Discuss Installing a 230v Single Phase Air Compressor in my home garage in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Hi gents

Just joined and this is my first post.

I’ve decided to upgrade my home garage compressed air setup since my current 3hp 50ltr 8cfm struggles to run the air tools I’m using to restore my old project car.

All was going ok until I invested in a 20 gallon sandblaster with the result being its simply not up to the job.

I’ve tried adding a separate 100ltr air receiver tank so I have more stored air volume in an attempt to keep the motor cycle from trying to keep up with the amount of air I need, but it really has been to no avail unfortunately.

So I may as well make it clear at this point that I’m not an electrician, nor do I have any qualified electrical experience which has led me here.

Rightly or wrongly, I’ve been advised by friends that having 3 Phase power installed could be very costly so I guessed that’s out the question which has lead me to looking at the next best option being a 230v Single Phase setup which would allow me to utilise a bigger motor powered compressor.

So I’ve hunted about and decided that what I’d like is this vertical type compressor with a 4hp motor running on 1ph: Clarke VE18C150 18cfm Industrial Vertical Electric Air Compressor 1ph (150ltr) - Machine Mart - Machine Mart - https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ve18c150-18cfm-industrial-vertical-elec-2/

Moving forwards, I’ve found the exact compressor linked above which somebody else purchased a year ago but didn’t end up using (for whatever reason) for nearly half the list price so I’ve snapped it up and take delivery tomorrow if all goes to plan.

So I guess this leaves me needing a single socket for the compressor adding in my garage and this is where I would greatly appreciate your advice and hopefully find somebody whom can do all the nessacery installation so I can start sandblasting etc.

My garage is separated from my house by about 50 metres and the picture below is what electric I currently have wired in which would have been done approx 25 years ago:
Installing a 230v Single Phase Air Compressor in my home garage FC70890D-ECCC-40C7-99AB-F59E1087B462 - EletriciansForums.net

Below is a pic of the specs of the power I need (like I say unfortunately I’m no electrician but know it’s not for plugging into a normal socket):
Installing a 230v Single Phase Air Compressor in my home garage 48DC7C13-6C36-4E1C-A334-BF87B656428E - EletriciansForums.net

Here is a pic of where I’d like the compressor to live (note the location to where my power comes into the garage so I hope only short wiring will be required):
Installing a 230v Single Phase Air Compressor in my home garage 7C71EF0A-9E5F-4E0B-B1F8-D4F94CBCE508 - EletriciansForums.net

Firstly I’d really appreciate if somebody could clarify exactly what I need doing to make this work for me (what questions to ask and parts I need to buy).

I’m really hoping I’ve not committed to purchase this compressor in vein being left having to sell it on.

Secondly, if anybody would like to do the installation for me whom is located close to Wilmslow, Cheshire then that would be great.

Lastly what sort of cost should I be expected to pay.

Thanks in advance and apologies if I’ve posted this in the wrong area of the forum

Cheers,
Mark
 
Others can advise you on the electrical wiring requirement. But having only this week investigated why a Clarke 3kW single phase air compressor in a workshop repeatedly needed its integral overload cutout replaced I discovered that its cabling between the consumer unit and compressor (2 x LNE 4mm2 singles in conduit parelleled x 30m and 1.5mm2 x 2m flex) were undersized causing excessive voltage drop on motor start up and a prolonged high starting surge stressing the 15A thermal overload over time. The compressor is to be relocated close to the consumer unit with a short 16mm2 x 3m and 4mm2 x 1m flex feed. In both cases protected by a 32A type C mcb. Make sure then the electricians sizes the cabling for the brief starting current of between 60 and 120A.

When running the motor current was 12A (which was correct) yet the volt drop was 6V between off and on states of which 4V was between the CU and motor terminals. So, as you can quickly calculate, at 120A, the volt drop was 60V or 242-60 = 182V at the motor terminals.

Volt drop calculation for paralled 4mm2 singles in conduit=

2 x 0.011 x 12 x 30/2 = 3.9V
 
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It is advised that anything over and above 2KW should be installed on a dedicated circuit, at 3000/230 the current when running would be >13Amps so a 13 Amp socket wont be much use to you, without doing any further calculations it looks like you need a 16 Amp industrial type socket outlet installed.
Without wishing to be a smart --- did you check prior to purchasing this machine that your electrical installation is up to providing power to the compressor, as advise in the technical information, start up current will be one of the problems you will experience, Best way forward would be to get a skilled electrician in to advise and possibly give you a price, first problem I foresee, are there any spare ways in what I assume is the consumers unit in your Garage/workshop.
 
Hi Mark and welcome to the Forum. There will likely be two approaches, the minimum change and the engineered one. Minimum change is perhaps a small upgrade to secure the wiring doesn't fail and the engineered one covers Marconi's points about voltage drop on startup as well. With a 50m run the existing SWA supply cable will need a close look at.
 
yep volt drop is critical with 1 phase motors. will cause premature failure of motor. in fact, looking at a Clarke 2hp compressor instructions ( yes we do read them occasionally) it advises not to use on an extension lead as the volt drop could permanently damage the motor.
 
As mentioned above, the most critical thing is going to be the size of that submain cable feeding the garage, more on account of voltage drop than current rating. Whilst it will probably support the running current of the compressor, the voltage drop during starting may be out of spec. An on-site inspection and test can determine whether the resistance is acceptable for the purpose.

The spec plate you have pictured does not give the unit's current consumption. It shows the motor as 4hp / 3kW from which we can confirm that this is the mechanical power output of the motor, not the electrical input. The running current is likely to be in the order of 18A, with a starting current of maybe 100A. The exact figures depend on the particular motor and whether it is 1400 or 2800 rpm. It will almost certainly exceed 16A, so it will either need to be connected directly into the fixed wiring, or plugged in via a 32A industrial socket outlet, which is probably the most convenient.

Before making any moves, investigate the cable. If it turns out to be inadequate for reliably starting this single-phase motor, you will have to look at the economics of trading the compressor for a unit with a 3-phase motor that can be inverter driven, or upgrading the cable.
It might be completely fine - it's hard to tell from the pic as we don't know its configuration.
 

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