Motor question: 2hp 115/230v on a normal house outlet?

[TikTock]

I just bought a KMG and it came with a motor. Its 2hp 115/230V. I cannot do any rewiring on my apartment building, so is there any way to step this thing down so I can use it in a normal 110V plug? If I am thinking right, this would currently need 20amps at 110v, which is too high unless I am wrong. What can I do? Am I up a creek? I am an electrical moron, and literally know nothing. The motor owner says I just change the "taps" and I can run it no problem, but that it will draw 20 amps.

I understand it will draw the most amps on startup, but I do NOT want to burn my building down. I also do not necessarily want to buy a new motor......

What are my options? Can i run a line down to my basement and plug it into a dryer outlet?

Someone enlighten me or provide me a "electrical instruction for morons" link.

[Jamey Saunders]

110 and 115 is the same thing. Po-tay-toh, Po-tah-to. As long as it's wired for 110/115, and you have a sufficient breaker you'll be fine. The amperage that you see on the motor for each voltage is it's rated amperage. Under no load, it'll draw about half that. Under load, it'll vary from half to the total rated amperage. Anything over the rated amperage can damage the motor.

[cricket]

I believe your OK as long as your motor is wired for 115v. The motor is made to be wired for either voltage, just pay attention when you first turn it on, as long as you don't trip your breaker everytime you start it up, you should be good to go. The only other problem might be, if you have a heavy hand with the grinder, it might trip your breaker from time to time. You may have to use a lighter touch or install a bigger breaker.

[TikTock]

Okay. I checked and my breaker is 15....I am not heavy at all while grinding. I used to grind on my 2X42 without it even bolted to the table. I usually let the belts do most of the work. So worst case scenario is it trips the breaker every time i turn it on, in which case I need to rethink the whole thing.....

Any problem with drilling a hole in the floor and running a 10' cord down to a dryer hookup? Those are on a 30 amp breaker....

Obviously im pulling at threads here....I need to make this work

[pjelect]

First, check the size of the wire attached to your 15A circuit breaker. Every once in awhile I see a 15A CB with #12 wire run to it. If the wire is #12 then change the CB to a 20A. If the wire is only #14, then leave it alone. As for using the dryer circuit, it's hoaky to do it that way. Cords should not be run through bored holes in the floor. That and a couple of other code violations you would create are not worth it. If the dryer receptacle is only 10' from your grinder, then the panel can't be too far away. Check and see if it has a spare opening in it. If so, run a dedicated 20A circuit up to your grinder. If all else fails call a #######d electrician to check it out. Sometimes the good ones(myself included) can spot an easy affordable solution to your problem.
Good luck! Pat McGroder