Campbell Hausfeld Air Compressor Tripping Thermal Reset Button – Solutions & Causes

My Campbell Hausfeld Air Compressor motor is getting hot and it’s kicking breaker off?

Question:

by David Lee
(Lenoir, NC)

I have a Campbell Hausfeld 80 gallon air compressor and the motor went bad.I replaced the motor with the same horsepower motor. About 8 months later the compressor went bad but instead of replacing it with the original 5hp compressor I replaced with the 7hp compressor.

Since that time in the summer went it is warm if it turns on more then twice in about 30 minutes then the motor will get hot and kick the breaker off.

Do I need to up size the electric motor to a 7.5hp or is there something else I can do?

Response:

David, let me ask you something.

If you can lift 100 lbs. comfortably and you are asked to do so, you do it, and you don’t strain any muscles in the process.

If, on the other hand, you are requested to lift 120 lbs. you maybe can still do it, but now you are overloading your muscles, straining them to lift that heavier load, and you are going to suffer consequences like becoming over heated, running out of energy, perhaps tearing muscle tissue etc.

To put my metaphor back into context, If I understand your post correctly, you now have a compressor that is built to be powered by a 7.5 HP electric motor, and you are trying to run that 7.5 HP requiring pump with a 5 HP motor. Is that correct?

Then what you are trying to do is have the motor lift the 120 lbs. with muscles that are built to handle 100 lbs. safely, effectively, and for ongoing use.

As a result I expect you are destroying the 5 HP compressor motor, and I suspect won’t be long before you have to replace it.

And when you do, yup, make sure the motor HP matches the demands of the pump, or you are buying into ongoing air compressor maintenance problems, as far as I see it, anyway.

Bill

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