Compressor Wire Size Question 220v

[lynchmob723]

I may or may not ever need a 220v compressor. But I will wire my garage for one anyways. My question is. Do i need more than a 20a 220v circuit for one? Also can I use a 12-2 yellow wire w/ground and just use/label the white conductor as a hot?

 

[Torque1st]

I would wire it for 220VAC 30A with 10 AWG wire Black & White as hot. Color the ends of the white wire with tape or Sharpie marker. Use the bare wire as ground. Check some of wiring threads in the electrical forum.

I am not sure what you mean by Yellow wire.

 

[G-force]

I would wire it for 220VAC 30A with 10 AWG wire Black & White as hot. Color the ends of the white wire with tape or Sharpie marker. Use the bare wire as ground. Check some of wiring threads in the electrical forum.

I am not sure what you mean by Yellow wire.

Just as he said^^^

By yellow, do you mean the jacket that the wire is shielded in?

The 10/3 wire I used was in an orange jacket. I got it at Home Depot.

Good Luck!

 

[saabman]

A true 5 HP motor will draw 22-23 amps at 220 volts. So I agree that a 30 amp service and 10 AWG wire is the way to go.

Chris

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

lynchmob,

How big of a compressor are you planning on getting in the future? If you think you MIGHT get a 7.5 HP compressor, do yourself a favor and wire it accordingy. A 30 amp circuit will not work well for that size of motor (40 amp min) and the wire size will depend on the length of the run. You might need to use 8 gauge wire and just buy what you need. You can get std color wires for 220 that way (red, black and green).

I would run individual 10 gauge stranded wires in 1" plastic conduit (you can pull new wiring if needed in the future) as a minimum. It always amazes me how my needs increase after I pre-plan for future increases. Once the future gets there, I wonder WHAT was I thinking to go this smalll???

 

[Zrexxer]

A true 5 HP motor will draw 22-23 amps at 220 volts. So I agree that a 30 amp service and 10 AWG wire is the way to go.

Chris

A vital point that you've missed though is that electric motors demand a huge inrush of current when starting. A motor with 22A running load may draw much, much more than that when starting. If you size your breaker too close to the running current it's going to cause trips.

 

[sberry]

Most comps in the home brew class run from a 10/30 circuit.

 

[charger]

My compressor is a 5 hp 23 amp 230 volts and it is running on a 30 amp breaker with #10 awg wire.

 

[hetkind]

I just ran mine last month...IR 2430 compressor, 220v, single phase, 30 amp breaker in the box, 3/4 rigid NMC to a cutoff box with 30 amp breaker next to compressor, and 1/2 flexible metal conduit to compressor with 10 gage, red, black and green.

It takes very little to do it right. So, If I decide to go with a bigger compressor, just pull new 8 gage wire though existing conduit and change the breakers.

With the compressor in a seperate mechanical/electrical room, I can just barely hear it cycle on. And the lights don't flicker...

Howard

 

[Gary S]

I do it the old fashioned way. Don't try to wire in something you don't have. It won't work anyway until you buy it, and when you do buy it, you will probably find you wired it wrong because you don't know what you needed.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Howard,

Similar to mine except with a 75 ft run, I was going to use 8 ga at the start. The store I was at didn't have enough and wound up using 6 ga in 1" conduit and a 30 amp breaker. Overkill on the wiring but the guy sold it to me for 10 cents a foot more because he was out of what I needed. Total cost of the upgrade was $7.50 and worth it to me if I ever need to run a subpanel in that room. All I would need is another breaker and a subpanel.

 

[Chris Adams]

You can spend a lot of time rewiring for your compressor. I wired my new shop with 30 amp to the far end from the box, with a thirty amp socket, for my 25 amp 5 horsepower compressor.
I used 10 gauge wire for the 40 foot run, that's from the breaker, up the wall, the length of 28 foot shop and down to 4 feet high.

Then changed compressors to a 15 amp unit. Had to change the socket (12 bucks) and the breaker (8 bucks) since the 15 needed a 20 amp setup.

Run the wire, use 10 gauge, but don't bother to put in the socket or breaker till you actually buy a compressor.

 

[lynchmob723]

Thanks for the comments guys. I prob wouldnt ever need a compressor for more than painting or using a cut-off wheel. Yes by yellow I was refering to the jacket on the 12ga wire.