Pizzawheel

Yes- you'll connect one live to the UK live, and the other live to the UK neutral, giving the 240v differential. Earth is to earth obviously.

Although Rivington has this working I'm uneasy about putting a significant voltage (120v) on a system (the neutral) that's not intended to carry a voltage, though I can't put my finger on any specific issue.

MikeUK

You know what...

if your not sure don't do it!!

Electricity iis F**ing dangerous

Its dead easy ...if... you know.....

but if you don't... a serious mistake in the making

ExpatCanadian

Yeah, no worries. Got it sussed now.... thanks to everyone for their help!

rivingtonpike

OK - I hope this will work. I've taken the back off the plug bit of my home-made extension thingy. I wasn't sure which wire went where in the plug so I actually called my neighbour over (he's a just retired electronics expert at the Canadian naval base in Victoria). He knew exactly what I was trying to achieve and he tested the socket and wired the plug for me. He stuck the probe of some enormous oscilloscope looking thing into the socket holes in the wall (I assume it was an appropriate scaled volt meter of some sort) and told me all was fine and it was 220v ac. I have never seen behind the socket plate on the wall. However, he said it had been installed by the guy who built the house originally and he'd actually offered advice and assurance at the time.

I figure it's set in a concrete wall and is in a concrete floored garage, powering tools that, by definition, I'm there using. It has worked without fault for years now. I hope this gives a bit more insight for anyone interested.

Pizzawheel

I'm curious that you seem to be missing a pin. A typical dryer or stove connection has a neutral too because the controls (the lights, programme selector etc) requires 120v and for that you need a neutral.

This is the outlet I'm thinking of:

Leviton | 30 Amp Dryer Receptacle | Home Depot Canada

rivingtonpike

Hmmmm - I see what you mean. Don't know what to tell you. There are definitely only 3 pins - like a really heavy duty oversized plug. The only comment I can make is that this has nothing to do with our laundry or kitchen. This is a one-off socket in the garage wall that bangs out 220v. I just took a picture of the socket to the local electrical store and they gave me the heavy duty plug to fit it.

Steve_

Yeah you can, I knew a French guy (he used be an electrician) who did it when I lived in the US. The split phase input is actually 240V when wired across in Canada so it is possible to run an outlet off it. Not an electrician but I've seen it done so I know it's possible. The outlets are 120V usually. 110 and 220 went out the window a very long time ago but people still call them that.

Simon Legree

I have a dedicated 220 volt circuit in my house in NS which powers a linear amplifier in my ham radio station. It's likely more difficult to retrofit because of routing the wiring but it can be done.

JonboyE

Again, I'll start with the caveat that I am not an electrician so this may be rubbish, but ...

You can get 3 prong (to talk Canadian) or 4 prong 220V plugs and receptacles. I understand the difference is the amperage they can handle. A three prong plug should be fine for power tools in the garage. More heavy duty appliances will need a 4 prong.

I know that in a shop I used to work at we purchased some industrial style space heaters and we had to get a new circuit with 4 prong receptacles for these, despite there being a 220V supply to the rest of the equipment.

rivingtonpike

Actually, now you mention it that's a good point. In the factory, the ice cream machinery has just as big, but 4 pronged bayonette-like plugs which you have to twist lock into place. I think the ampage (!?!) for these machines is at least 50amps (may be totally wrong). I know they have cables housed inside aluminium/stainless steel "tubes". They were installed specifically for each machine.

ExpatCanadian

Actually, finally something I can answer for myself! It's simply a matter of old standards vs new standards! The 3 pronger is called a NEMA 10 type... the 4 prong is the newer NEMA 14 type. Basically anything since 1996 should have been built with the newer style... but anything existing will likely still be the old style unless significant electrical upgrades have been done to the home. Here is a description copied from elsewhere:

"NEMA 10 devices are a curious throwback to an earlier time. They are classified as 125/250 V non-grounding (hot-hot-neutral), yet they are usually used in a manner that effectively grounds the appliance, though not in a manner consistent with most modern practice.

As commonly used, 10–30 and 10–50 plugs have the frame of the appliance grounded through the neutral blade. This was a legal grounding method under the National Electrical Code for electric ranges and electric clothes dryers from the 1947 to the 1996 edition. Since North American dryers and ranges have certain parts (timers, lights, fans, etc.) that run on 120 V, this means that the wire used for grounding is also carrying current. Although this is contrary to modern grounding practice, such installations remain common in the United States and are relatively safe, because the larger conductors used are less likely to be broken than the smaller conductors used in ordinary appliance cords, and the current carried on the neutral conductor is small."

"The NEMA 14 devices are four-wire grounding devices (hot-hot-neutral-ground) available in ratings from 15 A to 60 A. Of the straight-blade NEMA 14 devices, only the 14–30 and 14–50 are common. The 14–30 is used for electric clothes dryers and the 14–50 for electric cooking ranges. The voltage rating is 250 V. They are essentially the replacements for the NEMA 10 connectors above with the addition of a separate grounding connection.

All NEMA 14 devices offer two hots, a neutral and a ground, allowing for both 120 V and 240 V (or 120 V and 208 V if the supply system is three-phase rather than split-phase). The 14–30 has a rating of 30 A and an L-shaped neutral blade. The 14–50 has a rating of 50 A and a straight neutral blade sized so that it does not fit in the slot of a 14–30."

Pizzawheel

You have it here; it's not directly related to amperage. In practise you can use the ground to derive a 0v ground and get 120v, but code doesn't allow you to use a ground in this way you must have a neutral.

If you're using your 240v split phase as a 240v UK surrogate, there isn't a 0v neutral and there will be no 120v controls as there would be on a Canadian dryer/ stove.

120v and 110v is actually the same thing and it's a bit technical as to why two numbers are used, loosely 120 is the number and engineer would use for calculations, 110 is what you'd expect to have at your receptacle, so the latter is somewhat a slang/ laymans term. I just spotted in the code that motors of this voltage are identified as 115v.

Steve_

So does this mean in a new house built since 1996 that it can't be done?

The French guy I knew who did it was back before that. I remember him showing it to me but I'm damned if I can remember what he did, I just know he had some of the French-style outlets inside his house and he said it was pretty simple to do and then he gave me an explanation that I can't remember clearly.

Pizzawheel

Wiring foreign non standard outlets into your house is- in my mind- a different kettle of fish to Rivington's adaptor strip...

rivingtonpike

All my adaptor thing is just a 4 way UK plug strip with an oversized expensive plug on the end.