Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Auto Addict on 02 March 2007, 13:23:18
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Just plugged in my new Aldi Air Compressor..and bang...blown the fuses.
Discovered that the fuse box in the Garage is 30amp. The fuse in the house that supplies the grarage is a 15amp. The 15amp has blown.
As I'm already running two freezers in the garage I presume I've overloaded the supply.
Went down to the local leccies, can't get higher rated fuse for the fuse holder, had to refit a 15amp (at least the freezers are back working before the wife came home).
Can't use the air compressor.
Any advice welcomed.
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Would need to know thw details of
a) Where the supply is fed from....is it the main distribution box in the house
b) Cable size to the garage...
as a minimum.....to even be able to judge if you can upgrade the fuse.
And you have fuses and not MCB's......
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Would need to know thw details of
a) Where the supply is fed from....is it the main distribution box in the house
b) Cable size to the garage...
as a minimum.....to even be able to judge if you can upgrade the fuse.
And you have fuses and not MCB's......
a) Yes
b) Big thick one
fuses.
Fuse box in garage is controlled by a 30amp fuse.
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given that the Garage fuse box is 30 amp, but the house spur it's from is 15 amp, the 30amp fuse is rather pointless, as it will never blow before the 15 amp house one....
meaning that it's not really providing you with any protection at all. (sorry, but that sounds like an ill advised DIY installation)
Try plugging the compressor in elsewhere in the house.... coz it shouldn't really use all that much power.... certainly not enough to trip a 15 amp fuse with only a couple of freezers on it.. so test it elsewhere in case it's gone faulty.
(assuming the 15 amp in the house only supplies the garage..... if it's also supplying the downstairs ring main then it's a different ball game.)
Max
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Try plugging the compressor in elsewhere in the house.... coz it shouldn't really use all that much power.... certainly not enough to trip a 15 amp fuse with only a couple of freezers on it.. so test it elsewhere in case it's gone faulty.
Quite possible it will......thats a 2.5Hp induction motor.....that takes a real gob of current when turned on and a cheap one is not likely to have a fancy starter on it.....
As a tester, try opening the drain valve fully when turning on as this should in theory reduce the load on the pump.....
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Went down to the local leccies, can't get higher rated fuse for the fuse holder, had to refit a 15amp (at least the freezers are back working before the wife came home).
thats the reason......to stop you putting a bigger fuse in the holder.....to use a bigger fuse you will need a bigger fuse holder and also the plastic holder/contact shroud in the fuse box will need to be changed to a bigger one too. Iirc 20amp will have a yellow strip/30 amp are red.
Is that reinforced cable then? Can you see any printing on the cable that gives either currunt rating or core size?
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given that the Garage fuse box is 30 amp, but the house spur it's from is 15 amp, the 30amp fuse is rather pointless, as it will never blow before the 15 amp house one....
meaning that it's not really providing you with any protection at all. (sorry, but that sounds like an ill advised DIY installation)
Try plugging the compressor in elsewhere in the house.... coz it shouldn't really use all that much power.... certainly not enough to trip a 15 amp fuse with only a couple of freezers on it.. so test it elsewhere in case it's gone faulty.
(assuming the 15 amp in the house only supplies the garage..... if it's also supplying the downstairs ring main then it's a different ball game.)
Max
Bought the house new, 18 years ago (first occupier).
The house circuit is on a separate fuse.
I agree, the 30amp in the garage is pointless, as the feed from the house is 15amp, (new house electricians >:().
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Try plugging the compressor in elsewhere in the house.... coz it shouldn't really use all that much power.... certainly not enough to trip a 15 amp fuse with only a couple of freezers on it.. so test it elsewhere in case it's gone faulty.
Quite possible it will......thats a 2.5Hp induction motor.....that takes a real gob of current when turned on and a cheap one is not likely to have a fancy starter on it.....
As a tester, try opening the drain valve fully when turning on as this should in theory reduce the load on the pump.....
I don't really want to blow the house fuse, but I'll give it a go.
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Went down to the local leccies, can't get higher rated fuse for the fuse holder, had to refit a 15amp (at least the freezers are back working before the wife came home).
thats the reason......to stop you putting a bigger fuse in the holder.....to use a bigger fuse you will need a bigger fuse holder and also the plastic holder/contact shroud in the fuse box will need to be changed to a bigger one too. Iirc 20amp will have a yellow strip/30 amp are red.
Is that reinforced cable then? Can you see any printing on the cable that gives either currunt rating or core size?
As far as I can tell it is a reinforced cable, I'll have a look to see if I can see a rating on it.
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Fuses! Seems so archaic. The other way you keep people from putting the wrong fuse in is to have breakers instead. Fuses are only in very old houses in the states, at least by US standards (probably means more than 50-60 years old). :P
Sorry, not being much help. I support what they say. :y
Don't worry, idiot builders on new houses in the states too. >:(
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House is 18 years old fitted with fuses >:(
Main fuse board (in house)
Lighting - downstairs - 5amp
Lighting - upstairs - 5amp
Imersian heater - 15amp
Garage - 15amp
Sockets (house) - 30amp
Cooker - 30amp
Cable to garage - 600/1000v.
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With the sockets in the house covered by 30amp, I suppose I could try plugging it into one of those sockets, but....as I don't have a spare 30amp fuse, I will leave it for the time being.
Has anyone else had a problem with this Aldi Compressor?
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My compressor is similar to Aldi one, rated 7.5A (though being inductive load, will pull a shit load at startup). Seeing as the freezers will pull little, and that the compressor is (presumably) 13A fused, I'm guessing:
The 15A fuse was old and would have blown through any shock.
