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Old 04-22-2005, 06:42 PM
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Madman Stephan Madman Stephan is offline
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Default Wiring up air compressor....

Silly question, but, instead of blowing myself, or my new compressor up, I thought I would ask you guys. I had a 110V portable compressor in my shop which I got rid of for obvious reasons. Now I got myself a nice 220V 60 gallon beauty and I'm in the process of wiring it up. I took the cover off of the switch and I can see the hot (white) and live (black) wires going to the motor. It's obvious where the hot and live wire from the feed should be located, but, my question is, where does the other live (red) wire go? I keep thinking that it should be hooked up somewhere on the motor side. Anyone have an idea?

Thanks!
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Old 04-22-2005, 07:24 PM
BillyBob BillyBob is offline
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Assuming you are not using 3phase, 220v wiring only uses 2 hot legs & 1 ground. "If" there are 2 wires connected to the 2pole breaker in the panel use those two wires as your hot legs. If not, you can use any 2 of them. The 3rd wire just cap off with a wirenut, but maintain the use of a ground/ground wire.
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Old 04-22-2005, 09:07 PM
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Hi, it's definitely single phase, but when I wire it up I get nothing but "humming"....
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Old 04-22-2005, 10:13 PM
BillyBob BillyBob is offline
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It "sounds" like you do not have 220V at the compressor. Can I assume you are using a different circuit breaker that is a 2 pole version?
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Old 04-22-2005, 10:56 PM
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White should be neutral, in most cases connected to ground, also.

Black and red wires should each carry 110V, of opposite phases, to give you 220.

CB panel has to be configured correctly. You'll probably want a separate 220 V (dual) circuit breaker dedicated to the compressor. You'll run the black and red wires off each side of this breaker to the compressor. For goodness sake, don't forget the neutral and/or ground wires, too.
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Old 04-23-2005, 12:45 PM
BillyBob BillyBob is offline
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DanL,
There is NO neutral used on 220V single phase!!!
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Old 04-23-2005, 09:43 PM
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Perhaps not. The motor will run without it, for sure. But there sure as He!! is a ground, and in every electrical box I've had in my homes, neutral and ground were connected together. The intent here is not to make the motor run; it's to make it safe to touch.
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Old 04-23-2005, 10:07 PM
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Maybe I should have stated it a bit different:

There is NO neutral used on a 220V single phase compressor!!!
There are 2 hot(live) wires and 1 ground wire.
If you are using romex you only need to use 2 conductor the black & white are the hots and the bare is the ground. If you use 3 wire romex you can use any combination of red/white/black, but only need 2 of them and again use the bare for the ground.
If you are using bx cable you only need to use 2 wire as the armor provides the path for grounding.
Also, as per the NEC there needs to be a means of disconnect within sight of the compressor. This can be done with either a disconnect switch near the compressor or use a receptacle on the wall and plug the compressor into it. Either of these means will keep you in compliance with the code as written.

The only time the neutrals & grounds are "connected" at the same point on the neutral/ground buss are in the main panel of a residence. If there is a 2nd or sub-panel in your residence fed off of the main panel, the neutrals & grounds must be separate.
I hope the grounds & neutrals in your home are NOT connected to each other inside of the switch/receptacle boxes. It is only done at the panel.

Yes, a ground path/ground is an essential part of an electrical system!!!
(N.J. LIcensed Electrical Contractor #7740)
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Old 04-24-2005, 03:07 PM
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Default The deed is done....

...it was that damn white wire that screwed me up! I just capped it and everything worked okay. Silly 220V......

Since my sub-panel in the workshop only has 8 slots for breakers and they're all used up, I had to splice the only 220V (20 amp) breaker that I had in there, which is used by my hoist, and run a line to the compressor. But, just before getting to it, I wired in a small 2 slot sub-sub-panel with a 220V 15 amp breaker. I highly doubt there will ever be a time where I MUST use my hoist and compressor at the same time.

Everything since to make sense and fairly safe, just maybe not entirely 100% by the code.....
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