Circuit requirements

[WarnerConstCo.]

I feel that this thread may be in violation of Forum rules regarding safety. There is too much misinformation in it to be anywhere close to safe.

There are good reasons why there are 4 years of engineering school to be a EE or 4 years of apprenticeship to be an electrician.

Tom

Any simpleton can read the code book.

Any home owner can do his own wiring.  It would be no one's fault but his if he screwed something up.

Some of you guys really worry too much about anything and everything that could hurt you.
Your wive's make you wear helmets and knee pads when you leave the house?

 

[harry_]

I feel that this thread may be in violation of Forum rules regarding safety. There is too much misinformation in it to be anywhere close to safe.

There are good reasons why there are 4 years of engineering school to be a EE or 4 years of apprenticeship to be an electrician.

Tom

unless I am mistaken that 4 years has been bumped to 5 (10,000 hrs)

 

[tbellemare]

Maybe it is 5, now, Harry?

Any simpleton can read the code book.

Luckily, they can also buy fire insurance.

I hear you Warner... I was making a tongue-in-cheek point, while pointing out that most people aren't competent when it comes to wiring.

Tom

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Maybe it is 5, now, Harry?

Any simpleton can read the code book.

Luckily, they can also buy fire insurance.

I hear you Warner... I was making a tongue-in-cheek point, while pointing out that most people aren't competent when it comes to wiring.

Tom

The only difficult part for me is the load calcs but, that is why I have a good Sparky.

There is not much of a simpler task then wiring your garage or shop for power and lights and such.

I do agree if you have to ask what wire, recept, breaker and other questions you would be better using a phone to call a Sparky.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

EE is what I took in college.  Anyway, I know in New Jersey it's 5 years app. for commercial or residential license.

Tim, I believe you were thinking in the manner E=IR, but Rick is correct.  If you look at most residential wiring, it even states its rating is up to 600 vac.  It's about the amperage - has to do with the circular mils of the conductors and what they're made of.

If Roll Tide can get the router and vac to work off 220-240 vac, all the better.  Otherwise I'd go two 20amp circuits.

In the end, my advice echoes Warner's....call a licensed electrician in your area for help.

Ken

 

[tbellemare]

We're on the same page, Mr. Warner.

The thing that I think is the most abused in the wrong hands is wire nuts. Wire nut splices are really commonly loose connections because a lot of people use them wrong.

Tom

BTW: I stand on the top of ladders commonly. I work circuits hot. I sometimes cross the road without stopping to look both ways.

 

[Guy Ashley]

Bearing in mind how you guys live a wonderful litigenous society, I am amazed you even contemplate playing with sparks!

In the UK anything domestic needs to be signed off by a Part P qualified electrician, and try getting business insurance if your workshop wiring is not tested/approved/amended by the sparky as well.

Even tighter is Gas! Play around with a cooker or gas hob and you are not "GasSafe" registered then you get a ?30,000 fine.

Too many people in the past have thought, yeah I can do that, and then burnt down or blown up their own house, or even worse their clients!!!! [eek] [eek]

 

[nickao]

I know many, many electricians and they are great at wiring and know how to solve many, many issues.

Still they learn different material that I learned getting a BSEET.

An electrician knows way more on how to physically hook stuff up, conversely someone with an engineering degree probably knows way more theoretical and math than an electrician will know.

If you know codes you will also know many codes have nothing to do with safety at all, but to keep a common way  to do things so everyone does them the same. Just because it does not meet code does not mean it is not safe, it just means it is not the accepted way to do things. Still follow the codes and you will not have any heartache later.

Use your CT 33 with a router plugged into the CT and it will work, until you make a heavy cut and blow the fuse. If you think different you have simply not tried it. I put my router and CT's on different circuits for that reason long ago.

So though a 20 amp circuit is all that is required to run the vac with a router plugged into to it in reality it only works for turning the router on and only making very small cuts. Make a few deep cuts and forget it, the 20 amp fuse will pop, mine always did.

So the OP has a valid idea on trying to set something up to avoid this.

Doing electrical in your home is both safe and simple(and allowed by every county in IL)and is not rocket science like the unions and counties would leave you to believe. The funny thing is I have more experience and schooling then any inspector I ever met. An inspector is usually an underpaid county employee and most any licensed electrician should be trusted more than an inspector.

