wiring in air compressor

29192 Views 60 Replies 16 Participants Last post by mitmaks, Apr 14, 2007

mitmaks

Discussion Starter · Dec 18, 2006

Would I be able to wire in compressor in my drier outlet?

1 - 20 of 61 Posts

OneMoreTime

· #2 · Dec 18, 2006

It is not recommended..get a double pole breaker of the correct rating and install that in your panel and then run wire to the compressor..or out to an 220 outlet in the shop..

You can use an extension cord..(one of the heavy duty ones) and be ok with that..

I get a bit nervous about giving any more info as I have seen some real wiring nightmares develop..

Sam

Huskinhano

· #3 · Dec 18, 2006

I'm an electrician. The drier line is plenty but enough for the compressor but the problem is that you'd have a violation with installing the wrong outlet/plug for the ampacity of the circuit.

oldred

· #4 · Dec 18, 2006

Properly wiring a compressor is simple enough for someone with experience but if you are unsure then I would strongly suggest hiring an electrician or at least have someone with electrical background check it out for you. We may be able to tell you the right way to do this but if we, pardon the pun, "get our wires crossed" while tying to explain it here then it could cause major problems and possibly equipment damage or personal injury. This is just one of those things that IMO is too critical to attempt to coach over the net as there is simply no room for error.

BlackAce

· #5 · Dec 21, 2006

If I can run a 220 line then anyone can!!!!!!

I picked up a compressor over the summer. I don't remeber what the amp rating is. Basically I went to the electric supply store and told them what I had and he gave me everything. If I remeber right it was a around $30 for a 100 feet of wire, outlet and doulbe pole breaker. I ran it from my garage to the other side house. Basically the far right coner to the far left corner. I was a little nervous about wiring it into the panel but I followed one of the double breakers in there and it was fine. I talked to an electrician at work and told him what I did and he said it sounded like a did a great job. Never had a problem since I have had it hooked up.

I was orginally thinking of running off my drying too but after talking to a couple electricians they said that it wouldn't be a good idea. BTW the only expierence I having with electrical stuff it changed the exisiting outlets and light switches in my house.

Like I said

BeeTX

· #6 · Dec 21, 2006

I agree, learning the wiring isn't that bad. There are some tricky things about wire and breaker sizes, and load capacities though. And something I hadn't thought of until reading a good electrical advice forum, was that if you do your own wiring without an electrical permit, and your house burns, it's possible your insurance would pay nothing because of it. Here, if it's your own house, you can get the permit and still do the work yourself. And that way you have somebody check your work too.

oldred

· #7 · Dec 21, 2006

I never said it was hard to do and in fact I said it is simple enough but if someone has to ask questions then they need to have some "hands on" guidance from an expert. If you don't FULLY understand about 220 wiring, proper wire size, receptacle type, proper breaker size and at least a basic idea of the local wiring code then it is, plain and simple, a risky proposition in spite of the fact that most of the time it will work out ok. I in no way mean to imply that anyone is too dumb to do this just that if someone has to ask then that means that up until now they simply had no reason to know how and trying to wire a 20-30 AMP motor with only the guidance from someone who may or may not know what they are talking about is no place to learn. It would be all too easy to misunderstand instructions and advice given from several different opinions and once the mistake is made it is too late and the results can run from minor problems to major disaster and even fatal consequences. Electricians have to be licensed and laws require these licensed electricians for a damn good reason and to tell an inexperienced person "it is easy you can do it" is being highly irresponsible and could lead to an accident.

