I've done this in old office buildings repeatedly for treadmills. Cost is negligible for an electrician. The last one charged me $125. The work was super easy, too. YMMV but it's not a big deal.

on a countertop receptacle, each outlet has independent power on the top and the bottom. Which means each outlet has a separate line to the fuse panel. Also each line has its own fuse. By combining the two wires, each of which is 110volts, you get 220V.

spearfish25 wrote:It's certainly doable. The issue is whether your kitchen is amenable to working within the walls to run new wires and where your breakers are located. Your 220V outlet will need larger gauge wire, a different outlet, and a 220v breaker.

Not necessarily a larger gauge wire, a 20A 120V kitchen receptacle has wiring capable of 20A, and 20A is 20A, but if the machine requires 2 conductors(hot leads) and a ground (earth) or 2 conductors, a neutral AND a ground to accomplish the task.

The 240V circuit in my kitchen is 2 hots and a ground, just like a water heater circuit.

This subject keeps coming up and it scares the crap out of me. If you have to ask these questions about household electricity you are not qualified to rewire your machine or your home. Now that I've got that off my chest, here is some information that, hopefully, will keep safe those who dare to tread where they ought not.

1. The residential service in NA is nominally 240-volts, single phase with a neutral. This is how we get both 120 and 240 volts from our panels. Coming into the house we have a red and a black wire (called 'legs", not phases), together with the neutral (white) and a green or bare safety ground. Your 120-volt outlets each have a white neutral together with a black "hot" coming from either the red or the black in the load centre (panel). Your 240-volt outlets each have only a red and a black (and safety ground). Your combination outlets (like stove and dryer) have all four wires.

2. There is NO Standard for wiring outlets in kitchens throughout North America. Really old homes will likely have multiple (daisy-chained) 15-amp duplex outlets (two vertical prongs) on a single 15-amp breaker; some may have these on a 20-amp breaker (the receptacles on these MAY have one prong with a Tee-shaped opening). Newer homes will likely have multiple split duplex outlets; each of the outlets on a split is fed by a separate wire from the panel. They are usually 15-amp each (two vertical prongs). In the newest homes several 20-amp feeds will go to daisy-chained 15-amp or 20-amp duplex receptacles (most codes allow 15-amp receptacles on 20-amp line, but of course not vice versa). Usually there are no more than two outlets daisy-chained on these circuits. In most areas, rarely will there be a 20-amp circuit feeding a single 20-amp outlet, unless the home owner has specified this during construction.

3. Devices on 240-volt circuits MUST have double pole switches. You can't just switch one side like on a 120-volt circuit, as the path from either wire to ground is 120-volts.

4. If you have an unused stove or dryer outlet in you home, you can't just use that plug/wire into it (even though it would work), as the wire on these plugs are way to heavy to run to a coffee machine and you are not allowed by code to splice on a smaller one. But, you could have an electrician wire a pony panel to that line and set up additional 15 or 20-amp 120 and/or 240-volt outlet(s). Or, he could remove the 30-amp or 40-amp socket and replace it with a couple of duplex sockets right at the box if that would be close enough to the machine.

5. If you have a circuit to a single 120-volt outlet, it can be easily rewired to provide 240-volts, providing your local electric code allows taping/painting the hot wires. 240-volt circuits are red/black. In the past at past, and maybe now, electricians would use a standard white/black TPS and paint or tape the white wire black at both ends. The receptacle MUST be replaced with a 240-volt one and the proper plug used on the machine.

5a. If you have a circuit to several 120-volt outlets (likely), then you either have to convert all the outlets to 240-volts, or cap off all but the one that you want, painting/taping the wires in ALL the boxes before putting blank covers on. BTW, you MUST not have any "buried boxes" meaning that you can't cover unused ones with wall board, or anything else.

These notes are provided for information only and I make not guaranty to accuracy or suitability. I DO NOT CONDONE UNQUALIFIED PERSONS WORKING ON WIRING (sorry for shouting). But, realistically, some will do their own work and it's best to at least know the basics.

Stay safe; hire licensed electrician!

Great post, Maurice. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

I've seen taped wires before - now I know what they are.

