220V outlet in garage....

[Kentguy13]

Ok... I am not completely ignorant on electricity, but I'm by no means an electrician either. I want to be able to plug this air compressor:

with this plug....

into this outlet:

Is it possible to use the current outlet? I can change the plug on the compressor if the current is compatible with the compressor. The outlet is around 230v with a 50A breaker. It is a dedicated circuit, the only thing I use it for is my welder, and the two will not be used simultaneously since this is the only outlet. Will it work, and besides changing the plug is there anything else I should be concerned with?

 

[Dustball]

You have a 115v 20 amp plug on that cord.

How many wires do you have going to that box inside?

 

[Kentguy13]

only 3 wires in the box, two hot coated and the copper ground. Works great for the welder. Not gonna work for the compressor?

Would the compressor work if I put a standard 110v cord on it?

I found some stats on the compressor:

Motor tag: 230v/13.1A
Compressor serial tag: 240v/15A

 

[jbberns]

****** to a new box and receptacle. Tap off of it with #10 wire

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

You would need to run another wire for the 120 circuit. The ground you have, a nuetral you don't have and one leg of the hot which you do have. It would be simple to add another box with two plugs on opposite phases. the neutral and ground would be shared and the two hot legs would go to your 120 plugs

 

[jbs]

That looks like a 6-50R receptacle to me (240V/50A) and the compressor plug looks like a 6-20P (240V/20A). The 6-20P looks very similar to a 5-20P (120V/20A), but the flat blades are on opposite sides. You could just make an adapter, using a 6-50P (like this), a short length of cord (12g is ok for 20A, but I'd use 10 just because (for example, one of the dropdown multi-conductor cables here)), and a 6-20R receptacle (like this) on the other end. If you wanted to be extra safe, you could add a 20A breaker or fuse inline.

You can't really install a 6-20R in the wall (hardwired off this circuit), because it would have to be protected by a 20A breaker (not the 50A that is presumably on there now). But I think the pigtail would be perfectly safe. Any one see why not?

 

[superdel]

Why is there a 120 plug on a 230 volt compressor? If the compressor is indeed 230 volts and the outlet on the wall is 230 volts, just go to your local electrical shop and get the correct plug to fit into the outlet. The previous poster has a good handle on the nomenclatures. I have a chart with all of that on, but it does none of us any good since it is at work.
If the compressor is 120 volts, then yes, make up the pigtail. You will still need the same plug to go into the outlet, and a female receptacle end to go to the compressor plug. Just grab one of the hot legs from the outlet and tie the neutral and ground together on the ground of the outlet. Don't wire anything to the other prong of the 230 volt plug.
Let me know which scenario you are dealing with and I can explain how to do it in a little more detail.

 

[jbs]

This is helpful

 

[IDASHO]

That compressor did NOT come with a 20AMP cord from the factory.

Ive got the same one (though upright).

While a 20AMP circuit is better, it will do just fine on a standard 15AMP cord and plug. Just make damn sure it is plugged in all the way. These compressors do draw a lot on startup, and if not plugged in all the way the contacts will get burned up.

 

[Kentguy13]

That looks like a 6-50R receptacle to me (240V/50A) and the compressor plug looks like a 6-20P (240V/20A). The 6-20P looks very similar to a 5-20P (120V/20A), but the flat blades are on opposite sides. You could just make an adapter, using a 6-50P (like this), a short length of cord (12g is ok for 20A, but I'd use 10 just because (for example, one of the dropdown multi-conductor cables here)), and a 6-20R receptacle (like this) on the other end. If you wanted to be extra safe, you could add a 20A breaker or fuse inline.

You can't really install a 6-20R in the wall (hardwired off this circuit), because it would have to be protected by a 20A breaker (not the 50A that is presumably on there now). But I think the pigtail would be perfectly safe. Any one see why not?

Thank you! It took me a few minutes of reading, and re-reading, to figure out what you were saying (but that is my ignorance on the topic). I get it now, thanks to the chart posted a few lines down from your post. I will either take your suggestion, or tap off the box with a 20A and invest in the breaker as well.

Thanks everyone for the input. I do love this site!