How do I change a 240 dryer outlet into 120?

[NorthernKronic]

Can any of you electricians out there get me started on what I will need to convert a 240volt dryer outlet into a 120 volt outlet? Lets just call me electrically retarded for the purposes of this thread. I am actually not totally incompetent when it comes to this kind of stuff but I would like step by step directions if at all possible.

Anyway thanks in advance to anyone that helps. I really appreciate it!

-N.Kron

 

[PharmaCan]

Your 240v outlet has 120v lines - two of them. But it may or may not have the ground and neutral that you need to safely make a 120v connection. There are several threads here on IC that get into detail about using dryer connections and your various options. You should do a search and you can probably learn everything you need to know. There are several alternatives from hooking up a sub-panel, to hooking up receptacles using both circuits to changing the wires in your panel and just hooking them correctly to one 120v receptacle. If you do a search and look at what others have done, you can get a better idea of what's possible and what would be appropriate for your application. After you look at the info that's already available here, if you still have questions, ask away and you'll get plenty of help.

PC

 

[madpenguin]

Need to know the information on the side of the cable before anyone can give you answers. How many conductors and what color they are is a good start.

 

[LolaGal]

buy a 240 cord for your ballast... you're ready to go

 

[madpenguin]

How do you know it's a ballast that is going to be used? If so, how do you know it's a multitap ballast?

 

[LolaGal]

How do you know it's a ballast that is going to be used? If so, how do you know it's a multitap ballast?

My psychic powers are strong....

Yes, it is a multitap ballast, yes it is a ballast he wants to plug in....

You are wearing blue pants madpenguin.......right now!!!!

 

[NorthernKronic]

Thanks for the info guys.. Yea I def should have done a search earlier..

LOL it is for a ballast, I am going to be running a 1k hps on this circuit if I can. I have 20 amp service to my basement but I just wanted to see if I could utilize the 30 amp dryer circuit since the dryer doesnt work..

I am getting a new Xtrasun ballast, I dont believe its switchable/multitap..

Ill get back to you with more info in just a bit.. Got a lil more work to get done..



-N.Kron

 

[LolaGal]

LOL it is for a ballast, I am going to be running a 1k hps on this circuit if I can.


I am getting a new Xtrasun ballast, I dont believe its switchable/multitap..

-N.Kron

My psychic powers rule!!!

Yes,By Using My Psychic powers I see you can get a 240 cord for that ballast, (most are equipped with this capacity for big grow ops). I think this is what penguin meant by multi tap....

 

[madpenguin]

You are wearing blue pants madpenguin.......right now!!!!

Nope. Black cords. Nice try tho.

Most dryer runs use 10/3 so it could be switched easily to 120 in that case. You'd have to buy a new breaker tho. That or a new receptacle. Both will cost about the same and the breaker will be easier to find than the receptacle.

I'd probably buy a 2 pole 20A breaker, a double gang box and 2 spec grade receptacles and turn it into a Multi Wire Branch Circuit. More flexible that way. Voltage drop will be almost zero from the #10 + MWBC and if you balance the loads on both circuits you'll have almost nothing returning back to the panel.

 

[madpenguin]

I am a seasoned engineer, I know electricity inside and out and I know the answer to this

Then you should know that a MWBC attached to a double pole breaker draws from both phases and seeing as how the taps for L1 and L2 @ the Xformer are 180 degrees out of phase, both ungrounded conductors in a MWBC will cancel each other out. 10A draw on the black wire and a 10A draw on the red wire means 0A travelling back down the neutral. Sorry, but any 1st year apprentice would know that.

As an added bonus to only having to run one cable instead of two, your watt loss and voltage drop is slashed significantly. In fact, as long as it's installed and used properly, a MWBC can be far superior to a 2-wire run.

If the OP only wants to use one circuit on a MWBC, then fine. 10A on the black wire means 10A on the white wire. How is that going to start a fire? Even if he left the 2 pole 30A OCPD in place and used a NEMA 5-30 receptacle, then the run is still protected properly for the wire gauge used. Bumping down to a 20A OCPD as I suggested makes things even cooler (literally).

You can get two circuits out of this circuit that has been run. However, per code and the most safe way to go would be to replace the 240 volt breaker with two 120 volt breakers that are 20 amps with 12 gauge wire and go from there.

Neither is inherently safer than the other (2-wire vs 3-wire circuit) and as far as code is concerned, they are both covered in the NEC and allowed. However, doing as you suggest and using 2 single pole breakers on a 3 conductor circuit is in direct violation of 210.4(B). In order to do as you suggest, you would have to run a new cable for your second circuit and abandon one of the hots in the 10/3 (which is probably what you were implying with the #12 wire).

Article 100 definition of a nonlinear load:

No offense, but maybe you should brush up a little more on your electrical knowledge. Engineers don't make good electricians. This is known. Electricians also don't make good engineers. Stick to what you know and don't say things that you don't.

 

[Greensub]

Hi,

First post ever... I know this is a little costly, but it's a great way to use a 30amp dryer output.

http://westcoasthydro.net/cart/30-amp-dryer-timer-box-p-120.html

I'm setting up my room right now and planning for the future, I'm going to run a new 50amp circuit from the 3rd floor of a condo down to the 1st and use the 50amp range plug version

http://westcoasthydro.net/cart/50-amp-range-timer-box-p-122.html

I'm a electrician (well... now I design tube audio electronics, but I did rough and finish electrical construction for a few years). I know how to rewire a plug into two 120V circuits... although as people have mentioned previously, you'll have problems with a 30amp dryer circuit. They're usually 3 prong with 10/3 wire (2 hots and a neutral, no ground).

I know these are expensive, but it's safer and smarter than mickey mousing around with a perfectly functional dryer plug.

 

[F0iL]

Greensub - Just wondering but are there any other cheaper/smaller alternatives to those 220 > 120v converters for smaller setups?

Would something like these work Link and would it be ok to plug a surge protector to it and plug everything to that?

Only if there was a version with more plugs..

 

[SpacedCWBY]

You should talk to the fellas at home dipshit about setting you up with a small 2 breaker sub-panel. You could have 2 120v 15amp circuits running off that line. You'd just drop 2 wires out of the bottom each running to a normal plug. I don't like to get too far into electrical because it's not smart to play around with and I'd hate to give an idiot a little encouragement, but wiring a sub panel is pretty easy if you're good with that kind of stuff. If not, don't play around, it'll getcha...

Those bad ass little creations that greensub pointed out are basically a plug-in, pimped out version of a normal sub panel