Aldi air compressor

[Kobie]

Hello.
Fancy buying the aldi 3hp air compressor fron aldi.I will be running it off a 13amp extension lead.Some people say it will blow fuses others say it wont.My question is if it does blow fuses will it blow the extension lead fuse or the house fuse.Its a older style of fuse box in the house and cant really mess with it as its not my house.Will making up a thicker extension lead help.
Thanks for any advice offered.

 

[normspanners]

It should not blow the fuses, if they are new 13 amp fuses not old stressed ones !, but do not run it off your standard bought extensions, as although they are rated at 13 amp they are usually 1.5 mm flex. For the current inrush of that motor which could be easily 30A momentarily when cold, the 1.5mm extension offers too much resistance and that then makes the motor work harder because of volt drop that then drawing more through the lead etc etc, and becomes a vicious downward spiral.
Ideally you need at least 2.5 arctic cable, but also remember NEVER use and extension even partially rolled up with high demand load, it will melt.

 

[richie00boy]

If its an old fuse box with actual fuses it will probably be ok. I have a 3hp compressor and it trips 16A breakers on start up.

A shorter or thicker extension lead will make matters worse as it allows more current draw. But at the same time, avoid the cheap ones from supermarkets and Homebase as they are barely man enough and will get hot and melt.

 

[normspanners]

A shorter or thicker extension lead will make matters worse as it allows more current draw.

???
dont understand that statement, that is totally the opposite to what is needed.
You NEED as short and as thick as poss extension lead.

 

[daleyd]

If its an old fuse box with actual fuses it will probably be ok. I have a 3hp compressor and it trips 16A breakers on start up.

A shorter or thicker extension lead will make matters worse as it allows more current draw. But at the same time, avoid the cheap ones from supermarkets and Homebase as they are barely man enough and will get hot and melt.

I don't think that's the case, while a thinner extension may have marginally more resistance than a thicker one (doubt you would be able to measure it though the difference would be so small) the motor will draw what current it needs irrespective of cable size (within reason). As norm said the shorter and bigger csa the better.

 

[Kobie]

Thanks for the helpful advice.

 

[garethp]

I had one for a while and it ran fine on a normal 13 amp socket in two different houses, the current house has a 16amp b curve breaker for the socket I use in the garage and it never tripped it.

Be prepared for a lot of noise, as they are direct drive they're LOUD, that's why I sold it and bought a second hand abac belt drive compressor.

 

[normspanners]

Thanks for the helpful advice.

Welcome to the MW Forum by the way!

 

[MoreWellie]

it trips 16A breakers on start up.

A shorter or thicker extension lead will make matters worse as it allows more current draw

I suspect Richie was meaning a shorter thicker extension might make his 16A breaker trip more often as it would allow a marginally higher inrush current

My 3hp compressor has blown quite a few 13a mains plug fuses especially if the temperature is less than 15 degrees when I turn it on but I seem to have found a "good" one as it hasn't blown for ages although the trip on the compressor often goes when the temperature is low and the compressor is trying to start from cold

Providing the circuit is fused at a sensible level for power sockets the old style fuse box fuse is less likely to go than a modern trip under normal operation

Any extension should always be rated for at least the current you expect to draw through it and preferably more

 

[richie00boy]

Thank you morewellie for understanding what I meant!

 

[zzr1200]

I can confirm that the Aldi compressor will happily run from a 13 amp mains plug, running it via a long 1.5 mm sq extension lead maybe be another matter depending on length and if the lead is coiled when used.

Personally I'd recommend an unrolled 2.5 mm sq extension cable minimum.

 

[normspanners]

A 3hp compressor will need all the help it can get to start in cold weather, especially if it doesnt get the current it requires to get over the first few compression's you are on a hiding to nothing, and if it doesnt get those initial very high amps as has been said it will pop the overload on the compressor, which are usually 15 amp, because 13amp fuses can take massive overcurrent for a short time, ie easily 30 odd Amps or more , once running though it will start pumping at a quite low draw, usually about 8-9A and build to about 12A as it approaches cut out pressure. In fact it is quite usual to see 6-10 times the rated fuse current for a few mill seconds
In minus 5 degrees or less I have seen the need to warm the pump with a hot air gun to help it get over the first start.

