Changing old 220 line outlet to a 110 outlet

[Rbcool51]

We have an old wall unit 220 A/C that is being replaced by a new 110 unit. Can we change the outlet from the 220 receptacle to a 110 without changing any wiring or circuit breakers?? rbcool51@go.com [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[twstanley]

Let's look at the components involved:

220v wall outlet,
a 3 or 4 conductor wire,
220v breaker ( 2 pole )

I am sure you can reuse the wire. You will need to hook it to a 110v single pole breaker in the electrical box instead of the 220v breaker.

If you were to just replace the outlet with a 110v one, you would have an extra hot conductor in there you would have to do something with and I don't think snipping it off and taping it up would be that good of an idea. A new 110v breaker is pretty cheap and that way whoever needs to work on that circuit next will understand what it is.

Not to mention I don't know if the dual pole breaker would trip properly if is only operating under a load on one side if you know what I mean.

[Inspector507]

A couple of possible solutions......

Change the outlet to a 110V one with the correct configuration. Terminate the unused "hot" wire with a wire nut or what ever they may be called in your neck of the woods. Leave it on the 2 pole breaker ONLY IF it is the correct size recommended by the manufacturer of the A/C unit.

Change the outlet to a 110V one with the correct configuration. Terminate the unused "hot" wire with a wire nut on both ends or what ever they may be called in your neck of the woods. Put it on a new 1 pole breaker and blank off the open hole with a spare breaker or panel blank.

Make sure the wire size is big enough for the load of the new 110V A/C. The 2 pole breaker will work just fine for a 110V circuit. It will trip under an overload condition or a short-circuit.

[Pat]

To elaborate on the inspectors wire size warning...

It takes twice the amps at 120 volts to get the same power you get with 240 volts. So unless the new A/C is about 1/2 the size or less it is quite possible that your wire isn't sized properly. (oodles of assumptions in that comment) At least check the wire size against your current requirement.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]