# 220 Volt Delta tablesaw wiring/rewiring



## ladiesman217 (Aug 7, 2009)

I just bought my first "real" tablesaw, a 1986 Delta contractor saw with biesemeyer fence (50" rails), cast iron extension wings, extension table and outfeed table with assorted blades and other items. The owner sold it to me for a great price when he found out I recently graduated and I am a passionate woodworker. In my excitement, 
I neglected to consider the wiring in my "shop", a detached garage about 60 feet from my house. It turns out the saw is running 220 at the moment. All I have in my shop is a 110 circuit that breaks when I use my router with a shopvac dust collector too often. I know that it's possible to rewire the motor to 110 but I was hoping to speak to someone that has done this before as the information I have found online as frequently been contradictory in places. Thanks in advance everybody!


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## Pete_Jud (Feb 15, 2008)

Just my 2 cents, It is time to get your shop wired for 220. If you are tripping the breaker now, you run the risk of burning out the motor on the new saw. And it will not preform well with the voltage drop that you will see under load. I do my own wiring and it has always pass inspection, and in many states you are allowed to do it youself, or talk to an wire jockey and see if you can get him to knock the price down if you dig your own trench. With the home building slowdown, you might be able to get a deal. Good Luck


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## tenontim (Feb 24, 2008)

Your saw should have a wiring diagram on the motor, that will show you which wires to switch, in the motor, to change it back to 110v.


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

You might want to seriously consider running a 240 line out to the shop and install a subpanel. I have the same situation and did the work myself, as I recall I spent about $500 altogether.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Second the above^. I bought a vintage tablesaw like yours that was wired for 110V. My wiring diagram was underneath the cap near the circuit reset. I rewired it for 110V until I could get the electricians out. It was a drag. There was insufficient power to make the gentlest of cut. I had the shop rewired with a dedicated 220V for my saw. Now, I absolutely love it. It will power through anything in sight.

You bought yourself a *very *nice saw & you'll never get to thoroughly enjoy it until you get 220V out there. Sorry, but that's the truth from someone who's done it. Good luck!


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## MedicKen (Dec 2, 2008)

It is possible to rewire the saw for 110V. However, you have to remember that the amp draw will double when doing so. If the saw is drawing 15-18 amps at 220V you will be looking at approx 30 amps at 110V. You say that your router trips the breaker now so, running a unisaw will be next to impossible. You can run a heavy extenion cord to the saw, I would recommend at least #10 based on the length of run. You can make an extension cord to run the saw and plug it into a dryer outlet if close enough. Ultimately you are going to need 220V, maybe now is the time to get 'er done.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

As everyone is saying, 240v is the price of admission. Fudge on this and any money that you saved on the price of your TS will go up in smoke (possibly for real). Like Pete, I wired my own detached garage with both 120 and 240v service. My advice is DO NOT skimp on wire size, either IN the garage or TO the garage from the house.

FWIW I used 80ft of #00 AWG, the largest my garage panel would take. I only called in a currently licensed electrician AFTER I had run all the wiring for lights, 120v, and 240v outlets and had all those hooked up to the garage's service panel. The electrician then made the final hook-up between the house service panel and the garage service panel (after he had me pull the #00 overhead and through the rigid standpipe.

I have NEVER looked back… This is the best thing I have ever done for the garage (other than build it myself). And besides, it will add value to your house if/when you ever decide to move (keep receipts for future reference).


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

^couldn't have said it better than HorizontalMike^. Once we got into trenching my yard for the upgrade, I gave the go-ahead to go all out & ran two 60-amp feeds out there. I could probably charge an electric car out there now, but I'll stick to my 10mpg truck. It only hurts once & you'll feel safer having it done properly, plus your new saw will roar in appreciation. If you ever resell your home, you can brag about the capability to the prospective buyer. It's worth it.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I have owned the contractor saw for 10 years and have had no problems with it on 120v (I say 120 instead of 110, same for 240 vs 220, because I have a lineman friend that slaps me whenever I use the lower numbers…put a voltage meter on it and you will probably see he is correct). I never upgraded to 240v because it needed some new parts to do it (can't remember whether it was the switch or the cord between the motor and the switch or maybe both).

