Question for an electrician or those with electrical knowledge

[the iceman]

Thank you!

 

[fire it up]

I appreciate the concern but I really don't believe it is as big a deal as needing a licensed professional to come and do any part of it.
Not offended or anything but I just know my family has built all the homes we live in and my Uncle has done his fair share of the building.
I just don't see how a supposed 220v machine would have any issue if the basis of what it is hooked to is also 220, unless the fact that it is a different faceplate over the socket makes a difference, or the cord that is run into the plug from the machine?. Would that matter?

I also took a pic of the label on the compressor cause a few asked.
I wasn't meaning to fix and rig all kinds of things or change any sort of plug or set-up I was basically just looking for a bit of advice on whether or not there was a simple fix to the plug solution. Not that I don't appreciate the advice and all, and I'm no electrician but I just don't see what kind of big deal it is. Not going to fix or change anything that would require any basic electrical knowledge, but if it is something as simple as replacing a wire or cable then that's no big deal.


So anyways, here is the pic I took, maybe that makes any difference

 

[the iceman]

The link that BBQ Engineer provided gave you the answer. Every different voltage rating & it's corresponding amperage rating has a different plug configuration.

The reason it would be a big deal is if some bonehead came along & without thinking plugged a 110v appliance into a 220v circuit. The different plug configurations are designed to prevent accidents.


It looks from the pic of the data plate that the compressor is a dual voltage unit. That tells me it has some sort of switch or internal wiring somewhere to change between the two voltages.

 

[fire it up]

So presumably I could just find the switch or whatever it has to switch from 110 to 220, well 120/240?
I had no clue that it would have even had something like that.
So then if that is the case I would think that the current plug on it would be fine plugged into a 110 outlet?

If you would like to respond to me in a pm instead of in a public forum that would be fine by me.
Also, just for the sake of saying it I realize that any info is merely a suggestion and not to be considered a professional solution.

Ok, that being said and safely putting aside any possibly concerning legality issues, then if that is the case it would be even better for me to not even have to worry about swapping out the cord with another one.

I really do appreciate all the help, even though it isn't smoke related I figured I could get some help on this from some of the folks on the site.

*From what I thought I had read earlier even if it were 110v running into a 220v it would be fine because the 110 would only pull what it needed...?

 

[justpassingthru]

Fire it up, please don't!!!

That last photo tells it all, your compressor is manfactured for single phase 110 volts or single phase 220 volts. Single phase 220 volts is what the rest of the world uses, America uses two 110 volt lines to make 220 volts, or at least that was the way it was 20 years ago.

If you really want to try and do this yourself look inside of the switch box cover, there should be a schematic there telling you how to change the wires for 110v or 220v, that will tell you what the compressor is wired for. Like it has been already suggested you need to check the the outlet box that is marked 220 volts, if it is 220 v there will be 110 v in each spade hole to the ground, many years ago they ran the neutral wire and the ground wire connected, a practice that is illegal.

I highly recommend you contact someone that is qualified to handle this, I've been bit by 220 v here and because it's half the amperage of 110 it kinda tingles, 220 American can kill you, I agree with the other poster, this is a BBQ forum, we need to stick to that, you might try posting your question on a electrical forum just to find out what you have.

Gene

 

[DanMcG]

Ok lets keep this simple. This is only a suggestion not advice :)
You have a compressor that can be wired 110 or 220. open the box at the end of the cord and there should be a diagram for wire placement to make it 110 or 220. Swap the wires around so it's 110 and plug it into a 20amp 120v circuit at your fathers house. when you're finished with it change it back to 220 before you take it back to your uncle.
You also mentioned that your dad was an electrician so have him look at the wire connections that you change, just for peace of mind. But really if you study the schematic it's not a hard thing to do.

If I was a bettin man I'd bet your uncle bought the compressor and it came with the 110 cord and was wired as 110. but he had 220 in the shop so he switched the compressor to 220 and changed the outlet to match the cord so he didn't have to buy a new cord.

 

[bigsteve]

I'm not an electrician, I'm an electronics guy. Electronics school was a very long time ago. But.......

Motors are built to do work, and the power consumption is measured in watts. The more voltage you have, the less current (amps) you need to get the correct wattage (power consumption.) Current flowing is what causes heat. If you take a motor and feed it half the voltage it was designed for, then it will pull double the current to to try and do its job. That means double the heat, which will most likely burn out your motor. Have you ever heard of someones' refrigerator or freezer dieing during a brown out in your neighborhood? That's because the voltage fell from 120 to something like 90 volts, causing your refrige to fall on its sword trying to do it's job.

Modern electronics can sense the voltage and switch circuitry so that won't happen. From your photo, I doubt that unit has the circuitry built in.

By now, with all these answers, I'm sure you're thouroughly confused.......