Experiment convert 110v to 220v from two outlets

Warning, This is only an experiment for viewing purposes only! By watching this You agree that "Joshua Burton" is not held responsible for your actions.

This is my successful experiment to make an adapter to convert two 120v outlets to 220v!
With that said I used two 12ga. heavy duty extension cords and triple checked my connections and wiring.

[joebartell]

Thank you. Everyone else tends to over complicate things. A 220v circuit is literally just 2 110v hots. So when you combine 2 110v hot outlets your going to get a 220v outlet. Awesome video!

[lakeman]

Nice work Joshua. I little overkill on the 10gauge wire and 50A receptacle, but functional. This will work just fine using 15A 110v circuits as long as you don't try to draw more than 15A. It is good practice to directly ground the box (even though it is grounded through the plug bracket.)
Ok... I've watched this and have been reading the comments because I was curious if it would be worthwhile documenting my implementation of such a 'conversion'. I have to laugh at the lack of knowledge many commenters have. This definitely works when the 2 15A/120V circuits are taken from opposing 'Hot' wires of a single phase 240V source (such as standard North American residential power.) It really isn't 'converting' anything, it is simply providing a connection to the original 240V source providing power to the 120V circuits. Think of it as putting the 2 halves of the 240V back together (because that is exactly what it is!) There is no "NOT true" 240V AC here.
The Electrical Code does in fact cover some things not 'hard wired' into your electrical system and it could be argued that this adapter violates 400-8(1) of the NEC because it is used "As a substitute for the fixed wiring of a structure", but this is a weak argument and doesn't fall within the intended scope of that clause. I have yet to see anything in the code beyond that clause that limits what you can and cannot plug into the fixed wiring of the structure.
The risk is that, as some have mentioned, when you overload the system one of the breakers will trip leaving one side of your plug hot. A small safety issue but only if you go into the wiring without unplugging the device. And, often functionally equivalent to switching off the piece of 240v equipment. Simple solution is mitigate this is to tie the breakers.
So Joshua, again, kudos on your experiment! You have motivated me to document my implementation.

[cathykelshaw]

I just want to applaud your effort. Scientific breakthroughs started from experiments like these.

[isaixpr]

Thank you for your instructional video. After Hurricane past over Puerto Rico the island is suffering a massive blackout. I replicated your experiment successfully to use a small inverter generator and give elctricity to all my house. of course in safety way with a transfer switch only for essential equipment like refrigerator, TV and lights.

[devondavidian]

Hey!

This worked perfectly, I used this to power an electric dryer in my loft. so far no upsets. Thank you for the video!!

[strangeization]

Good idea. Most of the houses in my country are 110v (Nicaragua) I wanted to know how to run a 220v mini split with my house being 110v. I still have no clue, but what you showed is by far more information than the one I found through a google search. Thanks!

[Ddcfusgs]

You're a man after my own heart lol the idea popped into my brain after seeing a 220 air compressor I want, and you did exactly what I was going to do! Good job man! Subscribed

[justinbreithaupt]

The ranting "commenters" really get tiresome. It's so easy to scream in caps "You'll kill someone." "You'll start a fire." Take it for what the man said it was - an experiment - and just click over and watch something else. Ranting to make yourself look like an expert seems to always do the opposite.

[ufcfan]

I did this exact thing that you did, but I used the 6-20 220v receptacle that matched my 1978 craftsman compressor. It's 3 hp motor 30 gallon compressor and it runs fine . I used two 20amp 110v receptacles on different sides of my breaker box to hook to.

[jlmealer]

I've done this as well. However, as Karl Miller states below, I did not have use of an electrical box and had to make due with electrical tape, a couple of sticks (to separate the wiring better) and a bit of prayer that none of my employees would tug the cords or try to unplug my mess. My power sources were two generators. Either way, it got me through a day of remote work where we needed a few welds (upright rebar braces) made on a construction job. Thanks for making this clear enough for those who are not quite sure.... In fact, I am here because I had to double check the connections myself.

[jamesdumitru]

Great experiment. I've been sitting here scratching my head trying to figure something out to use a RV 1:10 to 2 20 volt. But after I plugged into 110 side I didn't get the 220 that I was thinking on the other side. So I was trying to think of other ways and I said what why don't I Google it. Thanks again for making this video really helped out

[juliop]

Thank you a lot. I bought a dishwasher with a 220 v from italy but I only have 110 v. with your method I was able to get it to work and I didn't have to expend almost $100 buying a Volt converter step up. But it only worked because I have a brother living next to my house. I did use the negative (black ) a cable from his 110 and a 110 from my house connected to an outlet.

[mashed-out]

I used this method to power my ole lady's antique vibrator...jeezus phuC...it kicked it a notch with the extra ground wires! DAMN!

