How do you rewire a 220 volt receptacle to produce 110 volts?

Answer 1

A 220 volt receptacle is a receptacle which has 2 wires carrying 110 volts...it has two "hot" wires at 110 and a neutral or common leg which has no voltage. A 110 volt receptacle is a receptacle which has 1 wire which carries 110 volts and a common wire. The wiring in the USA is almost standardized now to where the two "hot" (carrying 110 volts) wires are colored black and red, and the common or neutral is white. To change a receptacle to 110 volts..you remove the red or black wire from the old receptacle and wire nut it off...leaving the other red or black to attach to the new receptacle (right side of receptacle usually, looking at it from the grounding hole on the receptacle ON THE BOTTOM). You then connect the white wire to the left side of the receptacle. This will provide only 110 volts now. If the wires are not black, red, and white..they may be black, black, and white. In most cases, the white wire is always the neutral or common wire. When in doubt, buy a voltmeter and check each wire to the metal box in the wall...the wires carrying the 110 volts will usually read 110 on the voltmeter (or 115, 118..etc). Good luck!

Answer 2

You would need to rewire it at the breaker box, and switch it from a single pole breaker to a double pole breaker. But when you do, all outlets and lights on that circuit will carry 240 volts. Best thing to do is run a new wire to the outlet you want to carry 240 volts. Put it on it's own circuit with the proper size breaker. I advise you to call an electrician unless you know what you are doing.