Quote Originally Posted by Goemon View Post
That's kinda what I was thinking might be the problem.
Yep no free lunch.
I don't understand how or why people are using them. If it requires getting the electrician to put in a special outlet / breaker just to use it, you might as well have him (or her) put in an extra 220v outlet.... unless.... there is another way around this problem?
Electrical systems, at least from the home level aren't that difficult. You can DIY the solution by reading any of the many texts that can be had, but I generally recommend taking a night class so that someone can comment on your technique.

In the end a router of any largish size is a lot like a table saw in that you really benefit from being able to have sufficient power for a large motor. In the case of a router you generally have three servos or steppers to power plus the spindle motor. So if you want to get reasonable performance out of a large machine you really need to consider a spindle that requires more power than a 120 vac outlet can supply. Also for reliability it is a good idea not to max out an outlet, I like to see them derated to around 80%. The last thing you want on a CNC machine is a nuisance trip in the middle of a long process.

In the end the smart move is to have a shop full of outlets that supply 220 VAC that allow you to position machinery as needed. Wire up any machine using integral horsepower (anything larger than 1 HP) motors for 220 Vac where possible. My farther went through this with some of his shop equipment, table saws and the like, running on 220 VAC greatly reduced randomly tripped breakers simply due to having some margin for intermittent overloads. Things to consider for 220 VAC commonly found in home shops: table saws, large band saws, air compressors, mig/flux core welders, planners, vacuum systems and so forth. Some items like air compressors, vacuum systems and other high demand stationary tools benefit from or may require, dedicated circuits.

You may want to hire an electrician, I just wanted to point out that it isn't really required in most locations. Also it is a bit misleading to call the outlets "special", the various 220 VAC outlets are standardized just like the 15 & 20 amp outlets seen in most homes. It could be argued that there are more variations in 220 VAC outlets but that doesn't make them special.