Compressor tripping breaker

[rktolds]

My small 30 gal 110 volt Craftsman compressor trips my breaker. The garage doesn't have a dedicated circuit and only one plug. Do I have an electrician come out and put some sockets and breaker panel in the garage? Thoughts?

Matt

 

[Aceman]

Do I have an electrician come out and put some sockets and breaker panel in the garage? Thoughts?

Your circuit is most likely overloaded, having an electrician come out is certainly the easiest option. Be sure to check them out well before hiring one if you decide to go this route. With the economy, there are a lot of people calling themselves "electricians" nowadays.

 

[sberry]

Yup, one circuit makes for poor power for a garage and ideally an air comp should be on its own.

 

[Gary S]

Yup, one circuit makes for poor power for a garage and ideally an air comp should be on its own.

Correct. The startup surge of the motor draws a lot of amps.

I had my small 110v compressor on a dedicated 20a circuit, and in extremely cold weather, it still dropped the breaker trying to spin up. I changed the oil in my compressor to synthetic and replaced the #12 wire in the dedicated circuit to #10. Now the 20a breaker handles even the coldest startups.

 

[Falcon67]

You could also check the motor and see if it can be re-wired for 220, then if there is space in your panel the electrician could run a 220V motor circuit for the compressor and the startup load would be "spread out" across both sides of the power line. Same current draw, just 1/2 to total on each feed and a little easier on the motor.

 

[Git]

Where is the breaker panel now?

Is your garage dry walled in or are the studs open?

How handy are you?

Pics would help. It should be fairly easy to run a new 20 amp circuit

 

[rktolds]

The breaker box is in a bedroom completely opposite the garage I'm handy and have a friend who works maintance and at factory who is really handy. The gas furnace and water heater are in a closet in the garage and the garage is drywalled. Thanks for all the replies.

Matt

 

[rktolds]

I ran the ext cord to the kitchen tonight and no issues. So I'll do that for now until I get an electrician out.
What is an approximate cost to add a 20a box? I'm in OKC, OK and I know regional prices vary. Thanks for any input.

Matt

 

[kenfath]

You didn't mention the amperage of the garage circuit breaker. IF it is a 15 AMP breaker you can almost count on a Craftsman 30G compressor tripping it. Kitchen outlets are usually 20 AMP circuits which might explain your success when using that circuit.

 

[1Garageman]

I have a Sears 33Gallon 110v compressor in my garage running off of a 20amp breaker. It runs fine, unless I have something else pull some amps like my shop vac or something, then it trips the breaker.
Could you just run a wire off of a 20amp breaker you have comming from you box that isn't loaded up with to many plugs? Or just switch that breaker to a 20amp?

 

[battmain]

Also check the size of the extension cord. The larger guage (read more expensive) wire will allow more current to get to the compressor. Sometimes that might be a simpler solution. BTDT and the compressor runs much better too!