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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » 220V ovens (powder coating)

April 2, 2010 6:41 a.m. CarKid1989 HalfDork

I have NO 220V outlets at my house. I think there might be one for the dryer but im pretty sure its hard wired. Getting a 220V outlet is not an option at the moment.

I have stuff i would like to powdercoat that doe not fit in my toaster over (which other wise works really well btw), so i wanna get an oven. The problem is they are all 220V.

Can i run a 220 on a 110V outlet, plugs are different i know but if i change em? haha i dunno. Any was around using a 220V outlet?

I have leads of cheap/free ovens but all are 220. How do i get around this problem cheaply?
April 2, 2010 6:45 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

220V extension cord.
April 2, 2010 6:48 a.m. Tetzuoe Reader

grab a 220v clunker, the two heating coils may be wired separately (110 each) I bought an adjustable industrial panel mount oven controller off of e-bay.. was like 50 bucks but it has PID control so I can tune it to mess with the temperature. The output from that goes to a salvaged TRIAC (basically a solid state switch that turns on AC with a 5v trigger) and just ran the two coils off of 110v, works fine

that said all my fancy equipment got thrown out, If i did it again id probably do some funky microcontroller so I could just hit GO and it would take care of everything for me.
April 2, 2010 7:12 a.m. snipes Reader

I have seen it done with a propane heater. It was a long I-beam and they heated a few feet at a time it worked great.
April 2, 2010 8:19 a.m. Tetzuoe Reader

Theres also a forum, caswell or something like that.. Thats my go to place for info about powder coating/anodizing/any crazy coatings I want to do, very useful site.
April 2, 2010 2:47 p.m. SVreX SuperDork

Are there any 220V breakers in your panel? Those are the big double ones.

Well? A/C unit? Dryer? Anything?

If so, it is possible to tap off one of these circuits directly from the breaker panel, but you won't be able to run both pieces of equipment at the same time.

Don't do this alone, Kid. Ask for help from someone who knows what they are doing.

Other option would be to find an old gas stove and run it on LP (after properly converting it from natural gas) from a barbecue grill tank.

Other option would be to use and old barbecue grill, but you won't have as good temperature control.
April 2, 2010 3:21 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

Yeah, I gotta feeling that if coming up with 220V is outside your skill set, rewiring the oven and/or building a controller for it is going to be also. I think you'd be best off getting a skilled friend to look at your existing drier, maybe putting a plug in if there isn't one, and fixing you up with an extension cord made out of some 220V ROMEX and plugs.
April 2, 2010 4:13 p.m. CarKid1989 HalfDork

well i did some browsing. this kinda looks sketchy but is this a solution to my problem?

converter
April 2, 2010 4:14 p.m. CarKid1989 HalfDork

i dunno.
April 2, 2010 4:47 p.m. turboswede SuperDork

You could get a bunch of halogen work lights.... do some infrared curing.

This guy built his own oven:

http://hackaday.com/?s=Powder+Coating
April 2, 2010 8:11 p.m. Ian_F New Reader

CarKid1989 wrote:

well i did some browsing. this kinda looks sketchy but is this a solution to my problem?

converter

No. That is 100 watt converter. The typical oven is a lot more. Plus, it's not really the same voltage. In the US, 220V is phase-to-phase. In Europe, 220V is phase-to-neutral.
April 6, 2010 7:32 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

I agree with Hess. If you can't run a 220 line, don't even consider rewiring an oven.
April 6, 2010 12:47 p.m. kcmoken New Reader

I would look at your electrical panel, is it full. Or is there space for a double-breaker? My oven wants more amperage than my dryer is wired for (or my A/C), so just having access to a 220V dryer outlet wouldn't necessarily solve your problem.

Thankfully when I built my house I had sparky run heavy enough 220V to the garage that I don't have to worry about it. Sparky asked why, I told him I needed options. Welder, lift, big air compressor, oven, who knows?
April 6, 2010 12:57 p.m. Tetzuoe Reader

here is the proverbial fire hose of info from which to take a sip: http://forum.caswellplating.com/oven-building-forum/
April 6, 2010 6:30 p.m. akamcfly Reader

oven breakers, receptacles and wiring is much heavier than dryer stuff - even though the voltage is the same
April 6, 2010 7:37 p.m. Marty! HalfDork

akamcfly wrote:

oven breakers, receptacles and wiring is much heavier than dryer stuff - even though the voltage is the same

I too want turn turn the old oven I swapped out last week into a PC oven in my garage. My garage is wired for 220v already and IIRC my garage fuse box has 2 30 amp fuses on that circuit. Will this be robust enough for a oven?
April 7, 2010 5:15 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

No. NEC code does not specify heavier wiring, receptacles or breakers for ovens compared to driers. It is all based on load of the appliance.
April 7, 2010 5:59 a.m. CarKid1989 HalfDork

i have a company coming friday for an estimate to run a 220V outlet in the garage. Actually its the same company that wired the house originally when my parents built the house 20 somthing years ago.

I thought that was kinda cool
April 7, 2010 1:34 p.m. Ian F Dork

foxtrapper wrote:

No. NEC code does not specify heavier wiring, receptacles or breakers for ovens compared to driers. It is all based on load of the appliance.

Range feeders (branch breaker and wiring) are sized for the 100% operation of the range (oven and all burners going at once). In theory, if you are wiring a household range purely for PC use and disconnect/remove the range elements, then the actual load of the appliance would be considerably less.

That said, if you are having an EC run a 220V line to the garage, have them run as much power out there as you can and install a small sub-panel. This will give you more options for future needs. The material costs aren't much more, it's the labor that's $$$.

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