Electronic condensate drain: electric question

[bmwpower]

Ok, I'm sure Charles is gonna fail me, but I figured I run it by everyone anyway...

So I have a 30A dedicated 120V circuit for my 30 gallon Craftsman compressor. I also have a IR automatic drain valve (ADV) that claims to draw 1A of 120V. I don't have another 120V circuit nearby to hookup the ADV, so I plugged it into the compressor circuit.

Question: Is this safe to do? I can't think of how this could be a problem other than it would probably not pass code.

 

[drbill]

I would think it's safe. Let's say you have a 15 amp circuit and you can plug a night light in and that's the only thing on that circuit. You could take that same night light and plug it into a 20 amp or 30 amp circuit.

 

[bmwpower]

I would think it's safe. Let's say you have a 15 amp circuit and you can plug a night light in and that's the only thing on that circuit. You could take that same night light and plug it into a 20 amp or 30 amp circuit.

BOTH the compressor and the ADV are plugged into the same 30A circuit... not sure if that was clear.

 

[Junkman]

You are thinking of the circuit breaker as protecting the devise, which it isn't. The circuit breaker protects the wiring. A 20 amp breaker protects a 12 gauge wire, and a 15 amp breaker protects a 14 gauge wire. If you were to put a 20 amp breaker on a 14 gauge wire circuit, you would be running the risk of fire, since the 14 gauge wire could theoretically overheat before the 20amp breaker would trip. This is a over simplification of the way that breakers work, and there are exceptions to all these rules. What you have done is safe, but if the unit were to fail, the breaker might not open, until the amperage exceeded the amount of the breaker. i.e. Your drain unit might be in a melt down condition.

 

[bmwpower]

You are thinking of the circuit breaker as protecting the devise, which it isn't. The circuit breaker protects the wiring. A 20 amp breaker protects a 12 gauge wire, and a 15 amp breaker protects a 14 gauge wire. If you were to put a 20 amp breaker on a 14 gauge wire circuit, you would be running the risk of fire, since the 14 gauge wire could theoretically overheat before the 20amp breaker would trip. This is a over simplification of the way that breakers work, and there are exceptions to all these rules. What you have done is safe, but if the unit were to fail, the breaker might not open, until the amperage exceeded the amount of the breaker. i.e. Your drain unit might be in a melt down condition.

I was worried about having a #12 dedicated circuit protected by a 30A breaker (due to rules associated with upping the breaker size due to motor circuits) AND then adding the 1A drain. So the breaker is already bigger than it should be, technically.

I guess the only problem might be if the compressor was pulling a big load close to the breaker limit and the drain kicked on. Even then I can't see 1A putting the thing "over the edge".