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Quick 220® Electrical Power Requirements

The Quick 220® Power Supply operates with the two most common 120 volt electrical systems in the US and Canada. The Quick 220® power supply needs:

• Two 120V grounded outlets on two different electrical phases.

• Outlets wired correctly.

• No GFI’s (ground fault interrupters) controlling the outlets. (The Quick 220® System will turn off a GFI outlet.)

• The ampere draw of your 208-240V device must be within the ampere capacity of the building’s circuit breakers and the Quick 220® system.

To check if outlets are wired correctly, use an outlet tester. Our TEST001 is an example. If the tester has a push button, it will also test to see if a GFI controls the outlet.

There are several ways to determine if your outlets are on different phases.


1. With a Quick 220® System, following the instructions, plug one of the cords into an outlet. Then, try different outlets with the second cord until the Quick 220® lamp illuminates. Use an extension cord, if necessary.


2. Measure the voltage between the “hot” slots of two outlets with a volt meter, using an extension cord if necessary. If the voltage measured is over 200 volts, the outlets are on different phases and will power the Quick 220® system. If the voltage measured is near 0V, the outlets are the same phase and one needs to try another outlet. The “hot” slot is the small slot on the outlet.


3. Chart out which outlets are controlled by each circuit breaker. This is more complex, but sometimes the only option.

a. Turn the breakers off individually and using the outlet tester, note which outlets have lost power. In this way you can determine which outlets are controlled by each circuit breaker. You only need to check the breakers marked “15” and “20”.
b. From the face of your electric meter, determine if your electricity is “120/208V, 3 Phase” or 120/240V, Split Phase”.
c. For panels that have the breakers in columns, beginning at the top of the column, label the breakers as follows:
i. For 120/240V Split Phase systems, usually in residences, label the top breaker slot “X”, the second slot “Y”, the third “X”, the fourth “Y”, and so forth down to the bottom. If there is a second column, start with “X” at the top and label it the same way. If there are 2 small breakers in one slot, count them as one slot for labeling.
ii. For 120/208V, 3 Phase systems, usually found in commercial settings and large multi-residence buildings, label the breakers in the same way except in groups of 3: “X”, “Y”, and “Z”.
d. To power a Quick 220® Power Supply, an outlet connected to an “X” breaker and an outlet connected to a “Y” breaker are required. In a 3 phase commercial setting, we can add the “Z” phase and use additional combinations: “X” and “Z”, or “Y” and “Z”.