120 vs. 220 advantages and disadvantages

What are the disadvantages to running the CrossFire table with the Razorweld30 using my household 120V?
I currently have 220V in my garage, but will be hooking my 60 gallon air compressor up to that. I will also mainly be cutting 1/8" aluminum, and possibly 1/8" steel occasionally. Can I run it like this just to get me started… Otherwise I will have to run about 100’ of #8 back to box to hook up the table.

You’re going to be limited on how thick of material you can cut with 110v. I doubt you can cut the aluminum on 110V. might be able to do the steel. Not sure how many amp breaker and wiring you have on your garage outlet but maybe you can put a miniature box there and install 2 outlets and run both??

It’s also harder on the equipment if you are always running at it’s very limit on any voltage. Also you’re going to have to make sure the 120V plug it’s going into is a 20A plug (and has the proper gauge wire behind it… What I know some home owners that “fix up the place” and put the wrong plug in) to get the best performance and limit the chance of a fire.

We have done some testing using the machine set to 120V. The plasma cutter wants very minimal torch standoff height that is not conducive to CNC operation (especially not having THC). We found that it was hard to prevent the arc from extinguishing.

All comments below plus your utility bill is going to suffer. Any tools that can be run on 220 will be less draw and less out of pocket to run it.

Think I will definitely be going 220V then. How long is the power cord off the table & cutter exactly?

There is less draw on each hot leg on 220 but you are drawing on two legs instead of one. one half the current times two equals the same. Seems to me this would negate any savings.

Typical utility metering is based on a peak kw and the kwh used. Doing everything in your power to keep the peak number down will help with how much the bill will be for kwh used. Lower voltage equals higher current and inrush which bumps the peak.

Hope I’ve helped in understanding.

Steve.

Actually utility companies bill on wattage not amperage. They only charge by KWH. anyone can Google this and get a reasonable explanation. Its a very common misunderstanding

Well sir, I distribute energy for a living. To each his own in understanding or misunderstanding but I’d love to be your power supplier. :slight_smile:

double the voltage lowers the amps and amps is what spins the meter. Doing the same work, be it a large tool or air conditioner is cheaper on 220 volts.

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I am not saying anybody is wrong or right.
Everyone can do there own research and reach a conclusion.

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Watts Cheaper 110 or 220 Volts?

How much will I save on my electric bill if I run my lights on 220 volts?
A quick answer: Probably nothing.
This is a common misunderstanding about how electricity works and how the power companies charge you for it. The point often noted for the money saving argument is that the amperage is half as much when running grow lights on 220 volts instead of 110 volts. This is true but the utility company doesn’t charge you for amperage, they charge you for wattage. They bill you in kilowatt-hour units. A kilowatt-hour is 1000 watts of usage for one hour or approximately equals a 1000 watt light running for one hour. There’s a nice formula for this: Wattage / Voltage = Amperage. If we plug in the numbers for a 1000 watt sodium grow light, you can see that although the voltage and amperage can change, the wattage always stays the same.
1000 Sodium Grow Light
On 110 Volts: 1100W / 110V = 10A - On 220 Volts: 1100W / 220V = 5A
Note that a 1000 watt sodium ballast draws 1100 watts.
Right about now is when I get the question “well why do they make stuff to run on 220 volts then?” Usually large machines and appliances that draw lots of power run on 220 volts (or more) mainly because of the size wire you would need to use to run them on 110 volts would be very large. The gauge and length of the wire will determine the maximum amperage it will handle before it melts! On a 220 volt circuit, the load is split between two 110 volt wires. This allows you to run smaller wire. This brings us to the “probably” part of the answer. There is another factor, it’s the voltage drop or the voltage lost when the power travels down the wire. The lower the resistance on the wire, the less the voltage drop. If you are running one or two lights in a typical home with the breaker box a short distance away, the efficiency lost due to voltage drop may not be significant enough to justify rewiring your grow room for 220 volts.

Yes, that is the typical Google found answer. Where it fails to mention is just what is and how is the per cent amount per KWH your are charged. As I said before, your are correct in watts whether it be 120 or 220, power consumed is power consumed at 7/120 amps or 3.5/220. The inrush and peak starting current of a 120v device is higher than a 220v, that peak is what the utility uses to determine the amount per kwh they get to charge you.

The old adage of not running your oven, microwave and electric dryer all at the same time is still very true today.

Steve.

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Not everyone across the country has a digital utility meter on their panel but those that do can easily see what their Peak Kw has been as well as their KWH totals. Not only are there time of day rates $.09 for off peak and .14 for on (as an example) there is also a Peak demand. That Peak demand is where they can raise those $/kwh rate on you. So, utilizing a load controller in your home or being consciousness of just how many heavy load devices are running at one time can help keep your bill down. I learned years ago to not be out in the garage running a 200 amp welder at full blast while my wife was preparing dinner, with the oven and microwave all running at the same time.

I get to pay 18¢ regardless. The state says it’s because we’re saving from competitive rates by having more suppliers.

There’s still only one company managing the wires and they charge more for the delivery than the generation. :yum:

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It’s true James. Deregulation from the 70’s has different states and utilities using their own methods of making money off the national grid. We design micro grid as well as integrating PV, Bloom and Wind energy into facilities and then control it with redundancy.

I wonder how your particular utility feels about solar and do they have strict programs to keep you on their plan vs net metering?

The one thing we do have going for us is net metering at retail rates. The electric company hates it and keeps trying to get it eliminated but it is helping the alt energy industry.

Interesting subject.
I use 220 whenever I can because of more power output.
Example: welders and plasma cutters

If you weld and cut as much as I do you exceed the 600 KWH allowed per month anyways so I always pay the higher rates per KWH every month.

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Our utility only pays back any excess net metering at Natural Gas rates which are about a third of what they charge for power. I have a 13.5kw solar system that puts out 22kwh annually. I typically get to about May before I start getting a small bill for 'Meter reading" and stuff. I keep my Demand under control with 3 phase machines on VFD’s and try not buy any real hi HP ones. Even my 80 gal Champion is only 2hp.