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Dave Martindale

writes:

Yesterday I fired the thing up -- and in the first half-hour I tripped
the breaker
3 times! While resetting I noticed that my *pro* had used an old 20a breaker
instead of the new one he charged me for. I confronted him and he said that it
shouldn't make any difference. I pressed him further and he made excuses
("Breakers never wear out..." Blah, blah, blah."You couldn't tell me what you
were running so I used what I had at the shop...")

Breakers do fail occasionally. I once had a 15 A circuit that would
sometimes trip when loaded with a toaster (~9A). Replaced the breaker
with a new 15 A unit and it never tripped again.

Anyway, if he installed a used unit with no warranty, he should have
told you that and billed you for the value of the used unit. If he
charged for a new one, he should have installed a new one (with
warranty). Anything else is dishonest.

First, in addition to replacing the 20a breaker, should I also switch the 15a
receptacle w/ a 20a? I only have the one receptacle on my circuit...

Doesn't make any difference if the compressor has a standard 15 A plug.

Second, what's involved in swapping my existing 120v circuit to 240v? The
compressor is currently wired for 120v but I do have the option of
converting it to 240v if I must. How much work will it take?

The advantage of 240 V is that you'll reduce the current and the voltage
drop in the wiring by a factor of 2. At double the line voltage, the
percentage voltage drop will be 1/4 what it is at 120 V. But with a
short run from the panel, there's probably not enough voltage drop to
care about.

To do it, you'll need a double-pole breaker, a 240 V outlet, and some
tape on the white wire in the Romex. On the compressor, you'll need to
rewire the motor connections and change plugs on the cord.

Dave