Quote:
Originally Posted by legion
I bought a new air compressor. It fills the tank just fine, but if the pressure in the tank drops enough that it has to refill the tank, it stutters and trips the 15 amp breaker. I called the manufacturer and they recommended a 20 amp breaker on a dedicated circuit.
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If the unloader on the compressor is working properly the motor's starting current shouldn't be any more when pumping up a 90% full tank than when pumping up an empty tank. That hiss you hear when the motor stops pumping is the unloader releasing and isolating the pressure in the tank from the air pump. When it starts again, it should be working against 0 pressure just like it was an empty tank.
OTOH, if the compressor was rated for a 20 amp circuit, you should have 12 g wire and a 20 amp breaker.