On 04/13/2010 01:48 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Ron S" wrote:

Lew,

You are absolutely correct, but it is irrelevant.

snip the steady state math

Inrush.

Hypothetically, if we propose an inrush of 10x steady state (which
should be higher than the actual inrush--how long will a 15A breaker let
you draw 150A before it pops?) then the conductor losses in the supply
conductors drops from about 10% of the overall current draw to about
2.5% of the overall current draw. This would make 7.5% more power
available at the motor terminals. This isn't significant in my books.

In the real world, the actual difference will be less than that.

Arguably the most significant difference is that the load is spread
evenly over both legs so the lights on one leg don't dim due to the
sudden load.

Chris