[kevinanderson]

I don't have an available 240v outlet in my house and just bought a vintage tablesaw which is wired for 240v. I was itching to use it but HOW??? I saw your video! I liked it! I did it! Gonna keep on doing it! 👍👍

[jeffmjack]

This is awesome! I was thinking it might be fun to do some MIG welding in my apartment to make some furniture installations and it occurred to me that a pair of 110 outlets could be coupled to make the 220 supply- glad to see this confirmed, thanks for posting! I supposed the next step is to figure out what the draw on the arc welder is going to be vis a vis my breakers.

[nemethjames]

TO ANYONE who wants to try this, I only recommend that you have atleast moderate knowledge of electrical experience. This does work though. I had to use a 220 dryer in my home and only had 110, I found two separate outlets than ran off separate 15 amp breakers, I also made it so both breakers tripped if one did, this is a must. I took heavy duty extension cords cut them up, made it to plug into each outlet and basically made a Y cord.. I did not have a 220 female so I just cut the end off of the 220 dryer and wired it straight to the Y cord I made and the dryer works just fine! And to all the people talking about it's not up to code, the code was put in effect for people like you that don't know anything. To keep idiots from killing innocent people. Just be smart be safe, think twice before you do and your good to go. And forget about all these whiny bitches on here!!!

[beltwesty]

Decades ago I did this in an apartment electrical lab I had in California.    What CAN happen is an overload will trip one breaker and not the other breaker and thus one still have live power on one side after the breaker trips. It really is not anything sanctioned, or anything to code thus poor in an uncontrolled area. It is more of a hack that might backfire if you do something dumb.

From a liability standpoint your rear end can be sued off if somebody gets shocked or looses fingers in saw. From a code issue you are not suppose to have a 240 volt receptacle fed by two breakers not say ganged together with a "common trip" .

 Thus what I did in my old lab was swap the positions of 2 circuit wires  in the breaker box so the 2 circuits used were next to another, then I added a double pole breaker so a short or fault would turn off BOTH circuits I used on the 240 volt lab receptacle I once used from two 120 volt sockets. 

When I moved out I removed the 240 volts double pole breaker and changed it back to the stock config so the landlord would not get me or my deposit too.

[trentbatty]

thankyou so much. trying to figure out how to power a 220v washer and dryer stackable. have been researching for days and you are the only one to do this. definitely trying.

[chuckjls]

Hello Joshua,
While I applaud your inventive idea, I feel compelled to caution you and anyone else who is thinking of repeating your experiment. You say that the two 120V outlets need to be from separate breaker boxes. This not exactly correct. Actually they need to be from different transformer winding outputs. The center-tapped transformer secondary that feeds the building with 220V split phase has two outputs. One output of this winding is called a service. The 220V output is fed to your breaker box and divided up into separate 120V, 20A services. Some of the 120 V services are connected to one transformer output and some are on the other output. You basically hit the lotto when you found the two outlets that are on different outputs and add up to 220V. You couldn't read 220V the first time you tried because both hot lines were at same voltage.I don't know if connecting this to a load would cause a problem or not, but why risk it? It seems to me it would be a lot less stressful to use an existing 220 VAC output or pay an electrician a few bucks to install a new one.

[justinbreithaupt]

This is a common workaround when a 220v plug is not available. Carpenters with 220v table saws have done it for years.

Every dwelling has a minimum of two hots and a neutral coming in off the pole. 2 insulated conductors and a bare aluminum - check it out. (Rarely you see three hots - that's another discussion) The ground is created by the ground stake outside of the breaker panel.The ground and neutral are tied together inside the breaker panel. 110v outlets have a hot (black), a neutral (white), and a ground. Half of your 110v outlets use hot #1 and the other half use hot #2. All the neutrals connect together at the breaker panel. Your 220v outlets (like a dryer) have hot #1, hot #2, a neutral, and a ground (usually).

The reason you got no voltage indication when you tested across two of the same hots is because there was no voltage difference between them - the same as sticking both probes in the same hole.

Some portable carpet cleaners that run on 220v actually have two 110v extensions cords wired into them, and a light on the front that comes on once you plug the cords into 110v outlets that utilize opposing hots (to yield 220v). 

The only real danger involved in this workaround is that if you plug in one cord with the power switch of the 220v device turned on, the hot blade of the other plug will indeed be hot and will shock you if you touch both blades on that plug at the same time. It would be the same as cutting the receptacle off one end of an extension cord and installing a plug instead so you have a plug on each end of the cord. Plug one end into a wall outlet and touch both blades on the other end and it'll shock the fire out of you.

It IS an unorthodox workaround. You won't start a fire. If you overload the circuit you'll just trip a breaker or two. But it can be an easy shock hazard if you don't pay attention.