However, sounds like an upgrade is needed anyway if he is tripping the breaker with a router (probably meant for lighting and only 15a running 14ga wire and experiencing some severe line-loss on a 60' run). As long as he's at it, may as well run 3 wire+ground as opposed to 2 wire+ground. Either are going to be pricey especially since they will need to be meant for ground contact. Once into the building he will have 240v which he can use as is or split into 120v circuits via choice of the breaker.

So his big question is how much does he need so he can determine wire size and the breaker on the house side? I operated my old shop on a simple 6 slot sub-panel fed on a 50a breaker using #8 copper (2 120v circuits and one 240v that took 2 slots, leaving 2 spares). Because there are very few times (if any) where more than one machine is being used at the same time, never a problem for me.

My new shop runs from the house on a 100a breaker via aluminum wire (much cheaper than copper at today's prices) to a SquareD 24 slot subpanel (Homeline that I caught on sale for about $35 plus breakers at maybe $5-8 each). I am using 6 of those slots! Again, there are very few times (if any) where more than one machine is being used at the same time.

So ask an electrician about proper sizing taking into account your intended uses. Or tell me where you live and I'll come pick up the saw if within reasonable driving distance!


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I generally run a large tool, large dust collector, & electric heat simultaneously. I would trip breakers at the saw spun up to speed. Putting the saw on 220V (240V) & the rest on 110V (120V) remedied this. I'm no electrician, but my saw appeared underpowered at 110V (120V) and wonderful at 220V (240V). I suppose individual saws may differ.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

bertha…the electric heat is probably the culprit. VERY high draw on anything that generates heat (toasters, hair dryers, etc.) Absent that, I seriously doubt you would have an issue running a tool and DC on 2 separate 120v 20amp circuits.

I wired my new shop for 240v and I'll take another look at converting the TS (it needs some new parts to accomplish). I put it off because I haven't had a problem with 110v on mine (although I did convert my old RAS and saw a noticable difference). Maybe it's like hi-speed internet…if you never used it, you didn't know what you were missing. And once you use it, you can't go back!


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## wilterbeast (Feb 23, 2011)

You would be far better off to go ahead and run a service out to you garage. Digging the ditch will suck but its well worth it. You can do the work yourself, its not rocket science. I dont know how new jersey is but here in ohio homeowners can pull permits themselves if their going to do the work themselves. You can go to the library and get some books on how to do it. Its really not that bad, I've been and electrician for 20 yrs and my girlfriend says im a [email protected]##! Plus learning to do it yourself is only going to teach you more which will save you more in the future.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Teejk, I can only speak for my saw & the guy I bought it from even mentioned "don't try to run dis dare thing on one-ten (in West Virginia drawl)". Once I got the 100A subpanel, I put the lights on one 15A, the dustcollector on a 20A & the heater on a 20A. The saw & jointer get their own 220's. You're right, if I turn off that heater, I can run a time machine with no problem! I got an estimate for running gas out there & hearing the estimate, said "Whoa, gulp, tha'll have to wait a bit". Mine was an easy fix; just move a couple jumpers, upgrade the powercord, & I was in business. It might be worth trying yours out at 220; it made a world of difference with mine. Good luck!


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Hey Wilterbeast, after getting my electrician's bill, "dumb" wasn't the first thing that came to mind


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## wilterbeast (Feb 23, 2011)

See bertha all the more reason he should try it himself! Lol the biggest reason people are afraid of electricity is because they cant see it. It not like you can see that 240v heading right for you. I would say if you got alittle knowledge behind you, keep track of all you wires and make sure all you connections are tight you would be suprised at how well you do. Another very good option is to do like horizontalmike did and wire everything up and have an electrician come in and do the final hook up.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

everybody

please call digger's hotline before you dig anything. It will cost you a day or two or three while you wait but the service itself is free. Metal digger in any line (electric/phone/cable etc.) will cost you in more ways than I can post but it ranges from dead to somewhere less than that.

with that out of the way, I think I would still consult an electrician (and no I am not one of those). codes are getting goofy and they are getting enforced. Wire size will depend on the shop subpanel size and length of run. Figure that out and you will know the breaker size in the house (will take 2 slots). There are a lot of small pieces involved (LB's, sweeps, bushings, conduit etc.) to get out of the house and into the shop but they are pretty cheap and available at the big box stores. It's a pretty easy process. Come into a new sub-panel in the shop and then wire away! I used surface mounted 3/4" metal but I'll save that for now (a very simple process there as well).


