This upgrade is not for everyone. If you don’t have an existing, unused 220V circuit, it probably isn’t for you. If you do, it will walk you through the steps to make the conversion from 110V to 220V.
I’ve got 6 3D printers and one inbound in the mail. I was running out of 110 volt circuits and pushing the limits of the existing ones. I had a NEMA 6-15P 220V plugin in the wall in my garage a few feet from my Maker Shop.
I searched the Internet for some answers and nothing seemed to provide a clear message. 220V is ubiquitous in the EU and Middle East. I had my share of using it while deployed to Kuwait and Iraq. I couldn’t find a simple how-to for the United States.
It seems reasonable that I could convert my 3D printers to 220V and run multiple printers on that circuit. Here is the walk through on how it did it.
Warning: I am not an electrician but I can explain what worked for me.
Background:
110V, 115V and 120V are used interchangeably.
220V, 230V and 240V are used interchangeably.
What you need:
A plug in the wall that looks like this.. A NEMA 6 20 Amp Plug
Or one that looks like this… A NEMA 6 15 Amp Plug
Parts list:
For a single plug and printer, here is all you need.
A NEMA 6-15P to C13 Adapter Cable – These were pretty heavy duty. Left picture is the C13 plug for a power supply, the right is the NEMA 6-15P which means NEMA 6 15 Amp Plug.
For multiple printers on the same NEMA 6-15 I used this HydroFarm 240V extension cord, 25 Feet. Depending on your situation, they have a 12 foot cord as well.
Once my items arrived. I powered off my Creality Ender 3 printers using the switch on the power supply
Unplugged the power supply
Switched them to 230V on the power supply
Swapped out the old cable for the new
Plugged em back in with the new extension cord to the 220V wall plug and to the printers.
And got back to printing using a 220V circuit I would not have used for anything else. And now you can too!
There is a ton of other useful stuff on Makersteve.com and more coming every week.
Be sure to check out my Ultimate Build Guide for Creality Ender 3
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Happy Printing,
Steve
How do you make the conversion?
Using a plug that is rated for 230V does not magically convert 120 to 230V. Some power supplies often work from 110 to 240V which is probably what’s happening there, unless you have a step up converter somewhere in your circuitry. Otherwise this doesn’t seem ok. It’s like changing the gas cap to one that says diesel and saying that your car now runs on diesel.
I did a lot of research prior to. There is no conversion.. 110v 115v and 120v are essentially the same thing. 220v 230v and 240v are the same as well. 50hz and 60hz are interchangeable as well with electronics. Typically, the higher voltage refers to an unconnected line, the lower voltage refers to a line in use. Power supplies are rated for a 20% variance.