Using a light switch on an air compressor

I have an air compressor and it's portable but I pretty much keep it in the same place in the garage. The outlet is on top of my bench but the cord always falls down behind the bench and is a royal pain to fish it out. I have considered clamping it with a romex staple to the wall or something like that, but then I cant move it without removing the staple or some sort of screw clamp. Rather than doing that, I thought about installing a double box with an outlet and a switch to turn off that outlet. That way it will remain plugged in unless I move it, and all I need to do is flip the switch on or off. My question is whether a standard light switch will handle the motor load. It's a 1/2 HP motor on a 20A circuit. I did also consider adding another breaker and just turning on and off the breaker but that box is not the easiest to get to since there are shelves in the way.

Thanks

Marv

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Reply to
marvflanders
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Get a 20 amp switch and you'll be fine

Reply to
RBM

How about some bungy cord?

Reply to
Terry

You can get a switch rated for a half horse motor, which should be easy enough. Or you can use anything, and replace it when it fails.

Reply to
Toller

That's pretty much the setup I use except I installed a 20A combination outlet and switch with a pilot light that lets me know when the circuit's on. That nice to have on a compressor being it shuts off after reaching a certain pressure and is easy to forget and leave on. I find the same setup (15A) also works well for my stationary shop vac. Both are very easy to switch on and off.

Reply to
tom

Your air compressor doesn't have an on-off switch mounted on it? Every portable I have ever used has had one. For what you are describing, I would go to a real electrical supply, and get a commercial-rated machine switch, the kind with the green and red buttons, and put that upstream from a 20A outlet. Yeah, a typical light switch would probably work under light-duty use, but the real thing is a lot safer, and usable for other stuff like table saws if you or the next owner want to run one of those. And it Looks Cool.

aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

How about a staple farther from the outlet, so there is enough slack to unplug it?

Not that there is anything wrong with a 20 amp switch.

Reply to
mm

You can use a double pole 20 amp light switch and parallel the contacts and that will make for a more robust circuit. I do it all the time with smaller switches.

[8~{} Uncle Monster
Reply to
Uncle Monster

My question is whether a standard light switch will handle the motor

Absolutely. I've been runnin my large air compresser that way for years, as well as my drill press, bench grinder, bench sander, and other outlets that I use for such things as table saws.

I do it for safety reasons so if someone trys to turn on a tool, it won't come on because the switch if off and is hidden under the bench.

Bob-tx

Reply to
Bob

No switch on the compressor except the pressure switch. It's an old compressor, not one of these oilless things that die in a few years. I replaced the tank once, but the rest of it lasts forever. I also keep the compressor under a bench so it's not the easiest to get to. Thats why I rarely move it. I have 300 feet of hose so I can get to almost any tire anywhere in my yard. Air tools dont work as well when I use that much hose though.

I like the idea of a pilot light, and will use a 20A switch. If I leave it plugged in, it refills several times a day. I guess they all leak a little. That just wastes power, so i want it shut off when I am not using it.

Thanks to all

Marv

Reply to
marvflanders

The tank heats up with compression. Then pressure drops as the tank cools down over a period of time. That, combined with leaking valves, probably accounts for your restarts.

One other good reason not to leave a compressor on all the time: if any pressure component fails, the compressor will turn on and pump its brains out trying to restore the pressure. If you're away for the weekend at the time, it'll run until it runs out of oil or overheats. Not good.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

And in winter when it's really cold, it may not start from super thick oil, and it will trip the breaker.

The hose couplers all seem to leak a tad bit too.

Marv

Reply to
marvflanders

This either is or is very similiar to the model I use for my compressor except mine is rated at 20A.

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Reply to
tom

on 9/5/2007 10:30 PM marvflanders@yahoo....com said the following:

I have a switch on my compressor to turn it on and off. Why is the wire falling behind the bench? Is the plug loose in the outlet? How about a power strip to expand the number of outlets? It has a on-off switch.

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Reply to
willshak

A twenty amp switch; probably one with something of snap action? Don't think those mercury switches are around much now? But for simpler solution to avoid rewiring. Some people loosen the middle screw of the 'switch plate' (well maybe one should say 'duplex plate'?) and loop a tie wrap around behind the plate to hold the cord/plug loosely near the outlet but not fall down. There are varieties and different length and sizes of tie wraps; cheap ones can be quickly cut and replaced if ever needed. Others are designed to be disengaged and reused. Alternative? Stick a switch on the compressor itself and leave it plugged in? Could be more convenient if using compressor some distance away on an extension cord?

Reply to
terry

Switches may be rated for different loads. Look at the amp rating on the switch. Most compressors have a shut off switch built into the pressure switch.

here is an example from Leviton:

scroll towards the bottom of the page. Some are rated for 15, some for 20.

Reply to
DanG

Use a cheap 15A light switch for 39¢ and just don't switch it off under a load (when then motor is running) Wait for the pressure switch to shut off first. Switching off an inductive load is what's hard on switches. Switching on, not so much.

My compressor is on a dedicated circuit so I just use the breaker as a switch.

Bob

Reply to
zxcvbob

Apologies for hijacking this old thread but that's just how google works...

Wait, why a double pole if you're only powering one load at 120 V? When you say parallel, do you mean split the hot feed into two inside the box, connect them to the hot lugs and then on the switched lugs have 2 switched hots that then go back to one line to the compressor?

Reply to
iconoclasthero

Double pole single throw cuts both love and neutral - a VERY GOOD idea back when tools had non-polarized 2 prong plugs (and a requirement on "double insulated" tools

Reply to
Clare Snyder

But this is a portable air compressor and it's 2021. Even back in the old days, they didn't switch the line and neutral. If one is concerned about safety today, put it on a GFCI circuit, it if isn't on one already it's a good idea for a receptacle at a workbench, garage, etc. For the switch, 20A single pole works for me.

Reply to
trader_4

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