Domestic electricians advice

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:14 pm

This may be a long shot but I need advice from an electrician or someone with solid electrical knowledge.
This is my larger compressor which is a Fesheng TA-65 (15 cfm)

It is shown here with its original motor which is a 240v, 12 watt, single phase and I think 10A.
This motor is now unreliable as it does not start or run well all the time. Some years ago my father organised for a new motor which I would like to use but I am not sure if I can run this motor on a normal household electrical circuit which is definitely 10 amps.
Here is the new motors name plate.

Here is where I need the advice, can I use this motor in normal household circuity or not. If so I will install it on the compressor.

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:38 pm

I'm no electrician, but it does show 240V, single phase, 50 Hz - your main problem is the 13.5A. That means you will either need to do the old trick of using a 15A plug and file down the earth, or just use a regular 10A plug.

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:43 pm

Yes the 13.5A is my issue too.
My concern is what the 13.5A will do to the 10A house hold wiring.
Might have to buy a 10A suitable motor.
See what others have to comment on.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:51 pm

Have a look at your circuit breakers, is the power point you'll be running it from on its own circuit/breaker? or is it shared with some other power points, lights etc. If the breaker is rated for something like 20 or 25, or even 30 amps there should be no problem running that motor provided there is nothing else pulling current through that circuit at the same time. E.g I run my welder, compressor etc off a single power point (the only one under our car port area) it is on its own circuit with a 30A breaker, but still a 10A socket.

To get around the 15A plug "problem" it is best to not grind or file down the larger earth tab (this makes the appliance "unsafe" and would fail an appliance test and tag) better to make a very short adapter lead with a 15A socket at one end and a 10A plug at the other. This is what I do with my welder, and is perfectly safe provided the plugs are wired up properly.

Also, are you sure the old motor is 12 watts? seems like it should be something more like 1200 watts.

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:54 pm

I've run a 15A welder for years (decades) with no problems. It depends on the house wiring, if it's 2.5mm then I doubt you'll have a problem. I assume you're running it in a shed or garage, what does your C/B at the switchboard show ? It may be as simple as changing your 10A power point to a 15A (which should only be done by a registered electrician, etc etc).

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:56 pm

>This is what I do with my welder, and is perfectly safe provided the plugs are wired up properly.

Not really. You are still transferring 15A down a 10A plug which isn't rated to 15A. You're just putting an adaptor between the supply and the unit.

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:21 pm

I will check the fuse box out tomorrow.
I need to state that I bought the compressor 2nd hand with the current motor mounted on it. This means it may not be the original or correct motor to start with.
Anyway, the current motors name plate is difficult to get to but following are a couple of photos of the motors name plate. Between the 2 photos all the motors details can be seen.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:44 pm

send the missus off to the shops and tap into the stoves 32A

we need Gannon - he is qualified and would probably suggest you get a 15A circuit in to the shed. My 15A still gets warm in its 15A socket on the wall directly below the fusebox on the other side of the wall. I think the sparky did not do a 15A fuse at the box, so gipped me !

Subydoug · Post by **Subydoug** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 11:01 pm

Just throwing it out there, the only difference between the 10A and the 15A 240v plug is the Ground terminal size and its only bigger to prevent it from being plugged into a 10A socket. There is no electrical reason for the larger terminal.

Now for the wiring in the house and the circuit breaker, what you need to do is check the size of the copper cable thats running to the GPO you want to use for your compressor and how far away it is from the switch board. You can then go to a site like this,

http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop- ... 0&x=22&y=4

and work out your voltage drop. Alternatively you can just plug the compressor into said GPO and measure the voltage at the compressor while its running and compare it to the voltage at the switch board. Too much voltage drop means the copper is gonna get hot and you risk burning your house down (the compressor will also under perform). I think the recommended max is around 10%. Remember to take into account other things that may be sharing that copper (for instance, its common for GPO's to be hopped from one to the other, all with a single conductor back to the switch board).

Please be careful if you do probe around in your house's wiring. Rubber gloves might seem goofy and for whimps but I use them at work all the time when doing tests on High voltage, especially when its not isolated. Double check with a meter before touching stuff.

