Saturday, July 16, 2016

On Power

On Power


A little over a decade ago I was renovating the bedroom in my first home. As any true do it yourself-er would, I gutted the room to studs and among the many things I installed before covering the walls back up were two 20 amp circuits which fed about 30ish outlets around the room. My goal was that I should never have to unplug one thing to plug in another.

The plan.

When I moved into my current home five (5) years ago I knew the entire house deserved proper wiring. Having three (3) kids in the new house who werent there a decade ago, things are going a bit slower. So far, Ive only been able to wire the shop.


But wire it I did. My shop has three (3) dedicated 20 amp 110V circuits and four (4) 220V circuits. That is to say it has the wires for all those circuits is in the walls. When I was first finishing up the shop, I only connected the 110V circuits. It wasnt until my current jointer came into the shop that I had to connect one of the 220V circuits. When the planer came in, I let it share the same circuit, as it and the jointer will never run at the same time in my small shop.

You need to pull cable if you want electric

When I finally connected my dust collector a few weeks ago, I had to break down and connect a second 220V line. Because it will run at the same time as the jointer and planer, I wanted it to have its own line.

Though wiring the 220V lines is a bit trickier than 110V, its not rocket science and there are plenty of knowledgeable electricians out there willing to lend a hand. At the end of the day, the hardest part usually pulling the wire where you needed.

Never enough (outlet color indicates which circuit).

Im not one to yield to circumstances. A lack of 220V (or space) is no reason not to have a big jointer or planer or the dust collector needed for both. Id advise everyone the same. At the end of the day 220V is not that hard. Just study what you have to do, be safe and follow your local laws. If need be, have an electrician do it for you. After all, who ever complained about their jointer or planer being too big?

Im happy to say that now, it sucks.

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On Power