 

[Kobie]

Thanks appreciate all the advice. Think I will make up a 15 or 20 meter extension using 2.5 arctic cable and avoid using it in cold weather.

 

[brightspark]

If its an old fuse box with actual fuses it will probably be ok. I have a 3hp compressor and it trips 16A breakers on start up.

A shorter or thicker extension lead will make matters worse as it allows more current draw. But at the same time, avoid the cheap ones from supermarkets and Homebase as they are barely man enough and will get hot and melt.

how do u work that one out shorter and thicker lead = less voltage drop and more power to the motor. not turning it in to heat down a thin lead

 

[WorkshopChris]

Its definitely a case of trial and error,

A shorter or thicker extension lead will make matters worse as it allows more current draw. But at the same time, avoid the cheap ones from supermarkets and Homebase as they are barely man enough and will get hot and melt.

When the workshop on the farm was running on a small transformer with long overheads, we had big volt drop problems, roughly 218v, lights would dim some fluorescents would drop out momentarily as machines started.
Then when a new substation with a big buried cable went in the voltage went up.
We then spent a few days altering motor overloads and changing breakers as motors started quicker and the big oxford that happily ran on c20 breaker now still occasionally trips a c32.
Might be worth trying to borrow a few different extensions to see how you go before you make one up.
Good Luck.

 

[normspanners]

the big oxford that happily ran on c20 breaker now still occasionally trips a c32.

I will try to explain
in the case of the farm motors and the welder, this is a totally different case the welders output and therefore it's current draw would be limited by the volts drop caused by the poor supply but because it is a resistive load, the low mains voltage, would cause a lower current draw, BUT because of the restricted input, the welders actual output will be lower, ( apart from initial switch on because of the current inrush into an empty transformer coil will still be quite high)

But now with the new improved mains supply you have a high input voltage so the welder can now work harder because the total wattage is higher and it then will possibly blow a higher value trip.

Now a motor is an inductive load , it requires that voltage and current to be correct ie total Wattage to do its job, if the voltage is low the current required to achieve the wattage becomes higher, because the start up load is the same every time, apart from when the ambient temps are quite cold and forces the mechanical load to be higher.
When the start up voltage is low the current drawn has to be higher, to get those required KW's, but the current gets rapidly higher again as the voltage drops at the motor end, of a restricting extension, also to add to the problem as the extension and motor coils heat up their total resistance increases and the voltage tails off even more. creating the spiralling load until something has to blow either a fuse a trip or the motor actually burns out.

That is why you need the largest shortest conductor to supply the required KW.

Until a motor reaches its running frequency 50 htz ie synchronicity, the current draw will be high, when it reaches it's running speed the load on the fuses drops off considerably.

 

[marlinspike]

I don't understand electrical stuff, but we have the Aldi 24l compressor and it works fine from our standard outside plug socket via an extension reel. Our Cebora 180 welder used to trip the box until we started using the extension reel, now it works fine.

The 24l compressor hasn't been used much though as it just doesn't have the power for very much. It certainly doesn't have the umph for most of the accessories they sell like the spot blasting kit or the impact wrench. Not sure the 50l would be that much better.

 

[normspanners]

used to trip the box until we started using the extension reel, now it works fine.

that is because the extension is acting like a metering valve limiting the voltage and ultimately the current drawn by the transformer coils but ultimately lowers the actual output of the welder.
Think of it like filling a bath it takes 10 mins to fill with a garden hose, but if you had a 2" hose you would fill it in 1 minute but empty the hot water tank, because the water main could not keep up with the required flow , that is the equivalent of the fuse going.

 

[zzr1200]

The 24l compressor hasn't been used much though as it just doesn't have the power for very much. It certainly doesn't have the umph for most of the accessories they sell like the spot blasting kit or the impact wrench. Not sure the 50l would be that much better.

The lastest compressor offering from Aldi is a 50ltr tank with a vee twin cylinder 14cfm pump driven directly, so should run the tools more efficiently.

I'll run mine up tomorrow and report back...

 

[normspanners]

The lastest compressor offering from Aldi is a 50ltr tank with a vee twin cylinder 14cfm pump driven directly, so should run the tools more efficiently.

Yep I looked at them on Friday they look ok.