Hey all, I have a Porter Cable 150 PSI air compressor. The manual states that it should be used on a 20-amp circuit but can be used on a 15-amp circuit if nothing else is connected. I'm using this on a 20-amp circuit and nothing plugged into the circuit is on. When I'm using my impact wrench, the compressor will kick on and pop the circuit. I can usually turn off the motor, reset the switch, turn the motor back on and continue working. Sometimes it will be fine, sometimes it will again kick off the circuit. The wrench and compressor are compatible as far as PSI (90) and CFM (4.5 on the wrench, 6.0 on the compressor). Anyone know why?
Air compressor popping the circuit
Apr 14, 2004
2 Replies
A couple of possibilities:
1) If it's 120v you could have a bad connection somewhere that's letting the voltage drop too low, which will cause the motor to draw too much current. With 120v motors this will usually blow light bulbs on the "other side" of the 220 circuit. 2) Depending on the type of motor you could have a bad starting capacitor or worn armature/brushes.Join the Discussion
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