Question for an electrician or those with electrical knowledge

[fire it up]

I did some Googling and wasn't able to find an answer to my question so I was hoping someone here would be able to give me an answer.

For Fathers Day my Brother was going to buy my Dad a roofing nail gun.
He claims he doesn't want one and wants to do the roofing and nailing all by hand, but he is just being stubborn.
Now for the nail gun I am going to borrow an air compressor my Uncle has and use that with it. The compressor is 220v but my Uncle being the guy he is put his own end on the cord that would normally be associated with a 110v I assume, it looks like this...


My Dad just recently put in a new air conditioner and ran a 220v line that I would like to plug the compressor into, the only problem is that the plug is different. It looks something like this...


So my question is this.
Is there a simple solution like an adapter or something else that could be used to plug the 220v plug into the 220v outlet that is a different setup?
I know they sell converters for using appliances out of country and such but I was hoping there was something simple I could do so I could plug the compressor in?
He hasn't gotten the nail gun yet, I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a wasted gift first.

Here is a link to the nail gun...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93257

I hope my question and explanations were clear enough. If needed I can go snap a picture of the plug and of the outlet if anyone needs more clarification.
Thanks for any help.

 

[the iceman]

There, obviously, is a reason the plug configuration is different between 110v & 220v. Things can go bad very quickly if you plug a 110v component into a 220v circuit, i.e. fire, electrocution etc. For that reason there is no adapter made that I know of.

EDIT: What could be done, although I wouldn't recommend it, is to make up a "pigtail". A short length of cord with a 110v receptacle on one end & a 220v plug on the other.

The safest thing to do is to put the correct plug back on the compressor. If your Uncle is using the compressor on a 220v circuit with a 110v configured outlet, then that is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[fire it up]

He told me that everything in the wall is 220, all the wires ran are correct into the plug though I couldn't say for sure what he did inside the wall. Not really sure why he changed it.
My Dad is an electrician but my Uncle is a plumber, though he generally knows what he is doing so I don't question it.
The pigtail seems like a good idea. That just may be the answer to my problem. I'll read up on it, thanks.

 

[the dude abides]

I think I'd go buy him some heavy duty rubber boots or something that will keep him from being grounded. And maybe a fire extinguisher. LOL I don't know much about electricity. PM Smokebuzz, I'm pretty sure he's an electrician. But if your dad is one, then he ought to know, right?

Also, they make these sweet ones now (Paslode, I think) that take an air cartridge. No wires, no hoses. Probably big bucks though.

 

[fire it up]

Thanks Dude. I looked those ones up and yeah, they are a bit more expensive.
I might just end up asking my Dad, but I wanted to avoid that because it is a surprise. That and the fact that he will just claim he doesn't want one anyway, which he does but just doesn't know it. Just like with the roof, he won't hire anyone or let anyone hire anyone or anything like that. Stubborn.

 

[bigsteve]

I think your Uncle has Jerry rigged a 110 outlet to work as a 220 at his house. He then put a 110 pigtail on the compressor. Sounds like a bad idea to me trying to cobble together another pigtail to get everything back to a real 220 plug. I think your best bet at this point is to rent a compressor.

Please, I'm not trying to insult or take down your Uncle. If he were an electrician, there is no way he would have done this. I wouldn't want to start using 220 equipment that a home handyman has been doing things like this with.

 

[fire it up]

Didn't even think of doing that. Thanks, I'll make a few calls in the morning and see about renting one.

 

[the dude abides]

And then NOT using that outlet. Unless dad takes a look at it first. Is this at your dad's house or your uncle's?

 

[bigsteve]

Looks like dad has the correct outlet.

 

[the dude abides]

My bad. I read it as the wall outlet was changed to an Edison 110 style with 220 current. But now I see he rigged the 220 compressor to plug into a 110 outlet.

 

[fire it up]

It's not in any houses. In my Uncles shop.
Not like a business shop or anything but where he stores plumbing supplies, the pit to drive vehicles over, this, that. Big old concrete building my Grandfather built years and years ago.

Also the outlet isn't 110, it has 220 wiring run to it. he just has a 110v cover/faceplate whatever you would call it, so he can plug the compressor into it. Everything is 220v he just rigged it so it looks like it is 110v, I haven't a clue why he did it that way but I'm sure there was a reason, well I assume there was a reason but who knows.

 

[mballi3011]

First off I'm not an electrician but I do know that a house is wired 110 (first pic) not 220. It looks to me that the compressor is wired 220 you would have to check where the dryer or stove or even that new a/c to fine a 220 outlet in the house. you can go to home depot and get basic 220 plugs head to match the one in the wall. They make one that gives you a multiple configerations of plug types. So let me know or if you have any other questions maybe I can help.

 

[fire it up]

Just went and took some pics of things, don't know if that will help any or not.

compressor


Plugged in


Plug and where the cord comes off the unit


and finally unplugged


I was just hoping there was something I could do that would be simple short of replacing the cord.

 

[bbq engineer]

Hey Fire...

In order to get a better feel for what is at the wall, I would need to get a meter on the plug in the wall. If you have a meter, measure from leg to leg with the meter set to AC. If it is 220 V, then check the breaker associated with the plug. It should be a double sized breaker for 220 V, and also tell you the amperage. The plug you depicted is a 15 Amp style, NEMA 6-15R or 30 Amp 6-30R. If the breaker is say a thirty amp breaker, you can make an adapter with a hunk of 220 wire and some plugs from Home depot as long as you stay with the breaker rating or less, with the caveat that you cannot pull more amperage than the breaker or wire size will permit. For instance, you can run a 20 amp device on a 30 amp circuit, because you are not pulling more current than the breaker / wire can handle. Here is a list of connectors, and you can see that they are specific to amperage.

http://www.nooutage.com/nema_configurations.htm

If none of this makes sense to you, or if you are over your head, please contact a professional for assistance.

 

[fire it up]

Thanks for the help BBQ Engineer, and everyone else.
Yeah, once I checked the link you sent me I just shook my head...no idea what half of that meant.
I followed more in the lines of my Uncle and learned plumbing so when it comes to running pipes or installing new fixtures I'm all over that but when you get out of the range of basic electrical work like hooking up a water heater it all becomes Greek to me.
I messaged mballi and he helped me figure out what I'm going to do.
Gonna just pick up the right plug, take the old one off and put the new one on for the roofing duration. Should work out just fine.
Thanks again for the replies and help everyone.

 

[the iceman]

That's the smart thing to do.

Then all you have to do is convince your Uncle to replace the wall outlet too.

 

[linescum]

check the tag on the compresser motor and see the rating i can't see that puny little compressor being 220 vac

 

[bigsteve]

I was wondering about that too.

 

[the dude abides]

That is a 110 Edison, male connector on the compressor cord. I have a compressor about the same size and it's 110. I can't believe, but I could be wrong (my lawyer made me say that) that a compressor that size is wired for 220. I'd do what linescum said and look at the tag on the compressor.

Should be right under your hand in this pict

 

[smokebuzz]

I usually avoid these post, but you REALLY need to have a licensed electrician come and help you out, it is VERY foolish to try to fix this by asking on a web site of any sort, sorry but that's how i feel about most electrical posts on this site. And yes, I am a licensed Class A master Electrician in the state of of Iowa.