Thanks for the considerations y’all. To clarify, I have no neutral in this circuit and am not able to add it. I have two 120V, out of phase, and GND. It’s my understanding that this limitation prevents me from stepping down to 120 correctly as that requires a neutral line. I ‘reactivated’ this whip myself, the line was already run, the whip was just missing and outlet so I carefully tested a bunch of things and then installed a plug with the amp rating of the fuse. It runs the ac/heat and those devices are 240V required so converting one 120V to neutral is not ideal. I’d prefer to not lose the 240V.
Anyway, my question is not about stepping down to 120V, as I am pretty sure that is not an option. I am looking for specific recommendations on running from 240V mains. I notice that all DC power supplies generally accept up to 240V like most computer power supplies and there exist plenty of 12/24 volt peripheral devices but the spindle is my last hurdle. Anyone running a DC Spindle from 240V?
Roger that, if you can’t run a neutral then you’re going to need to handle 240. When you say DC spindle, do you mean something like this?
That one appears to have a 120/240 input selector switch on the side. Worst case you have one that only takes 120VAC… you could use a transformer to step down from 240 to 120, but they aren’t cheap, especially if you want a lot of current:
…still probably cheaper than just the materials if you installed a neutral line yourself. In my case I was lucky and added a 240+N for a dryer in my garage when I remodeled, along with gas, and got a gas dryer. So I just had to make a 10-4 SOOW cord and run from the dryer plug along the rafters so it drops down above my cnc (drop line has twist lock plugs). That still cost me ~$200 to do though (but I just wanted an N for my rig for ease of use).
Y’know… Neutral is generally bonded to ground at the breaker box… so technically you could have 120V for a 2 pole plug, like the one on most tools by taking one 220V live and ground.
Probably a bad idea, though Ivenever had a satisfactory explanation as to why it’s different to use ground there instead of it being bonded at the panel. I could see it if you have a GFCI circuit, but if not…
Again, not an.ectrician, but that temptation to cheat would be strong…
All the current on the hot wire returns on the neutral wire. The two reasons to have a separate ground are: 1) To give computers a more stable ground reference and 2) To connect to the case, so if a live wire comes loose, it will short to ground instead of shorting to a human. You wouldn’t want the neutral to be tied to the case.
Dan, Jeff is spot on… also fwiw in home wiring, often the ground lead is smaller than hot and neutral as allowed by building codes. So on top of defeating safety of double insulation, running power through ground can also result added fire hazard from an undersized conductor. I won’t even get in to how plumbing fixtures can become charged etc (since they are usually bonded to earth). The bottom line never use ground to intentionally carry current.
Well, my garage only had 120V, if/when Imget a 220 line there it will definitely be 4 conductor anyhow. Actually, what I’d like to do is put a pony panel in the farage for whatever circuits I may need.
Despite what I say with things like this, I’m not much of a risk taker.
Did you investigate alternatives when you researched that spindle? It’s out of stock and I contacted Vevor who said they don’t currently have intentions to order more (atleast in the next 3 months).