#50 ?

Be careful about what you hear here......

#10 is good for 30 amps - has nothing to do with volts...... There is
no such thing as #50 wire for AC distribution - it would be less than
hair thin!

Perhaps you need an electrician - not a retired one!

On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 04:19:46 -0500,
wrote:

On 25 Apr 2006 21:55:59 -0700, "thetiler" wrote:

My friend ran 10-3 wire from his power box to his new workshop
about 150 away, he says with 10 guage wire. He says it has three
wires so I assume this is what they call 10-3.
He wants to buy a 60 gallon, 3 hp compressor, one of those $400
one's at tractor supply that are 240 volt and push about 10.3cfm
@90psi.

I'm worried that his wire is not heavy enough. I have (3) 4 guage
wires
running to my workshop which will run 75 amps, more than I'll ever
need.
He ran his wire before telling me, so it's already buried and done.

His wire looks awful small. I know when I run my portable compressors
to take out tile in people's homes, they will kick off 15 amp breakers
all
the time. I need to find a strong plug like where the washer is
plugged in.
I know his larger compressor will demand a lot more juice to kick over
and run.

Will his 10 guage wire support the proposed compressor, or will
he ruin the motor on it as I suspect?
BTW, he is also running many shop lights in the shop, which will
add to the draw some.

Thanks for your help,

thetiler (not theelectrician)

You are correct. #10 wire is far too small.
I'd use at least a #50 wire.

Just multiply the wire number by 10 and you get the proper voltage.
#10 wire is for 100 volts
#50 wire is for 500 volts.

Use the #50 for maximum power.


Retired Electrician