Flex shaft voltage

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I will be purchasing a flex shaft shortly (foredom Sr motor), but
don’t know what voltage I should get. There’s a 115v and a 230v. I
really don’t know the difference between the two, except maybe the
fact that there’s a difference between American and UK electric
boxes. I live in the US. Can someone help me figure this out?

Thanks,
Megan

2

Standard electric voltage in household sockets is 115v. Your stove,
clothes dryer and hot water heater use 220v. Your distribution panel
is 220v three phase system, so it can provide both levels to the same
building. The major difference between Europe and US is that US uses
60 cycle AC while Europe uses 50 cycle AC.

Basically, buy the 115 v motor for USA, unless you are going to have
special wiring into your shop (may already be there if you have a
kiln or other 220v item).

John

3

In the US we have 115-120 volt house current. 220 in the US is
primarily for heavy machinery.

220-230 volt is the house current used in the UK and Europe.

Elliot Nesterman

4

If you’re in the US, get the 115V model. it’ll plug into a standard
household outlet. I think you will enjoy it.

5

You would be looking at the 115v. 230 is common in Europe.

HTH,
Frank

6

Hi Megan,

You want the 115 V unit. Your house is wired for that voltage.

The Foredom will be one of the best tools you will ever have. I have
several Foredoms. One at each of my three work stations. One of
those stations has three Foredom. One unit was the first I bought in
1975. It still works but requires a manual spin of the motor to get
it running.

Lee Epperson

7 
I will be purchasing a flex shaft shortly (foredom Sr motor), but
don't know what voltage I should get. There's a 115v and a 230v. I
really don't know the difference between the two, except maybe the
fact that there's a difference between American and UK electric
boxes. I live in the US. Can someone help me figure this out?

Megan, it’s pretty simple. You buy the type that matches your
available electric supply. Normally, in the U. S., the wall plugs are
115 volts. But 220/230 volts is also available via specialized
wiring. your electric stove, if you have one, for example, and things
like electric clothes dryers, and heavier duty industrial machinery,
often work with 220/230 volt supplies. If your workshop happens to
have a full sized bridgeport milling machine, as an example, it’s
likely using 220 volts.

For the vast majority of jewelers in the U. S., though, the right
choice will be the 110/115 volt version. If you were planning to move
to europe soon, then you might consider the 220/230 volt version.
Electrically, the big difference is that by using the higher voltage,
an appliance can use the same power as it would with 110/115 volts,
but get it with half the amperage. So an appliance that might need 20
amps with 115 volts, and would thus likely overload most normal
circuits, could do it’s job with just 10 amps, when using a 220/230
supply.

Peter Rowe

8

115 is the standard in the US. Love my Foredom SR!!!

9

Hi Megan,

If you live in the US you need to use the 115v model. The 230v units
will require an expensive transformer to use in the US. Make sure
you purchase from one of Foredoms authorized dealers. There are many
230v units for sale on Ebay and Amazon that are knock-off units.

Mike Zagielski
Foredom Sales Manager

10 
Your distribution panel is 220v three phase system

220 volts, but single phase. You won’t find 3 phase in household
wiring.

Al Balmer

11

Get the voltage supported in your area. The most common in the US is
115v.

12

Thank you, everyone, for your help! You all definitely helped clear
this up for me.