bud-- wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
I have a 115v, 1 1/8 HP motor with a faceplate rating of 13 Amps. It
actually draws 17 Amps (according to the Kill-A-Watt) with no load.

Does the difference mean anything important?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

P.S.
I haven't run the motor for more than a couple of minutes...


Are you misreading 18 as 13?

The table in the NEC gives 16 amps for an "average" 1 HP 120V motor.
That, along with the nameplate value of 13A is for a fully loaded
motor. Are you operating with a mechanical load?

Watts might also be of interest. A 1 1/8 HP mechanical load is 840
watts. Then there are losses that add. I never looked at the watts of
an unloaded motor. Should be far less - most of the current is
reactive.

You may be on to something - that, coupled with the limitation of the
Kill-A-Watt to 15 amps, leads me to go ahead and perform the "Smoke Test."