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

wilter

you are 100% correct on the fear factor. I think the worst part is at the house end and trying to work in a new breaker amongst the 30 that are already there! One can simply kill the main and use a flashlight to make the connections (making sure the ground and neutral aren't touching that hot bar). Otherwise call an electrician for a 2 minute job (and pay the 2 hour trip charge!).

Once connected properly in the main, the breaker to the shop will kill the power on the shop end and one can wire until the cows come home.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

To make Teejk's point even further, My main loadcenter is located within my LOG home. You'd think that would make it easier, visible wires and all. But the original electricians ran everything through a large diameter pipe hammered down into the body of the log, leaving very little access below the panel. Plus, the original line out to the shop had half a dozen shart 90-degree elbows. Why? who will ever know. I'm reasonable slick with electricity & even left my expensive Fluke in plain sight (hoping the electricians wouldn't try to take advantage of a "smart" client (LOL)). It was expensive, but I'm sure glad I did it.


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## ladiesman217 (Aug 7, 2009)

@ Everyone: Thank you all for your advice; I never expected so many to comment with such helpful advice. After reading all the responses, I have decided to upgrade the wiring over the summer because the following miracle occurred today: As I'm dismantling the saw in the garage of the seller to fit in my van, an older gentleman saunters over and starts talking to me about the saw. He originally bought it over 20 years ago, added cast wings to the Delta 34-444, added the Biesemeyer and extension tables, and upgraded the motor from the stock 15 amp, 1.5 HP (110 volts) Delta to a 12 amp, 2 HP (@220) Baldor. My dilemma earlier was the lack of a 220 in my garage to run the Baldor so I told the guy and he says, "come with me young man." So I walk into his basement shop, full of amazing Chippendale and Queen Anne examples, and he pulls out the original, unused motor. I now have a motor that I can use until I upgrade the power. Best. Day. Ever.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I missed the part about the 2HP Baldor. That thing will sing once you get power out there!


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

ladiesman

What are the odds of that guy showing up on that day, at that location and at that time? I would have loaded the saw and immediately found the first lottery ticket seller.

you are probably going to have some issues even at 120v. but a good extension cord from a 20a outlet in the house is now an option. 12ga might be marginal, 10ga should be ok although in the 100' range will cost a little (I bought one last year for about $125) and might need wheels to move it around.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

ladiesman217,
It still sounds like you are underpowered in your garage. If a shopvac and router kill your power on a regular basis, the TS will be no different at 15amp 120v. That sounds like that IS the MAXIMUM current power supply/service to the garage. Be aware that the voltage drop that is occurring on this service will eat into the remaining life of the 120v motor and in extreme cases could lead to over-heating of the circuit and become a fire hazard. All said and done…

This is your *official kick in the butt* to NOT forget/postpone the 240v/100amp service upgrade this summer!

Keep us posted.


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## NewfieDan (Feb 24, 2011)

Re-wiring ths garage is the best way to go. But if you can't afford it then the best solution for right now is to re-wire your saw. The re-wiring diagram is either inside the motor terminal cover or on the metal nameplate attached to the side of the motor. There could be as many as a couple of wires inside the terminal or as many as nine. Each wire inside the terminal should identified, usually by a number. The wiring diagram will tell you which wires go together to change from 240V to 120V.The wiring diagram should be able to help. If not, post a few detailed pics of the inside and some here may be able to help. Changing from 240V to 120V will NOT harm the motor. It is designed to run on either voltage, with the right motor connections.

As per some of the comments posted here…#00 is way overkill for a garage. Unless you are planning on opening a serious woodworking business that size wire is way too big to be practical. There is a reason why the electrician had the shop owner pull the wire. Being a qualified electrician I've done this…it's not a fun part of the job. A 60amp 240V service is plenty for a shop. The wire size is only a #6 gauge, much smaller than #00 (2ought). Beside I'm not sure that #00 will fit a 60amp breaker. Both shops I've had used 60amp services. My last one had 60gallon compressor, welder, TS, router, electric heat…you name it. NEVER had an issue with power. Even had Xmas lights on. My shop here also has an additional garage for cars, running off the 60amp service. No problems. Parallel feeds to a garage are also overkill. Unelss they are done correctly with exact matching cable lengths they are a waste of money. With uneven cable lengths the current will travel only along the shortest cable. In an overload condition, this will cause the cable to overheat and short out, or worse cause a fire.

