I just bought new Delta Unisaw model 36-L51X with the 5 hp motor. What amp breaker is required 30 or 40. Also I am planning basement shop and possible sub panel, I need breaker size for that also. Shop will include 2hp jointer, planer, band saw, miter saw, drill press and 1
1/2hp dust collection.Thanks all,
Dave
Let's see if I have this right- you're going to take the word of unknown, unseen strangers to ensure your electrical safety, with absolutely no recourse in case of error. Oh, and you'd like to know what size breaker to use in the feed to a subpanel with some assemblage of loads, not to mention that the line voltage to the t/s is unspec.
May I suggest you ask the dealer's recommendation for your situation, and consider at least having a licensed electrician inspect your work? For the hodge-podge, you need to find the draw for each, total up the draw for the worst possible case, and provide breaker and wiring "headroom" for safety and startup-draws. (Breakers don't behave like motor-starter overloads, which accomodate startup current draw.)
Of course, all the wiring will be sized accordingly, no? IOW, you really don't want to ruin your party with electrical probs, nor probs with insurance co. for fire and water damage.
J
Manual says 40
Also I am planning basement shop and
Not an electrician, but I think it will depend on your use pattern (silmutaneous use and duty cycle). You need to lay it out, determine amp draw by each machine, where they will be located, how many you want on each circuit. The number of circuits and the protection required for each individual circuit will size your subpanel and your sub panel main breaker. room for expansion a good idea. I did not, regretted it later.
if you are not comfortable doing the above, suggest strongly you hire an electrician. required some areas.
Beats me. What does the owner's manual say?
Thanks for the input. I have 200 amp service to home and thinking of making subpanel 80 amps. Is that about right.
Until last week, my shop's sole electric supply consisted of two 12/2 wires ran 80 ft. from the main. One circuit for lighting and one for all the machines. As I've acquired a number of new power hungry machines this last year, I decided to upgrade the electric service as well. I was only going to run 60 amp, but ended up with 100 amp. The price difference for the wire (6awg vs. 2awg both direct burial) was $.20 more per foot so the 100 amp (2awg) service cost me about $16 more for an 80 ft. run. Worth the money to go with 100 amp if you are doing an upgrade. Wire total was just over $100. The sub panel came from Lowe's. It is a 100 amp. "workshop panel" and came with the main breaker and 4 circuit breakers for $54. I did my own wiring, but if you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable working with electricity, please call an electrician. good luck --dave
David, I cut and pasted from an old post to save typing. I've had no problems with my setup.
I just finished wrestling with that very issue. I became the unexpected owner of a 5 HP Single Phase Unisaw and had to figure out how to wire it. In a phone call to Delta's technical people, they told me:
I sought advice from a couple of Electrical Engineers at work. They assured me that:
The information presented above is hearsay. I am not a licensed electrician, nor an electrical engineer. Check local codes before installation. Void where prohibited. Your mileage may vary. Free advice is worth what you pay for it.
My earlier post drew lots of flames from people who claimed to know the code and that it can't possibly allow a 40 amp breaker on a #10 wire. I looked it up and quoted the NEC extensively in a later post if you want to google search for donkeyhody and unisaw. BUT, if you have an inspector to satisfy, it may not be worth the trouble since it's an obscure exception. HE may not be aware of the exception.
#8 wire is not that much more expensive, but I already had the #10 run, so it was worth checking for my application.
DonkeyHody "We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore." - Mark Twain
As far as protection for the motor itself. There's a whale of a difference in what's reasonable for a motor running continuously, at near its rated capacity, unattended and one that's loaded (usually briefly) by someone standing right there. If I ever hear of anyone manually feeding a Unisaw and burning out a 5HP motor with or without built in overload protection, I'll eat my words without ketchup or mustard.
bob g.
D> David,
2P-40A
Get a 12/24, 125 MLO panel, then install a 2P-60A main.
Basic sub panel for this application.
Lew
Amen...if you already have or are willing to acquire the knowledge to do the work according to NEC (National Electrical Code) standards, you will be fine, but it should still be inspected by a qualified inspector just to "cover yourself" with whatever company carries your home insurance policy. Some municipalities require that all work in homes be done only by licensed electricians. You will have to check your local city, town, village, etc. regulations.
--Jim
Run out and buy yourself a copy of "Wiring a House" by Rex Cauldwell. It's a great book, easy to understand, with lots of good pictures and good technique. ISBN is 1-56158-113-5.
Cheers!
Steve
Does anyone have first hand knowledge of a homeowner's insurance claim that was denied because the loss was caused by someone's inept wiring practices?
If so, please provide details, including the name of the insurance company.
Thanks.
-jav
May I strongly recommend the book "Advanced Home Wiring" from Black and Decker? It is the only home wiring book I've found so far that has actuall usefull layout information and which can tell you what gauges of wire are appropriate for your situation. It doesn't cover quite everything you need to know, but darn close.
I'm not sure what you are thinking as far as asking about breaker sizes, but if you have a 30 amp breaker now, and install a 40, but don't upgrade the wiring, you are risking some pretty hot and melty wires.
I don't know if the insurance company thing is fact or myth, but then, would YOU like to be the test case? Get a pro in there and have it done right. Ask around, you probably know someone who knows someone.
Mark
Thank you. I have posted a like question a couple of times in the past. There's a lot of mis-information about insurance companies, claims, etc. that tends to float around.
Thanks for the input everyone. At least I have a starting point. I think I will talk to the inspector first to see how he wants things done. I am sure the right way to do it is to get the permits for the job anyway..
Note that this does NOT apply in the case being discussed, because the motor is cord-and-plug connected, not hard-wired -- and thus it IS a Code violation.
A possibly dangerous assumption. I'm sure the writers of the NEC must have had a reason for requiring 30A overcurrent protection on #10 wire.
As noted above, the exception does not apply to this situation.
Probably a good reason why they allow a 40A breaker on a dedicated circuit also. Both rules come from the same organization so I don't see how you can proclaim one of them to be "a possibly dangerous assumption".
With the obvious exception that now aware of what code says about a hardwired motor, the OP just may want to consider that as an option. Can't see where it hurt to have made him aware of that. At least Donkeyhody made it plainly clear that what he posted was an alternate consideration and that the OP should verify it on his own.
Thank God! At last a traditional rec.woodworking topic instead of all that politcal/social commentary.
Hopefully your municipality/State is a little more time friendly with their permits than mine is. I opted to do the work myself. To do that, I had to pass a "test" that covered the NEC and the State Adendums to the NEC. Unfortunately, they wouldn't give any sort of study guide or info about what type of questions would be asked. Considering the NEC book is something like 1000 pages, I figured it might take me a while to deciper it all! If you failed the test, you had to wait at least a month to take it again. The other option, and one I highly recommend if you're not electrical saavy, is to hire it out. It'll cost you a bit (electrician's seems to charge more than most trades....I guess it's cause they gotta learn 1000 pages of stuff...haha) but in the end you'll have a permitted install and you didn't put yourself at risk. I went ahead and did it myself given the complexity of what I wanted done and I found everytime I opened my NEC manual, there was something else that applied to me (% fill of boxes, hanger spacing, etc...). It took a while but I'm convinced it's code compliant and I actually did pick up quite a few learnings in the process. Cheers, cc
If you didn't recognize the short hand of my last post, let me suggest something.
Find an electrician who wants to pick up some extra money on the week end and work out a deal.
You be his grunt.
You dig the trenches, you lay the conduit, you pull the wire, etc, etc, following the electrican's directions.
He makes all the final connections, pulls the permits, etc.
It's a win/win deal.
Lew
He comes in
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