I am hooking up a new air compressor. 5 hp and 10 feet from the breaker box. what size wire and breaker should I get?

by John
(Mo)

I have a new air compressor. It is 5 hp and 10 feet from the breaker box. I will use 220.I need to know the size of breaker to buy and what guage of wire.

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Bill says...

John, the motor plate will tell you the amp draw of the motor (or the manual). Make sure the breaker is more than the draw.

Your local big box lumber store will likely have a chart in the electrical department that will relate amperage over distance to help you select the right gauge.

You need to know the amp draw to figure out the wire size. However, bigger wire is always better than smaller, so if you are only running 10 feet, if I were installing it, I'd probably go 8 gauge.

Cheers,

Bill