220 Volt Yong Heng?

[BenjaminM]

Is 18 gauge wireing, large enough, for a 220 device?

back In the day most vehicles were 6 volt systems, this required large wires, war metal (copper) shortages drove the change to 12 volt in the industry because by upping the voltage you don’t need as big a wires to accomplish the same tasks like run headlight, starters etc.

24v systems kind of continue down that same path… now that’s all dc systems, but my guess is that the wire size is fine for the load with a 220v pump.

You could probably even rewire it to match your 110v motor. Most of these Chinese electric motors can be wired up to either 110 or 220 is my understanding from the woodworking world. That way they make one motor for multiple markets.

edit-after reading previous posts there’s input from far more experienced folks than I!

 

[BenjaminM]

My code book is several generations old but the need for GFCI was by the area of the house, not any characteristic of the load. The garage and bathroom and outside outlets get GFCI. Maybe things have changed.

My YH does not pull more than 15A running. It probably does at startup. It is on a 20A circuit but it not nearly the only thing on that circuit. In addition, I started and ran it on a large Milwaukee power supply that only supplies 15A. It normally is plugged into a power strip with a 15A breaker on it. It has never tripped. It's a pretty decent sized load but not as big as other things I run at 120V (like my SawStop and my MIG welder). The power strip also has the water pump and a little 8 inch fan and small 120V fans for the radiator on it, all going through the 15A breaker. The extra loads are all quite small but substantiate that the running current is under 15A.

I think that people enamored with 220V service don't really understand electricity very well. 220V is just line to line instead of line to ground. It's still a single phase motor. The current is half as high but that is the only real difference. If you need more than 20A at 120V then you use 220V. If your load is less, and the YH is well under 20A, then you use 120V.

I know that where I live we have a small diesel generator power plant for the town. running a 120v wire feed welder on a dedicated circuit close to the panel will drive you nuts. The power is pretty ”dirty” on the remote system. Take that same welder and switch it to 220 and it’s a night and day difference.…

I don’t understand the how’s and why’s of what’s happening, just that I only use 220 now when I can for welding…Alaska bush living at it’s finest!

 

[JimD]

18 gauge wire would be small for 110V for the YH but fine for 220V. Depending on the temperature rise you consider acceptable and the length of the wire I saw values of 12-16 amps limit for 18 gauge in a quick google search. The YH should draw no more than 8 amps on 220V. Current for a given wire size is more complicated than some would think since the length of the wire makes a significant difference. In a house, 14 gauge wire is used for 15A circuits and 12 gauge for 20 amp circuits.

Welders can draw a lot of current depending on their output. My little MIG doesn't have a problem on 15A 110V circuits in my house but I've only welded small things with it so I had the output turned down pretty low. I don't have any problem believing 220V. could work better working from a specific generator.

 

[Airgun Al]

18 gauge wire would be small for 110V for the YH but fine for 220V. Depending on the temperature rise you consider acceptable and the length of the wire I saw values of 12-16 amps limit for 18 gauge in a quick google search. The YH should draw no more than 8 amps on 220V. Current for a given wire size is more complicated than some would think since the length of the wire makes a significant difference. In a house, 14 gauge wire is used for 15A circuits and 12 gauge for 20 amp circuits.

Welders can draw a lot of current depending on their output. My little MIG doesn't have a problem on 15A 110V circuits in my house but I've only welded small things with it so I had the output turned down pretty low. I don't have any problem believing 220V. could work better working from a specific generator.

I believe I will simply swap the male end of the included power cord, so that it fits my 220 wall outlet, and proceed with extreme caution!
And I do mean EXTREME caution!