Missing 220v Outlet

I am curious if there is or if I need a plug in bridge if I do not have a 220v outlet. Both driers are gas powered. Should I get a 220v outlet installed? How do I know if I need a bridge?

[matt (support)]

I am curious if there is or if I need a plug in bridge if I do not have a 220v outlet. Both driers are gas powered. Should I get a 220v outlet installed? How do I know if I need a bridge?

Instead of installing a 220v outlet, you should have someone install a repeater directly at the breaker box. This is the preferred technique to install a bridge/repeater since it will connect the two legs of your electrical system at the closest possible point. The plug-in bridge/repeaters do the same thing, but at a further distance.

I'd recommend a repeater over a bridge. Typically "bridge" is used to refer to a passive coupler (sometimes called phase coupler). It passes the signals from one 110v leg to the other, but doesn't amplify the signal. A "repeater" typically refers to an active coupler that amplifies the signals first. This doesn't cost that much more, but works much better.

I'm not sure the best way to tell if you need a repeater/bridge. Typically, you have two 110v lines coming into your house from the street. Each line is represented by a column of circuit breakers (or fuses) in your breaker box. So, the left side is all one 110v leg, the right side is all the other 110v leg. The idea here is to couple these two legs together so that X10 signals can travel easily from leg to leg. You could figure out which leg (left or right column) your PowerLinc is on by flipping breakers, then see if you are having problems getting signals to the other leg. You'll be toggling the breakers back and forth to see which outlets/lights are on each leg, but it seems to me this would work.

Regards,
Matt