seems to be most popular so I was thinking of making a single adaptor for those and then I wouldn't have to keep switching the plug for all of the new stuff. I have been thinking of getting a dual voltage mig welder and some of them their 220V adapter doesn't lend itself for an easy replacement is what got me thinking.


Atlas Knife Company said:
Short answer, no. All the various plugs are a scam to force us to buy multiple high dollar plugs that are all basically the same. Sure, I understand the difference between them, but it's still annoying. Yes, I've got a drawer full of plugs/receptacles, just in case someone brings something over and we need to make it fit.
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Yeah that's pretty much how I feel. Just an annoyance really.
 
Edited to remove potentially bad info.

I'll still mention that the best option may be to just hardwire them into the shop sub panel, if you're trying to save a few bucks on outlets or plug ends.

The caveat still applies: you need to know what you're doing, and make sure your circuit protection is appropriate for your set up. Multiple breakers will likely be necessary if there's a wide wattage range.
 
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Lieblad said:
This is only good if all appliances fall within the same range of wattage the socket & its circuit capacity (and circuit type) they connect to.

For example, dont wire up a 7 amp compressor with a 50amp plug just so its handy & can plug in on the kiln circuit.
(As an aside, this similar is common in Jolly 'ol England, excepting their plugs are fused at the intended ampacity of its appliance whats lower than socket its plugged into. )
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I can agree with that. I suppose my "load capabilities" comment was a bit vague.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think it's probably a bad idea to change anything out of manufactured specs, should anything ever malfunction, including swapping a plug end.
Hardwiring is still a potentially cheaper option than buying plug ends and/or outlets, but again, it should be understood what your loads and circuit protection requirements are. You'll likely still be running on at least a couple different circuit breakers no matter how it goes.
 
Lieblad said:
This is only good if all appliances fall within the same range of wattage the socket & its circuit capacity (and circuit type) they connect to.

For example, dont wire up a 7 amp compressor with a 50amp plug just so its handy & can plug in on the kiln circuit.
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There is absolutely no problem plugging 7 amp compressor into a 50 amp circuit. I'm not sure why you wouldn't want the convenience of all the plugs being the same.

My work is wired with 30 amp outlets around the shop. When we get machines in we just need to make sure they don't draw under 30 amp and slap a NEMA cord cap on them.
We have a section of the shop reserved for equipment that needs higher power and those usually get hard wired.
Every shop I've worked in over the years has had the same setup.
 
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I've been thinking about the same issue. I had to set up an extension cord for my 6-15 grinder to my 14-30 dryer outlet. And now I'm thinking about a welder. Let us know how everything turns out. Hard wiring becomes an issue with L&I here in WA so maybe figure $$ for an electrician and permits.
 
We regularly plug a light fixture with a 60 watt bulb (1/2 amp load) into a 120 volt 20 amp circuit so why is it a problem to plug the 240 volt 7 amp compressor into the 50 amp kiln outlet? Most of the time it is not a problem, but if something goes wrong the 120 volt circuit will deliver 2400 watts, and the 240 volt circuit will deliver 12,000. Consumer stuff for use on 120 volt circuits tends to be over-engineered enough to take the short term 20 amp surge before the breaker trips, but if our 7 amp compressor is wired with cable rated for...say 10 or 15 amps, there's a chance the cable will melt and burn before the 50 amp breaker decides there's a problem and trips. The electrical code has quite a few things to say about appropriate loads on appropriate circuits...
 
My compressor, welder, grinder and most equipment I can think of have breakers or fuses on them. It's not uncommon for the breaker on my compressor to trip when I start it up in cold weather and the oil is thick. The only thing I have that's not protected on the machine is an old two wheel grinder but, I have a feeling I could reach the switch before I burst into flames. 😀
My work place is in a strick city and we are inspected often. Fire, electric code, hazmat, etc. There are no special interpretations of code or "blind eyes turned".

If running a low power device on a higher capacity circuit were as dangerous as you think, we would need dozens of different dedicated outlets in our homes. I'd need a circuit for the single LED night light that draws milliamps, a 2 amp circuit to charge my phone and so on.
 
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Navin_R_Johnson said:
There is absolutely no problem plugging 7 amp compressor into a 50 amp circuit. I'm not sure why you wouldn't want the convenience of all the plugs being the same.

My work is wired with 30 amp outlets around the shop. When we get machines in we just need to make sure they don't draw under 30 amp and slap a NEMA cord cap on them.
We have a section of the shop reserved for equipment that needs higher power and those usually get hard wired.
Every shop I've worked in over the years has had the same setup.
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Whether it's code, or just general practice, I believe that a typical circuit breaker rating should only be about 125% of the expected continuous current set up for that circuit. Now, while a 7amp motor will in fact run on a 50 amp circuit, and likely never have any issues under normal use, there can be rare occurrences where this could become a major liabiity. While many modern compressors may have a thermal limit or some other kind of overcurrent protection build in, if that should fail, or not exist, the motor would have to reach 50 amps before power was cut to the compressor. Granted, the motor winding and/or connecting wires would likely be pooled up in the floor well before it hit 50 amps, but there is still a chance of fire or arc flash, or worse.
Again, I'm a little rusty on what the NEC says in this regard, but it seems like there are a couple of much safer options.
 
Navin_R_Johnson said:
My compressor, welder, grinder and most equipment I can think of have breakers or fuses on them. It's not uncommon for the breaker on my compressor to trip when I start it up in cold weather and the oil is thick. The only thing I have that's not protected on the machine is an old two wheel grinder but, I have a feeling I could reach the switch before I burst into flames. ��
My work place is in a strick city and we are inspected often. Fire, electric code, hazmat, etc. There are no special interpretations of code or "blind eyes turned".

If running a low power device on a higher capacity circuit were as dangerous as you think, we would need dozens of different dedicated outlets in our homes. I'd need a circuit for the single LED night light that draws milliamps, a 2 amp circuit to charge my phone and so on.
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If the device in question has it's own built in protection, then that would certainly make me feel more comfortable running off a higher amperage breaker, thought it's still considered good habit to size things closer to the typical expected current.

As for the 2 amp phone charging breaker, most outlets that you'd plug your phone into will be on a circuit that's likely already got an average amount of load on it. Other outlets down the line, lights, tv, etc...
Some chargers have some built in fail safes as well, although from time to time you do hear about one blowing up or melting into the wall.
 
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