Few other things to note, brown is usually active and Blue is neutral. Its easy to remember because if you touch the brown wire, your gonna get brown undies. I still dont recommend touching the blue wire though. Some sparkies have painted on brains

and especially in my line of work they get it backwards all the time. If its 3ph then the neutral will most likely be black.

Man I can ramble on. Long story short if your voltage is dropping more then 20volts at the compressor I would probably get the copper upgraded.

Regards

Doug

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:52 am

I got a way of remembering too ...looking at the power point itself is A N E, reading usually English way, left to right then next line down. And if you stuff up will land self or someone else in A 'n' E , [A & E - Accident and Emergency] I convert old black to blue, if you zap self could end up black n blue, and red with brown - autumn colours

I don't know enough to advise or play with 240V. I can't understand that if it is AC - alternating current and same is said to back and forth same down the A and N wires why is N neutral, and only active is through the switch ? I may have it all wrong which is why is left to qualified peoples

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 8:27 am

I don't know enough to advise or play with 240V. I can't understand that if it is AC - alternating current and same is said to back and forth same down the A and N wires why is N neutral, and only active is through the switch ? I may have it all wrong which is why is left to qualified peoples[/QUOTE]

A question I've asked a few qualified professional sparkies and get a different vague answer every time

but I know for certain the neutral line is connected to the earth line somewhere back towards the generator/supply end, google M.E.N. or multiple earth neutral system. E.g if you put your multimeter in active and neutral you will see 240v a/c, ditto if you probe active and earth at the socket.

*Edit* sorry for the hijack Cliff

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:59 pm

Thanks everyone for your comments.
Our house was build in the 90's and has -
2 x Lighting circuits with 10A breakers
2 x Power circuits with 20A breakers
The 2 x Power circuits with Earth leakage (tripping at 30mA)
There is only the 1 circuit for the -
Range (oven) and Hot water.
The only other thing in the breaker box is the 3 phase ducted A/C curcuit.
I think I will arrange for a dedicated 15A power supply from the breaker box so I can run the compressor.
I really need to do this anyway as I have 2 x Lathes. 1 is set up for a normal 10A circuit but the other one is set up for 15A only.
I was going to wait till I could sort out an external shed to the house (everything is in the double garage now) and set up the 15A for this lathe but this could take years.
It is only a run or about 4 metres from out the back of the breaker box to inside the garage and to a dedicated power point.
With the earth leakage I would prefer a dedicated circuit for the MIG anyway so would use the 15A for this (MIG is only 10A though) the compress or the Lathe.
No rush as my other compressor is a Supercheap bought BlackRidge with a delivery of 180 L/minute which is fine for spray painting and running pneumatic tools (though not the best for high volume air supply to sanders etc)

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:53 pm

Cliff R wrote: The only other thing in the breaker box is the 3 phase ducted A/C curcuit.
I think I will arrange for a dedicated 15A power supply from the breaker box so I can run the compressor.

I'd be looking at getting that 3 phase supply plumbed into your shed, then you can get some serious equipment

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:00 pm

Thanks everyone for your feedback.
I have now fitted the new motor and done some research on the net re the specs for the TA-65 compressor.
It looks like the motor requirements are to be 3HP, 2.2kW which is what the new motor appears to be.
I will proceed and sort out a dedicated 15A power circuit.
Dont know about any 3 phase gear though

Post by **TOONGA** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:54 pm

Don't try this at home one of my favorite youtube channels.

TOONGA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snk3C4m44SY

Post by **Bantum** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:27 am

Cliff R wrote:This may be a long shot but I need advice from an electrician or someone with solid electrical knowledge.
This is my larger compressor which is a Fesheng TA-65 (15 cfm)

It is shown here with its original motor which is a 240v, 12 watt, single phase and I think 10A.
This motor is now unreliable as it does not start or run well all the time. Some years ago my father organised for a new motor which I would like to use but I am not sure if I can run this motor on a normal household electrical circuit which is definitely 10 amps.
Here is the new motors name plate.

Here is where I need the advice, can I use this motor in normal household circuity or not. If so I will install it on the compressor.

Missing links to photos ...

Only thing I'd add is the rating shown on most devices are an advisory on max current drawn, doesn't mean they actually draw that much in operation - the only way to check is with a meter while running ...

Cheers, Bantum ...