That's correct. But you can't just replace the outlet. You have to make sure the wire from the main panel is 12 gage and also that the breaker is 20 amps.
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NeverGiveUpYota
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Waiting for my guy who did the wiring to text back. Panel in basement he redid, #20 is garage. White wiring has no rating on it.
NeverGiveUpYota
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HAHA! I answered half that question myself @Prairie Swamp, 20 IS the breaker size! hehe, this girl is learning so much today!
NeverGiveUpYota
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And on the oil end, I bought a quart of ‘compressor oil’ from Ace. It has no viscosity listed and it’s clear and much thinner than what was in there which was very dark in color.
Gretsch
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I don't think the plug matters as much as the circuit you run it off of. As @Prarie Swap says, the 20 amp plug to a 20 amp circuit is the way you want this done. You can use the 15 amp rated plug on the compressor and it will physically fit in the 20 amp plug receptacle (NEMA 50-20). If you have 20 amp circuit in the garage though, then I would just get a NEMA 5-20R receptacle on that circuit and get a 20 amp plug on the compressor. That plug on the compressor is rated for 15 amps not 20. Will prolly work but as you have seen it can melt stuff. Long way of saying that if you have 20 amp circuit, put a 20 amp plug/cable on the compressor, and a 20 amp
receptacle on your 20 amp circuit to have it work safely.
I’m sure the wire is correct if an electrician friend did the install. Also, there are plenty of 20amp outlets without the sideways prong.
That plug will be fine.
That plug will be fine.
NeverGiveUpYota
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My friend who did the wiring says the wiring is 14/2 and its a 15A. He is saying the melty plug WAS a 15A plug so replace it with what I have.
NeverGiveUpYota
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But I'd have to run 12/2 wiring to have it fully correct and damn if this is getting more involved that I was hoping for.
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I guess he f-d up cuz he texted that he'd typically put 20 in a garage but is able to verify the breaker is 15a and the wiring is 14/2. That was well over 10 years ago...
Fel, Plug it in and run it. It's fine.
NeverGiveUpYota
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I have to wire a new plug to it! Its cut off at this point and the wiring I bought isn't as stout as what is coming off the machine! What about the oil?
You bought compressor oil, right? Put it in. You bought a plug, right? Cut the old plug off the compressor cord and wire it into the plug you just bought. Plug it in and pump air. If you will be running this thing continuously for hours at a time, it may eventually trip the breaker. What you need to do will take 10 minutes. It's fine.
Cruiserdrew
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If you have a 20 amp breaker protecting a 14 gauge wire, that isn't code is it? It should be 12 gauge romex. Or the breaker should be 15 amps. The whole idea is the breaker goes before the wire melts and causes a fire. I do not know the electrical residential code though so I may be wrong about the wire gauge.
This is one of the reasons to run 220v if you have it available. It halves the amperage in the circuit and smaller wires are perfectly safe. My garage has 30 amp 220 service, and technically should be 50 amps but I stole the dryer circuit and it's been awesome and my dryer is gas, so didn't need the dryer 220 outlet.
Anyway, like all electrical, the breaker or fuse is there to protect the wire, not the device you run on it.
I agree about the compressor oil. THe old stuff looks nasty and it's time for a change.
This is one of the reasons to run 220v if you have it available. It halves the amperage in the circuit and smaller wires are perfectly safe. My garage has 30 amp 220 service, and technically should be 50 amps but I stole the dryer circuit and it's been awesome and my dryer is gas, so didn't need the dryer 220 outlet.
Anyway, like all electrical, the breaker or fuse is there to protect the wire, not the device you run on it.
I agree about the compressor oil. THe old stuff looks nasty and it's time for a change.
NeverGiveUpYota
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As always Dave.... thank you.
NeverGiveUpYota
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It’s run w/ 14/2 and a 15A breaker. Friend thinks he just replaced what was already in the garage instead of updating w/ 20.
isn't the lite weight compressor oil for air tools to keep them lubed? I run standard 10w30 in mine.
Cruiserdrew
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Good in a way. It's perfectly safe but I'm not sure you should plug your compressor into it. It will drive you crazy if it keeps popping the breaker.
You have a bunch of 20 amp breakers in your panel You might be able to just get a heavy duty extension cord and plug into one of those circuits.
Or, you could get your electrical friend to actually measure the current draw of your compressor when it's running. He probably has a clamp on meter. It may be less than 20 amps.
NeverGiveUpYota
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He’s just a home brew diyer whose done his own work and others for cheap because he thinks the prices most contractors charge is absurd. He runs everything to code but maybe 10 years ago flaked our on mine.
Gretsch
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Agreed, for the task at hand here, its prolly gonna work fine. Not worth power mods for this little bit. If you already had proper 20A wiring and breakers, then you could get the proper 20A plugs. Not exactly easy to change if not already there as you have discovered. If you ever ran air tools off that compressor, then maybe you would want to figure out proper power for it. But for this, let it roll. If it blows a breaker when you run it, then you will have your answer. Lots of folks put 15A plugs on 20A devices and you certainly wouldn't be doing anything exactly cutting edge there. Its not proper spec but folks do it all the time. As others have said, just get a plug on it, and start compressing. GL.
NeverGiveUpYota
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It runs. Took about 8 mins total to get up to 90 then it shut down. Leak is pretty significant where I’m pointing and when it reaches about 70 it kicks back on.