Actually, the inspectors do not even need college(at least when I was one) , all they do is read the same codes we as homeowners do. They pass simple tests any homeowner could as well if they studied the same packets the inspectors are given weeks before the exams.

Don't  be afraid of electricity just respect it and follow the codes.

 

[joraft]

I feel that this thread may be in violation of Forum rules regarding safety. There is too much misinformation in it to be anywhere close to safe.

Geez, Tom, if we start removing all misinformation from the Internet, there will be a WHOLE lot of forums that are going to get a WHOLE lot smaller.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

I feel that this thread may be in violation of Forum rules regarding safety. There is too much misinformation in it to be anywhere close to safe.

While misinformation is bad, sweeping it under the rug is even worse, because the people that believe in the misinformation will never know it is wrong until it is publicly discussed. Furthermore, misinformation is not limited to just weekend warriors making it up on their own. There are quite a few professionals in the field that don't fully understand what they do.

Treating electricity like it is a secret society that only a few can understand is what generally causes much of the misinformation in the first place.

 

[tbellemare]

I thought it was funny... I just don't use smilies.

Tom

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Good find Joe!

 

[Corwin]

Rolltide,
It looks like this automatic vacuum switch available at Lee Valley may do the trick.  There are two configurations - up to 15 amps and from 15-30 amps.  There are two leads that can be plugged into either one or two separate wall receptacles.  There are detailed instructions linked to the product description.  Good luck!

Joe

How is this going to work?  Even plugged into separate circuits, the product still has a 15 amp breaker on each circuit, so wouldn't the OF2200 cause the 15 amp breaker to activate?

 

[nickao]

I would not worry to much at all.

A couple years ago I thought three was a thread and we talked about it and no one really ever had the OF2200 pull its stated current of 18 amps.

Does the OF 2200 have a plug end for a 20 amp circuit? If not, as long as the OF2200 is alone on the circuit  no worries.

If you jam something in the router and stop the spindle from completely turning(causing the router to smoke and break) then it will pop the fuse. Other than that I highly doubt there will be many if any situations where the router draws more than 15 amps, let alone 18..

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Consider for a minute that the 2200 was designed for the solid surface industry and is specifically designed to be used with a CT vac.  Also considering most solid surface finish work is done on site, I believe Festool would not have designed the 2200 to not work with a CT on a single circuit.

I would still wire your garage with two 20A circuits with your lights spread between both circuits or have a separate circuit for them.  I do not believe you will blow a fuse with a well wired, dedicated 20A circuit using your 2200 and a CT.  I often use my CT with my DW735(rated at 15A) thickness planer taking thick cuts, and have never blown a breaker.  Considering that the 2200 is a soft start motor and the DW735 is not, and considering that I have used the 735 for over 20 minutes of continuous planing without any overload on the vac or blown circuit I am comfortable making these assumptions.

The only times I have had issues with overloading circuits have been in older homes or on circuits that are burdened with other loads.  Running 10ga wire on a 20A circuit might help, but unless your wire run is over 100 feet I would not bother.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Also thought I would mention we used the 2200 hooked up to a CT22 at the Festool Router workshop to make some really heavy cuts in maple with no problems.  I do not know the specifics of the workshop wiring but I can tell you the CT was a standard 120v model and the router was connected directly to it with no special devices installed.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Also thought I would mention we used the 2200 hooked up to a CT22 at the Festool Router workshop to make some really heavy cuts in maple with no problems.  I do not know the specifics of the workshop wiring but I can tell you the CT was a standard 120v model and the router was connected directly to it with no special devices installed.

I know the Festool training area has a number of 20 amp circuits running throughout to help prevent overloading.

I've had good luck running the 2200 with the CT even with other things on a 20 amp circuit.

 

[Wim]

While working in the house in Allentown, PA, I used the CT Mini and the TS 55 or the OF 1010 on different circuit breakers. I did not try it on a single 15 A outlet. Call me chicken.  [scared]
In my little corner in the basement, where my workshop will be installed, I added a 20 A circuit breaker in the fuse box and added some wiring into my corner in metal channels. I have now switched overhead lighting, 2 double 20 A oulets and 2 double 15 A outlets. As far as I could find out, it is installed according to code or even better.
Being the only user of the workshop, only one socket will be used at any time with the exception of maybe an extra lamp or a battery charger.