It's proving arduous to finish this kitchen.
One of our obstacles was converting 220volt lines to 110volt for our appliances.
I asked the people that would have the answer, but with no one to see it in person, they were speaking about wires, which I understand, and then Breakers, which I do not.
Luckily, Father-in-Law was here to help again. He looked at everything and explained to me how it works. But more important than that, now I can explain to amateurs, like myself, how it's done.
I had no idea, so what I explain here is what I've learned - Not something I already knew. My problem was that googling this issue gave me very few solutions that I felt I could accomplish alone. Working with electricity is not fun. So here it goes, for all of you Googlers out there trying to figure this out...
How to convert 220 to 110
For use in the kitchen , the old appliances required 220. But this was useless to us. All of our appliances are 110 Volts. Go to the breaker box. Usually (maybe always) a 220 breaker will be a double switch. At the connection for the appliance there are 3 main wires: 1 Black (hot), 1 Red (hot), and 1 White (neutral). The Black and the Red wires each provide 110-120 Volts, totaling roughly 220 Volts.
The first step is to simply not use one of the hot wires. You immediately cut the Voltage in half, making it 110 Volts. But there are 2 problems.
1. The wires are usually thicker that standard 12/3 110 volt wiring. So connecting it to an outlet box is nearly impossible.
2. The Breaker at the box is rated at 30 Amps. If there is an electrical problem with the device and it doesn't "Amp" up to 30, it will not throw the breaker.
You could have a fire or serious damage to your equipment.
You could change the breaker to 15 amps, which is standard for a 110 Volt outlet, or, you can put some type of breaker at the location of the outlet so that when things go wrong, the breaker throws at the device and doesn't require the breaker box.
Our solution was simple, and I'll give it up to Father-in-Law, because he came up with it - and the solution is cheap.
First, you have to get some 12/3 wiring to splice with the 8 gauge 220 volt wiring. It's about 1.50 per foot. You need a 4x4 inch junction box and a standard 110-120 outlet junction box. You need Wire nuts that will cover a combination of 220 wiring and 110. And lastly, you need a GFI outlet box so that when the amperage exceeds 15-20 amps, it will throw and ultimately shot off. Just like the breaker at the breaker box. You can then reset at the outlet. How easy is that?
Here is the photo for my wiring. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done and no one will ever see it:
I capped off the Red wire, which provides 110 volts. Not anymore. This sucker is defunct. I capped it with a good, solid outdoor insulated nut. I covered the 4x4 junction, and I'm good to go.(Make sure to get a good ground connection to the junction with the bare copper ground)
I tested this with the shop vac to clean up. Worked like a charm.
I hope this helps. It was easy for me and I'm not electrician.
I am not electrician.
I tested this with the shop vac to clean up. Worked like a charm.
I hope this helps. It was easy for me and I'm not electrician.
I am not electrician.
