220 Plug Tech

[Spankbomb]

New 220 plugs out in my garage and they appear to be 4-wire plug with the vertical lugs.

Questions - 1) What brand plugs should I use? I need three three-wire plugs, one for the mig, one for the TIG and one for the plasma.
2) What's a good source online?
3) What's the conversion between the 4-wire and 3-wire, meaning how do I need to wire a 3-wire plug to work with a 4-wire outlet?

Thanks,
JD

[willyswanter]

Hubbel, Leviton, Pass Seymore, etc all are fine, and you can find those at Home Depot or Lowes.

Your 4 wire recepticles have 2 hots, a neutral, and a ground. The wires are only 2 hots and a ground. So disconnect the neutral wire and cap it with a wirenut then hook the gorund and 2 hots up to your new recepticle.

[lal357]

what he said i try and stay away from the hd and lowes stuff not as heavy duty as hubble, p&s they cost more but ya get what ya pay for

[mama tried]

I would make an adapter instead of changing the plug in the wall that way you stay in code

[willyswanter]

Why would changing the outlet become a code violation? As long as his outlet and breaker are within wire size specs then he's fine.

[Spankbomb]

Why would I need to change the outlet? Isn't there a plug end which would match up with the outlet sans neutral?

Jon

[bigun]

Originally Posted by willyswanter

Why would changing the outlet become a code violation? As long as his outlet and breaker are within wire size specs then he's fine.

Not if they are in his garage The four prong are normally only used in the kitchen and laundry room where the electronic in the modern machines require a neutral, but the frames need grounding to protect life.

[bigun]

Originally Posted by Spankbomb

Why would I need to change the outlet? Isn't there a plug end which would match up with the outlet sans neutral?
Jon

More than likely your machine will only have a 3 wire hook up you could change it to a 4 wire plug if you wish just leave the neutral empty, in fact there are plugs out there that will allow you to leave the neutral prong out completely.

[WileECoyote]

Originally Posted by bigun

Not if they are in his garage The four prong are normally only used in the kitchen and laundry room where the electronic in the modern machines require a neutral, but the frames need grounding to protect life.

The 3 prongs are used when the appliance uses strictly 220v. The 4 prongs are used when the 220v appliance/device uses 110v as well (like timers, displays, etc). That's why your welder has 3 prongs, and your dryer/stove has 4 prongs.

[Travis Waldher]

Just use a 4 prong plug and leave out the neutral pin.

[mike]

Originally Posted by WileECoyote

The 3 prongs are used when the appliance uses strictly 220v. The 4 prongs are used when the 220v appliance/device uses 110v as well (like timers, displays, etc). That's why your welder has 3 prongs, and your dryer/stove has 4 prongs.

Dryers will work on 3 wire, look at the manuals they have the wiring diagram for it (and mine's 3 wire ). The 4th provides an extra path to ground, which is a safety thing.