Craftsman Air Compressor Issues


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Old 06-06-16, 09:49 AM
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Craftsman Air Compressor Issues

I have another issue I need your help with. I moved my Craftsman Air Compressor model 919.165610 from my old house to new. The wiring instruction states a dedicated 15amp circuit should work (240v, 15amp, cycle 60, phase-1, 7HP). It also says if the 15amp causes interruption in power, switch to a 20amp. I installed a 20amp 2-pole breaker and used 12/2 wire to hardwire it directly to the pressure switch as I did at my old home. I had to use 40' wire to get over to the compressor. The compressor ran fine up to about 40psi then labored very hard for a couple seconds and then shut off tripping the breaker. The wire felt warm to the touch and the compressor would not restart until it cooled down so I imagine it set off the thermal protection. This is the first time I wired this or any compressor and my electrical experience is limited to lights, and receptacles. Just to be sure I didn't miss something the motor was already wired to the pressure switch. On the blocks above the motor wires on the PS I put white line over the white motor and black line over black motor and grounded to the second ground screw. At the breaker box I left one pole open and black to the other pole. White and ground to the bar. I confirmed the compressor was hooked up to 10awg on a 30amp breaker at my old home. Could this be my issue or is it likely an issue with the compressor?

Thanks guys!
 
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Old 06-06-16, 09:59 AM
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You wired your circuit for 120v. Both the black and the white wire go to the breaker for 240vac.
Just the bare ground goes on the bar.
 
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Old 06-06-16, 10:22 AM
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Just to clarify Pete's reply....the black wire goes to one pole of the double breaker, the white to the other pole.
 
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Old 06-06-16, 10:36 AM
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This is a classic example of manufacturers using wild horsepower claims on air compressors. A 7-1/2 horsepower electric motor (there is no 7 horsepower) in the real world would require a 40 ampere circuit at 240 volts, single phase. That YOUR machine is listed as needing only 15 amperes tells me it is really, at best, 2-1/2 horsepower. Your motor might develop 7 horsepower just before it blows the circuit and burns up.
 
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Old 06-06-16, 11:03 AM
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This is why I come here. You guys are always a help! Thank you! I'll let you know if this doesn't fix me up.
 
 

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