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BlackAce

· #8 · Dec 21, 2006

Definately listen to oldred I asked plenty of electricians before I did mine. They told me exactly what I needed and what to do before hand. I resourced it the best I could before I did it. I did sound like I just went out and did it. But that is definately not the case. That is something you don't want to play with.

oldred

· #9 · Dec 21, 2006

I have serviced compressors for years and I have seen several problems due to instalation mistakes, it does happen. The most common mistakes are wire size that is too small and overloaded breakers. Most of the units I worked on were three phase which all but eliminates the DIYer but it is surprising how many calls I got when someone got their small shop compressor home and could not get it to run. I have seen several that were not grounded

ain: , Hot wires hooked to ground, 220 motors wired to 110, wiring that was routed over moving parts, bare wires touching switch housings, improperly wired switchs that would not shut off

ain:

ain: and numous other things ranging from exposed wiring to wiring being routed in areas where it was subject to damage. Improper grounding is the most common mistake and this can be deadly since the owner may not know it is wrong until it is too late, getting a 220 volt charge while standing on a damp concrete floor, or any floor for that matter, will most certainly spoil your day.

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BeeTX

· #10 · Dec 21, 2006

I can't agree more with oldred either. The scary part is some stuff will work, and therefore seem right even when it isn't. I almost did exactly what you described last summer oldred. I took the advice of someone, who was claimed to be a very knowledgable person, at a supply store on wire size. It was undersized, and I had to redo a bunch. It was only after a lot of research and many questions for our electrical inspector (who happens to be my neighbor) before I got things right. And then he inspected it to make sure.

It would have worked and been dangerous (underprotected wire) if I hadn't gotten the permit and help.

Mustangsaly

· #11 · Jan 3, 2007

asking a licensed electrician is a good idea (I know as I am one) the biggest problem is the average guy don't understand the electrical terms given to them by the electrician. and takes off 1/2 cocked with out fully understanding the electrical task at hand. the biggest problem with hooking your air compressor to a 240v dryer receptacle/outlet is the dryer circuit is not setup/sized or protected for a dryer and a air compressor together or big enough to run the dryer and air compressor at the same time. and planning on only running one at a time is bound to create a problem sooner or later. just take the time and spend the money and run a separate 240v circuit to your air compressor and eliminate any future problems as it will be done right the 1st time.and you won't have to worry about your air compressor kicking on when your dryers running or someone turning on your dryer when your air compressor's running.

Mustangsaly

oldred

· #12 · Jan 4, 2007

Mustang, EXACTLY my point!

After an incident has occured "But I thought you meant" is a bit late and that is why about the only wiring advice I will give is to consult an electrician, it is much too easy to have a misunderstanding without being there to watch what is going on.

Mustangsaly

· #13 · Jan 5, 2007

oldred I understand, as I get nerves giving advice with out being able to show the person what I mean. and I don't mean that anyone is dumb, but the the way a electrician explains things and the way average person understands it is 2 different things. and a person might think they understand what a electrician explains to them until they get to the electrical task at hand then they realize they did not or don't understand. and the terms a electrician uses confuses people. catch 22 I guess...............

Mustangsaly

mitmaks

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jan 11, 2007

Mustangsaly said:
asking a licensed electrician is a good idea (I know as I am one) the biggest problem is the average guy don't understand the electrical terms given to them by the electrician. and takes off 1/2 cocked with out fully understanding the electrical task at hand. the biggest problem with hooking your air compressor to a 240v dryer receptacle/outlet is the dryer circuit is not setup/sized or protected for a dryer and a air compressor together or big enough to run the dryer and air compressor at the same time. and planning on only running one at a time is bound to create a problem sooner or later. just take the time and spend the money and run a separate 240v circuit to your air compressor and eliminate any future problems as it will be done right the 1st time.and you won't have to worry about your air compressor kicking on when your dryers running or someone turning on your dryer when your air compressor's running.

Mustangsaly

I was thinking having one of those dryer wires hooked up to compressor and then I'd just put it in dryer outlet when I need to use compressor. Id unplug dryer of course and wouldn't ever run both at the same time on same outlet. That outlet already has breaker, so does every other appliance it's all inside garage.