I've seen taped wires before - now I know what they are.

Could be. But taped wires are used for other things too, most notably wires that change their use depending on switch position, called "travellers". Travellers are the wires going between the switches in a two-way or three-way light circuit (like often seen at both ends of a hallway to control a single light or string of lights). In the latest smart switches retrofitted to integrate with a security or home automation system, we also see taped wires that previously carried current now carrying a signal from the main switch to the slave switch.

on a countertop receptacle, each outlet has independent power on the top and the bottom. Which means each outlet has a separate line to the fuse panel. Also each line has its own fuse. By combining the two wires, each of which is 110volts, you get 220V.

While this was true for many homes in Canada, it is no longer the common installation for kitchens here. Also, I've recently learned from some PM exchanges on this topic that this wiring scheme was little used in the USA. At the risk of beating the drum, please at least talk to a licensed electrician before attempting to do anything like this. Stay safe!

I am in Canada. I have a 220v grinder. For the longest time I used a step up that pushed me from 110v to 220v. I was a renter during those years. When we bought our first house, first thing I did was get an electrician in. He wired up a 220v for me. Cost me $200cdn which is like a case of beer in the States nowadays.

J

rammrod wrote:For now I live in Italy and found what I think is a great price on a new machine but it will be 220 volt. My question is if anyone as gone through the trouble in getting a 220 volt outlet installed in there kitchen in the states?

mark

Not a problem... I had a 220V Reneka shipped from France to the US. Getting 220V service installed in a kitchen or garage is normal business for qualified electricians in the US. Don't worry about the power cord on the machine. My cord had a European plug... we simply cut it off an installed a US compatible plug from Home Depot.

First... as already suggested by others, since European appliances run on 50 hertz be sure the manufacturer verifies that the electronics in your machine of choice will be compatible with US 60 hertz (frequency) That said... most European appliances are configured to work with both 50 and 60 htz... but check just to be sure.

As to getting 220 installed at your espresso bar... ideally you'll have a blank knockout in your electrical panel for the installation of a dual pole breaker. My panel was full with no blanks ... but its not a big deal, you just need to have the electrician install a couple single pole duplex breakers so he can consolidate a couple single pole breakers. This will free up the space needed for installation of a 220V dual breaker. Honestly... the toughest thing about getting a 220V outlet installed in your kitchen is calling around for estimates and trying to find the best price.

Just FYI: Your total estimate to have 220 installed should include the following: The planning of the layout location and cutting of the mounting hole. Mounting of requested style electrical box. Addition or modification of wiring from the existing circuit panel to the appliance. Placement of fixture and trim pieces. All materials / tools required for installation. Area preparation and protection, setup and cleanup. Costs also includes all related materials and supplies required to install the electrical outlet including: connectors, fittings and mounting hardware. You should figure on spending between $200 to $275 for everything listed above... in a normal uncomplicated installation. If the electrician needs to fish wires through multiple walls, or go up or down to other floors, or bore thru concrete block... or have to run wires the whole length of the house can all add to the cost.

NOTE: There should be no real price difference between a single pole 20A and a 2 pole 20A breaker, most are less than 10 bucks. However, be aware if you elect to install a GFCI breaker they traditionally cost $50 to $70 over and above the price of a non GFCI breaker.

GFCI or not may ultimately come down to your electrician and if he says its required. NEC states... All outlets that support convenience plug in items within 8 feet of a water source must be GFI protected. My espresso machine is located 5 feet from a sink but I "did not" have a GCFI installed, nor was it required, thanks to a loop hole in the NEC guidelines. The loop hole? Just have the outlet installed "below" counter-top level so it is not accessible to an appliance or person working from the countertop (e.g. below in a cabinet etc) or have the appliance (espresso machine) "hardwired" to the circuit (i.e. no cord that can be removed / unplugged from the receptacle) I personally went with having a twist lock receptacle installed under the counter at the back of a cabinet. NOTE: We drilled a hole and ran the power cord down thru the countertop before we installed the plug to the end of the cord. That said... I've never unplugged it once in the 14 years since its been installed so looking back I could have just as easily had it hardwired.

Don Task