As per other posts, you can do 90% of the work yourself. Just get a qualified sparky to do your final inspections and connections. Many jurisdictions have allowances for homeowners to do their own work (called a homeowners permit). The inspectors then come in and approve or request certain improvements. The biggest thing in most areas that get overlooked are the grounding connections. These are what keeps us safe when electricity goes wrong.

My suggestion would be to dig a trench, put in PVC conduit (probably 1-1/2") run your cable (should be 3 conductor #6 gauge) through that. Also add a second smaller conduit for TV, Telephone, etc) trust me on this.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

As Newfie says, you can probably get by with a 60amp feed, however the minimal additional cost of putting in twisted #00 (2/0) Aluminum (~$2.50/ft) really won't break the bank and then you will NEVER have to worry about all the nightmares Newfie describes with parallel feeds and uneven cable lengths if/when you need MORE power.

You really only want to do this ONCE (rewire the garage/shop), so a bit of overkill is MUCH better than *ANY underestimate*, IMO (a former licensed sparky +35yr ago, before college). I chose #00 because it was the largest wire for the 125amp service panel I put in the garage/shop. IMO, it is like buying cheap tools in that you will end up replacing them and in the case of rewiring a garage I would HATE to go through it TWICE because I underestimated future needs (of either yourself OR of any future owners). My 2-cents…


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

horizontal

you are right…the 125amp Homeline panel cost me $35 on sale (a main-lug load center as opposed to main breaker panel since the "main breaker" is in the house at the panel). In Wisconsin I think that is now code for sub-panels and if I'm right it will be everywhere soon since it is all part of NEC. And I didn't have to buy all the breakers to fill it so 1 15a for lights, 2 20a for 120v runs (2 so far) and 2 double poles for 240v runs (2 so far) might have come to $30.

He will need a 4 wire run from the house I think (2 hots, neutral and ground). "single point grounding" is the buzz word of the day so the neutral/grounds cannot be a single wire like the old days nor can they be tied together at the subpanel (even though they end up that way at the house panel…made sense to somebody I guess as insurance in case anything happened to either the neutral or ground).


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

FWIW, I used 3-wire run to my sub-load center/panel in the garage/shop. I have a grounding rod sunk into the slab in the garage/shop and the shop neutral bar ties to the grounding wire coming from the main service panel. The shop panel's grounding bar ties only to the local grounding rod in the shop, below the panel.

Neutral and ground are tied together ONLY at the 200amp MAIN service panel at the house and are NOT tied together/bonded in the sub-load center/panel located in the shop.

If ladiesman217 has a main panel that the neutral bonds to the ground, it is possible he may get away with a 3-wire run to his new sub-load center/panel. He needs to check his local code requirements regarding this before deciding whether to run a 3 or 4 wire feed.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

60A was insufficient for my small shop. I went 100 Amp with #00 & have no problems now. I told the electrician that I'd likely put a static 3ph converter out there at some point. I've also got a transfer switch from my stand-by. Perhaps that's why they went with #00. Who knows.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

horizontal

I am not a "sparky" but I recently built a house and detached shop building so much of this is what I was able to figure out. I'm sure some people will enter the discussion and tell me that I am an idiot but I have thick skin.

I think newest NEC requires 4 wire in outbuildings (and for any 240v appliance inside the house for that matter) and you cannot "bond" the neutral and ground in the subpanel (that little green screw that comes with the panel). Nor can you run a separate ground rod unless it ties to the house ground ("single point grounding").

every state is free to adopt new codes when they get around to it. Wisconsin stays fairly current. Other states might be one or two versions behind (e.g. 3 wire where the ground and neutral were shared and bonded at the subpanel).

all that said, difference in price if running 4 wire aluminum vs. 3 wire over a 60' run is probably not much.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Yeah the newest NEC came about in 2008. I built my garage/shop and wired it in 2002, under the older guidelines.

Plus-I have NO interconnected conductive pipes or pathways to the main house/building so my overhead 3-wire hook up is fine, AFAIK.


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