Last question for a while hopefully!
Is 240v air compressor required or would 120v air compressor be acceptable for use with the crossfire pro & Everlast 82i?
I am working with my electrician and my current panel is filling up. I would need to install another panel in order to have a separate dedicated circuit for a 240v air compressor
If it were me, I’d put the sub-panel in or replace the main. You might find a single phase compressor that would meet the base requirements, but you have no room grow.
Thanks for advice.
So I have since found the listing for this unit which would actually use an existing receptacle and dedicated circuit that is already installed and equipped for it.
“Industrial Air 60 Gal. Stationary Electric Air Compressor ILA3606056“ (technically 230v)
The only thing is the receptacle has the “sideways eyes” which is already included with the above referenced air comp.
Are other 240 volt air comp plugs the same? Or are they more like the American plugs with “vertical eyes”
Because as it stands currently, the electrician is installing a dedicated 50Amp circuit for the plasma cutter, and I already have a 20 amp circuit for this air compressor that claims to run at 15 amps and appears to meet the air compressor requirements listed in my Everlast 82i spec book. So I think I have everything covered now as far as electrical service goes.
If you want to run the plasma cutter a 240 volt compressor is what you need. Most 240 volt compressors run on a 30 amp circuit a 20 will be to small and will trip the breaker under compressor load as it heats up
What is your time worth?
Want to monitor your air pressure and stress over pausing your cut at the right time to make sure there is enough air? There is a reason very very few people run 110v compressors. You can spend your time cutting or worrying about your air.
This is the problem when people jump right into mechanized cutting. There is no frame of reference for what’s needed. I had done a decent amount of hand cutting prior to buying my table. Much more manageable to use a small compressor with a hand torch. That experience meant there was no way in hell I was trying to run my table off a 110v.
Plan on a compressor that delivers at least 12CFM.
I used a 110V makita that put out 6cfm for my first project. Cutting an adapter plate to retrofit a 60 gallon compressor my dad had in his barn. It worked but not ideal. You will have to program pauses to let the compressor catch up and you will have to deal with warm wet air due to your compressor running at the margins.
I bet if you go with a small compressor you will be wanting to replace it almost immediately.
I believe the plug configuration changes depending on the volts and amps of the circuit.
This is what is powering mine. The compressor will probably come without a plug. This hung me up when I was buying mine and the forum helped me; I thought it needed to be hard wired. You can throw a plug on it and go.
I don’t know if I bought the wrong receptacle or what, or why I put it in 50 amp configuration, but I’m sure it would be fine either way. You can see the plug can be converted to 30 amp.
The specs on my compressor say 21.5 amps under load. So a 30 amp would have been fine.
Depending on who wired that receptacle, the correct amperage should have been considered. These are the typical receptacles based on voltage/amperage:
Your 220/240v compressors have plugs? Mine didn’t come with a cord. I have it hard wired to a box with a shut off switch.
Lol. Yep. It was me. I think I just bought the wrong receptacle. I’d have to check the breaker to see what I used but it’s got to be 40. Or I may have done it to match what was on the hypertherm. I can’t remember. The main panel is on the other side of the wall so it was a super easy run to do.
In my mind It is totally fine if you oversize a plug and thus the receptacle just so long as someone doesn’t come along and “upgrade” the breaker to match a larger receptacle that was poorly matched. It would be rejected by an inspector and not considered code but it would be safe for use.
To clarify: You have a wire that is capable of 30 Amps and the breaker is a 30 amp breaker. It just so happens you have a 40A plug on a machine that is rated for 30 amps. Putting a 40 amp receptacle for the appliance would not be dangerous. Misleading but not dangerous.
It would be dangerous if someone comes after you and replaces the breaker with a 40A breaker.
Yeah mine didn’t come with a cord either. I think I made it out of SO cord and added the plug. I think I used the plug so I could switch back and forth from my heater. I didn’t want to have it hardwired and dedicated only to the compressor.
a 3HP 240v is not really enough. you will find you need air for many other things as well.
