On May 5, 12:30*pm, Chris Friesen wrote:
On 05/05/2010 10:59 AM, wrote:

On May 5, 11:48 am, Chris Friesen wrote:
A good rule of thumb for most "normal" induction motors is 10A per HP at
120V.

Higher quality motors can do better, of course, but a "premium
efficiency" 1HP Baldor motor that costs $500 is still rated at 8.6A.

My bet is that a "normal" motor isn't much less. *There is more in
that motor than a few (more) pounds of copper (like a name plate).

I was curious, so I went and checked on Baldor's site.

I checked a few 3450rpm 1HP "general purpose" induction motors and the
FLA at 120V ranged from 11.8 to 15A. *Worse than I thought. *

Gack! You're right. I looked up a few sites and found 12-15A for a
general purpose 1-HP 120V motor (I thought motors were far better than
50% efficient). Nothing less than 12AWG!