Electrician advice needed for treadmill

Have a chance at a free older commercial grade treadmill(that works). However it requires a 20 amp circuit which currently I don't have. Is there an affordable way to turn or replace a regular 110v outlet so it can power this unit?

Do you mean it required 220v?

A 20 amp circuit is available on 110v.

We have a commercial treadmill at home. The keys are making sure your wire gauge is high enough in the wall and making sure you don't have any additional devices on the same circuit. If that's in the clear then you can put a 20a breaker in the panel and swap the standard 15 amp outlet out for a 20 amp outlet.

I think you need 12 gauge wire to run the 20 amp breaker. If you don't have 12 gauge wire in the wall at the location you want to use the treadmill, you'll need to think about how you want to handle it.

I love the treadmill, there's nothing like a good commercial treadmill. They're night and day better than home grade units. As long as you have the space and power for it!

Side note, the outlet you want looks like this:

It drops right in where the 15 amp outlet was, just again make sure you have the wire size and breaker capacity to support it.

KyAllroad wrote: Do you mean it required 220v? A 20 amp circuit is available on 110v.

He didn't specifically say 220v just said it requires 20 amp circuit.

I'm dumb obviously so how exactly is a 20 amp circuit available on a 110v system?

As dc said above, it has to do with the size of the wires and their ability to carry current. A 14-16 ga wire will overheat carrying that much. But either 110 or 220, it isn't impossible to set up, just make sure it's done right. Bad wiring is no bueno.

The treadmill is probably 120v. It would be tough for a gym to have 220v 20amp to each of a metric load of treadmills, but 120v 20amp is pretty easy to provide.

drainoil wrote: I'm dumb obviously so how exactly is a 20 amp circuit available on a 110v system?

Technically you could have most any amperage you want on a 120vac circuit as long as the wire and receptacle are properly sized, but 15 amp or 20 amp circuits are by far the most common.

I'd offer that it might pull 20A in an absolute max momentary load condition, but it's not likely. If both blades on the plug face the same direction, I'd try it in a 15A socket and see if the cord gets even remotely warm.

15A is generally fed w/ 14ga wire, 20A w/ 12ga. wire. If you need a 20, is there anyplace easy, ie. in a room w/ unfinished ceiling below?

motomoron wrote: I'd offer that it *might* pull 20A in an absolute max momentary load condition, but it's not likely. If both blades on the plug face the same direction, I'd try it in a 15A socket and see if the cord gets even remotely warm. 15A is generally fed w/ 14ga wire, 20A w/ 12ga. wire. If you need a 20, is there anyplace easy, ie. in a room w/ unfinished ceiling below?

Totally agreed.

The other thing is that if your house is conduit instead of romex, you can probably easily pull a new run.

drainoil wrote: I'm dumb obviously so how exactly is a 20 amp circuit available on a 110v system?

Amps are unrelated. I've got dozens of 60A, 110V circuits in the showroom. It's all about wire capacity and breaker size.

motomoron wrote: I'd offer that it *might* pull 20A in an absolute max momentary load condition, but it's not likely. If both blades on the plug face the same direction, I'd try it in a 15A socket and see if the cord gets even remotely warm. 15A is generally fed w/ 14ga wire, 20A w/ 12ga. wire. If you need a 20, is there anyplace easy, ie. in a room w/ unfinished ceiling below?

I'll third this. Plug it in and see if it throws the breaker. If not, don't worry about it.

I realize this is a canoe-driven zombie thread. 
 

Quick note... it's a really bad idea to switch the breakers and/or outlets from 15A to 20A. If your house has 15A breakers, it's highly likely the wiring will not handle 20A. Electricians don't just randomly install heavier wire then de-rate the breakers. That's a fire waiting to happen. 
 

If you can confirm the wiring size is adequate, then no problem. 
 

Plugging a 20A machine into a 15A circuit to see if it works is perfectly fine. 

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

We sold an X-ray film processor back in the day that had a 20amp cord.  Most guys would swear at us and twist the prong to fit a 15amp receptacle.

In his wisdom our salesman started putting a 20 amp receptacle into the shipping parts bag for them to change it out.   

Our engineer was blown away he did this.  
 

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Your legal department would have had a conniption fit. 

And this is why I ran 12 gauge wiring and 20A outlets in my basement and do in any new construction.  Cost impact is minimal in the grand scheme of things.