MusPuppis Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Ok, this is sorta tech, but I dont see any other section that this really belongs in since its not really car related. I have a question for you all.. I just bought an air compressor (thank god.. I finally have one.) and will be wiring it up tomarrow. I'd like some recommendations as to chord size from you folks. I dont know anything about it really and its not something I want to screw up. I know the compressor isnt super crazy amazing good or anything but its the best by budget will allow and all I really want it to do is run an impact, DA sander and paint gun. It should be sufficient for those uses in my garage. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...0HFV&lpage=none Thats the compressor. The manual says the following: Voltage: 230/1 phase FLA: 16 Breaker Size: 30amp The chord needs to be about 25 feet long. I know thats long, but I dont have a 220v outlet in my garage, but luckily my dryer outlet is right around the corner. So, I'm just gonna run a long chord and do it that way. Inconvenient as hell, but *shrug* what works, works, ha. I have access to Lowes and Home Depo. I know what plug to get and such, I just need recommendations on wire gauge and the amp rating of the wire. I see some thats like 10 Guage, 15amp, etc. Would I need to match the wire amp to the breaker size requirement? I dont know how the two corrolate (sp?). Anyway, any info would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 You're dryer is most likely on the 30 amp circuit. If so, it is wired with 10 guage wire. Would think the same gauge would work for another 25 feet. That should work well for your compressor. I think you are going to get real tired of manually running that extension cord. I would seriously consider adding a dedicated outlet. Technically 220v outlets need a dedicated breaker in the fuse box so if you do that you shouldn't tap off the dryer line. Any chance you could mount the compressor next to the dryer and run 25 feet of 1" copper pipe to bring air to the garage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipzoomie Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 You're much better off to plug in at the drier and run whatever air hose you'll need. Probably a bit cheaper too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Pop N Woods correct, you may(probably) want a 30 am circuit , but over 25 feet Id sellect 6-8 ga wire not 10ga, yeah 10ga may work but it may tend to get hot under load also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 Thanks guys. I've looked into putting it into the bathroom next to the dryer but the way the bathroom is laid out, it wont work. Its a narrow room with an indent in the wall that the washer and dryer it in. If the compressor were to sit in there you wouldnt be able to walk past it, the room isnt wide enough, lol. This is a temporary fix to btw. I will run a dedicated line eventually - I just need to inlist the help of someone experienced in that sort of thing. I'm confident I can do it, but I'd rather not risk setting something on fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonsZ Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 believe it or not home depot has some selection of extension cord wire up to 6 ga, 8 ga will work well and it'll look beefy too. ~$2/ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 I saw that chord. The smallest length they had in stock was 50 feet, and it was priced at like 51$ + tax. I ended up getting 25 ft of 10/3 30amp wireing. Its nice stuff, insulated to hell and back and designed for outdoor use. Im really happy with it. Its was a little costly, 38.00$ for 25ft but its pliable and high quality, so it should be safe. Got a dryer plug for like 9$ and hooked it all up. It looks rediculous laying across my bathroom floor, but it works, lol. I got the compressor turned on and let it pump up. Doesnt take long and its really not that loud at all. Not like I would have thought anyway. I dont have the little rubber feet on it yet either. I have it mounted to a pallet at the moment. So proper floor mounting and the rubber should kill alot of the vibration and sound I would think. Now I need to get some heavy use air tools on it and see how it does under real load. I expect - give that its a cheaper compressor - I'll have to be a little careful with sanders and the like but it should do the job regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Ok' date=' this is sorta tech, but I dont see any other section that this really belongs in since its not really car related. I have a question for you all.. I just bought an air compressor (thank god.. I finally have one.) and will be wiring it up tomarrow. I'd like some recommendations as to chord size from you folks. I dont know anything about it really and its not something I want to screw up. I know the compressor isnt super crazy amazing good or anything but its the best by budget will allow and all I really want it to do is run an impact, DA sander and paint gun. It should be sufficient for those uses in my garage. