He should have looked at the compressor and seen how many amps it pulls.
(Mine says 24) He should have also noticed it was convertible, and
recommended you run it on 240v. It IS possible the breaker is weak, but I'd
lean more towards the fact that it just flat pulls more than 20 amps on
startup. You'll either need to convert it to 240v OR put in a 30a outlet.
And yes, since it is a dedicated circuit, you should be able to run 240
through the 12ga wire he installed. If in fact he used 12ga wire. Just
install a double pole breaker, tape the white wire black, and put both wires
on the breaker. THEN, tape the white wire black on the other end, put in a
20a 240v outlet, change the plug on your compressor and wire it according to
the plate on the motor.

--
Steve Barker


wrote in message ...
Hello All...
I recently bought a 2HP (running) 25gal Craftsman air-compressor. I
had an electrician come out last week and hook me up w/a designated
circuit. He installed a 20a breaker w/ one 15a dual receptacle.

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...")

Now, he's just a kid and so I'm willing to cut him some slack. But the
bottom
line is I'm not sure he or his work can be trusted completely. The thing
is
whether I decide to call him back or not -- I think there is some stuff
that
I'd like to know beforehand:

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...

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?

And third, how at fault is this electrician? Is this something he should
have
foreseen? How much of this is his responsibility? I don't like that he
passed off old as new. Or that he made excuses when he was found out.
But most of all I don't like the idea of giving him more money if he's
burning me,
deliberately or not.

Any help/info/input will be greatly appreciated...