Huskinhano

· #15 · Jan 18, 2007

oldred said:
I never said it was hard to do and in fact I said it is simple enough but if someone has to ask questions then they need to have some "hands on" guidance from an expert. If you don't FULLY understand about 220 wiring, proper wire size, receptacle type, proper breaker size and at least a basic idea of the local wiring code then it is, plain and simple, a risky proposition in spite of the fact that most of the time it will work out ok. I in no way mean to imply that anyone is too dumb to do this just that if someone has to ask then that means that up until now they simply had no reason to know how and trying to wire a 20-30 AMP motor with only the guidance from someone who may or may not know what they are talking about is no place to learn. It would be all too easy to misunderstand instructions and advice given from several different opinions and once the mistake is made it is too late and the results can run from minor problems to major disaster and even fatal consequences. Electricians have to be licensed and laws require these licensed electricians for a damn good reason and to tell an inexperienced person "it is easy you can do it" is being highly irresponsible and could lead to an accident.

Great advice!

mitmaks

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 19, 2007

4

ok now I need to know where each wire goes. Ive got white, black, red and green.

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Rambo_The_Dog

· #17 · Feb 19, 2007

mitmaks said:
ok now I need to know where each wire goes. Ive got white, black, red and green.

Where's the manual? :smash:

First find the breaker for the dryer...Turn it off...check with a multi-meter or voltage sensor and make sure its dead. Check to make sure your outlet is 3 or 4 wire and you got the correct one. you want a 4 wire...if you have to undo the faceplate of the outlet to verify wire placements are correct.

This should be correct...mine works!

White - Neutral
Green - Ground
Red - Hot
Black - Hot

You probably won't have problems using this independant of the dryer...but you might also want to double check the size of the breaker on the dryer at your main panel...a 5hp motor needs a 30amp double pole breaker...if your dryer breaker is rated at a higher amp then you will risk damaging your compressor or worse.

Another thing I was concerned about - and why I took the extra time and expense to wire a sub-panel and breakers - is that it gives you another good safety point to shut the compressor down if something goes awry...fire...hair getting caught...cats tale...air hose bursts and is flopping all over...tank ruptures...you name it...

If your plugin is not close by...and even if it is...it is extremely difficult to quickly unplug a 220v plugin...especially if its in another room behind a dryer...or a car is in the way...

Anyway I will quit the safety lecture ~ you'll probably never have an issue.

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mitmaks

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 4, 2007 (Edited)

So do I simply electrical tape white wire? Which one of the contacts does red/black goes, if I switch them would that make motor spin the wrong way?

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Rambo_The_Dog

· #19 · Mar 4, 2007

mitmaks said:
So do I simply electrical tape white wire? Which one of the contacts does red/black goes, if I switch them would that make motor spin the wrong way?

I can't tell anything from the picture - less flash would help...

The manual should clearly show you which connections to make.

You will want to use rated connectors or twist caps to spice the wires in correctly.

66GMC

· #20 · Mar 4, 2007

Sometimes, even when you *think* you have done the right thing and hired an electrician ... bad things can happen.

We had a 5 HP motor burn out on a compressor that was mounted in a room above our wash bay in a building that we were leasing.

When we approached the owner, he supplied us with a used motor that he had ... and we had it installed and wired. The electrician said something about it being wired a little differently than the original. Anyway ... it worked for about a week or so and died again.

At that point, I suggested getting the original motor re-wound and had it sent away to do so.

The same electrician came back, and he and an apprentice proceeded to wire it back in. The apprentice stayed up in the compressor room, while the electrician came down to throw the breaker on. It started right up, and ran while the electrician and I chatted about "doing the right thing".

After the compressor had run for several minutes, he yelled up and asked the apprentice how things were looking. "Pretty good ... it's almost up to 250." was the reply.

Terry (the electrician) RAN to the breaker panel and yelled at me to open a ball valve somewhere to relieve the pressure ... which I did. :sweat:

When things settled a little ... we discovered that there was oil spraying out of the compressor.

We decided to let the electrician and the building owner duke it out as to who was going to be responsible, and ordered a 5HP 60-gal compressor to "demo" until it got resolved. It was still on the floor when I left there 3 years later.

Now I'm wondering ... "Hmmm ... I wonder if the pressure switch was at fault, and that was wat caused the motor failures? How many times were we exposed to the dangers of grenading black pipe?" :sweat:

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