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...0HFV&lpage=none Thats the compressor. The manual says the following: Voltage: 230/1 phase FLA: 16 Breaker Size: 30amp The chord needs to be about 25 feet long. I know thats long, but I dont have a 220v outlet in my garage, but luckily my dryer outlet is right around the corner. So, I'm just gonna run a long chord and do it that way. Inconvenient as hell, but *shrug* what works, works, ha. I have access to Lowes and Home Depo. I know what plug to get and such, I just need recommendations on wire gauge and the amp rating of the wire. I see some thats like 10 Guage, 15amp, etc. Would I need to match the wire amp to the breaker size requirement? I dont know how the two corrolate (sp?). Anyway, any info would be appreciated. So how do you like this compressor? I'm thinking of buying this one or one like it very similar soon. Also how's the wiring working out. I have a 220 plug in my garage to use but, I'm not sure about the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 4, 2005 Author Share Posted November 4, 2005 I'm loving the compressor. I have a cheapy DA sander I've been beating the hell out of my Z with and the compressor keeps it running just fine. I've never had to stop or slow down. It kicks it on kinda quick but it keeps up without any problem. I've also been practicing paint procedure with an HVLP gun and a cheapy primer and the compressor does a great job on that. The wiring is working fine. 25 feet doesnt even get warm under load from the compressor. I ended up going with a flexible 10 guage, 3 wire deal. Was something like 1.75 a foot. Yellow sleeve, thick stuff - really nice. Good quality casing, very flexible. I searched the Lowes website but couldnt find it there.. *Shrug* I hate their site anyway. I got a standard dryer male plug from Lowes as well for about 8$. All in all I think the end cost was about 50$ for my big-*** extension cord. If you only had to run it a few feet (6 or less) Lowes sells 10/3 cords with male plugs already attached for like 8-14$ in 4-6ft lengths. If you buy it, you'll need to buy a reducer fitting if you run a normal 3/8's hose. The compressor's outlet fitting is 1/2in. Its like 2$ for the reducer (lowes carrys it as well). Only reason I mentioned it is cause I got all the way home, unpacked everything, wired it, set it up, and like a jack-*** didnt notice I needed the fitting until hooking the hose up was the last thing I had to do. Lowes was closed by then =/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Thanks for the info. Tommarow, I'm going to go and look at everything again. I really want, and could use a bigger compressor but, I'm having a hard time parting with the hard earned cash. You could also say I'm looking for a killer deal on one. I know I'll be glad I did it when I get around to it. Hopefully it will be soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 Ok so I've gotten everything but, the compressor itself. I'm hoping to pick it up Sunday during the day if I can get someone over here to help me unload it. I'm going to get the same one that you did from Lowes since it seems to have the best CFM and price in my range. If possible vould you tell me or maybe even take a picture of inside the electrical box so i can see exaclty how you wired it? I looked inside of one of the boxes on their display but, I didn't see where the wires hook up. Since it was a display someone could have taken parts from the box so it's got me a little confused at the moment. I've searched here and on the web for a clear answer but, I can't seem to come up with anything. Thanks for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 12, 2005 Author Share Posted November 12, 2005 Np, I dont have my camera here atm, but it should be by this afternoon. I'll take some pics for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 12, 2005 Author Share Posted November 12, 2005 Ok, I drew up a quick diagram for ya.. I dunno when/if my camera is coming back today. That is based on using 10/3 wire. The Green wire should be used as the ground, while the white and black wires should be used as the hot leads. Its also good practice to mark the white wire with black or red tape at both ends to signify its being used as a hot lead. In 115v the white wire is used as a nuetral - so just marking that it is carrying power is helpful. If you're using one of the little pre-built dealies from Lowes, the middle wire is ground, the other two are positive. Doesnt matter which of the positives goes to which terminal on the compressor. The little compressor diagram is about as close I could make it to what it actually looks like. You'll see 4 terminals on the left side of it. Two will have wires going to the compressor motor - two will be empty. Your hot wires hook to the empty ones. On the right you'll see a little screw directly on the base of the wiring platform. Theres your ground, =] If anything I said wasnt clear let me know. I'm not the best at explaining things. I'll try to elaborate further if required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 Perfect explaination!! This is what I thought it would be but, since it's 220 I didn't want to take a chance on it. Thanks for taking your time to make the diagram. Hopefully, I'll be reporting as to how it all worked out tommarow evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 12, 2005 Author Share Posted November 12, 2005 Np man, anything I can do to help. Your dryer plug is the standard 3 prong type right? Some older ones are 4 prong. 2 Hots, a ground and nuetral. If thats the case, just ignore the nuetral its not used on the compressor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 Mine looks very similar to a regular plug but, one of the lugs is turned side ways. I checked it this morning with a tester that I forgot that I had and it said it was 220. Wish I had noticed it was there before I bought my last welder. :| I would have gone with a 220 unit aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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