My garage/shed is on a B16 trip, and powers a freezer, a fridge, the lighting out there, the door opener, and various chargers and gadgets, as well as compressor. So no different to your setup really.
I would try again, and see what happens.
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Am I missing something?
Isn't the plug on the compressor a standard 3 pin plug with a 13 amp fuse in it?
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Am I missing something?
Isn't the plug on the compressor a standard 3 pin plug with a 13 amp fuse in it?
:-?
Yes but......fuses age....every time a current pulse passes through them they expand and contract causing them to get slightly weeker....eventualy they fail, often at less than thier rated current
The one on my welder dies every 12 montsh or so (it runs very close to the 13A limit on full chat)
I am amazed that a house of that age doesn't have MCB's as it s not much older than mine....
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Am I missing something?
Isn't the plug on the compressor a standard 3 pin plug with a 13 amp fuse in it?
:-?
Yes but......fuses age....every time a current pulse passes through them they expand and contract causing them to get slightly weeker....eventualy they fail, often at less than thier rated current
The one on my welder dies every 12 montsh or so (it runs very close to the 13A limit on full chat)
I am amazed that a house of that age doesn't have MCB's as it s not much older than mine....
It is around the cutover period - around 1990....
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AA - if you're still stuck, let me know - I come from a family of Sparkies, and one of my brothers still is, so he can advise if necessary...
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Right...here's the latest saga....tried it at my mates who has circuit breakers...not a peep.
Rang the help line...told them what happened..they said the motors duff, take it back to Aldi.
Just taken it back and swopped it for another one.
Grilled the manager who assured me they have not had any more returned....
Will keep you informed.
Can't set it up before Monday as I've got a busy weekend.
Is everyone elses OK?
Thanks for the help and interest lads :y
...and yes, it's got a 3 pin plug with a 13 amp fuse.
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Right...here's the latest saga....tried it at my mates who has circuit breakers...not a peep.
Rang the help line...told them what happened..they said the motors duff, take it back to Aldi.
Just taken it back and swopped it for another one.
Grilled the manager who assured me they have not had any more returned....
Will keep you informed.
Can't set it up before Monday as I've got a busy weekend.
Is everyone elses OK?
Thanks for the help and interest lads :y
...and yes, it's got a 3 pin plug with a 13 amp fuse.
Did you check that fuse? Might be why no peep. :P
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As others have said, I'd suspect an old fuse that was a bit weak anyway. Fuses will normally tolerate a massive overload for a short period of time as the fuse wire has to get hot enough to burn out before the current is interrupted. A big motor will take a large amount of current (way more than the 13 amp plug rating) for a very short period of time during startup.
It's usually circuit breakers that trip on high inrush currents as they are quicker acting in general.
Freezers and the like will only take a few hundred watts whilst running so the loading from these is not significant, but again they take large surges when first starting. On the whole you'd be unlucky if the freezer chose to start at exactly the same time as the compressor so I don't see sharing the circuit with a few freezers as being a problem.
It's got to be worth re-wiring the fuse and trying again. Try not to clamp the fuse wire too tightly in the holder as this could weaken it around the screws.
I wouldn't upgrade the fuse rating. It will be a 15 amp for a reason, probably to protect the cable between house and garage so unless you can confirm this is rated for more, leave the fuse as is.
You can get slow acting circuit breakers which are designed to withstand high inrush currents and you should be able to get one that plugs into your consumer unit in place of the fuse. I'd expect a fuse in good condition to cope, however.
If you still have problems, try running the compressor through a long extension lead (unwind it from the reel if it gets hot in use). This will give a little resistance and may reduce the inrush current sufficiently.
Kevin
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Right...here's the latest saga....tried it at my mates who has circuit breakers...not a peep.
Rang the help line...told them what happened..they said the motors duff, take it back to Aldi.
Just taken it back and swopped it for another one.
Grilled the manager who assured me they have not had any more returned....
Will keep you informed.
Can't set it up before Monday as I've got a busy weekend.
Is everyone elses OK?
Thanks for the help and interest lads :y
...and yes, it's got a 3 pin plug with a 13 amp fuse.
Did you check that fuse? Might be why no peep. :P
Yes, first thing I checked.
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As others have said, I'd suspect an old fuse that was a bit weak anyway. Fuses will normally tolerate a massive overload for a short period of time as the fuse wire has to get hot enough to burn out before the current is interrupted. A big motor will take a large amount of current (way more than the 13 amp plug rating) for a very short period of time during startup.
It's usually circuit breakers that trip on high inrush currents as they are quicker acting in general.
Freezers and the like will only take a few hundred watts whilst running so the loading from these is not significant, but again they take large surges when first starting. On the whole you'd be unlucky if the freezer chose to start at exactly the same time as the compressor so I don't see sharing the circuit with a few freezers as being a problem.
It's got to be worth re-wiring the fuse and trying again. Try not to clamp the fuse wire too tightly in the holder as this could weaken it around the screws.
I wouldn't upgrade the fuse rating. It will be a 15 amp for a reason, probably to protect the cable between house and garage so unless you can confirm this is rated for more, leave the fuse as is.
You can get slow acting circuit breakers which are designed to withstand high inrush currents and you should be able to get one that plugs into your consumer unit in place of the fuse. I'd expect a fuse in good condition to cope, however.
If you still have problems, try running the compressor through a long extension lead (unwind it from the reel if it gets hot in use). This will give a little resistance and may reduce the inrush current sufficiently.
Kevin
It's a 15amp cartridge fuse.
Will try the replacement compressor on Monday, as the previous one was obviously duff.
See post above.
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House is 18 years old fitted with fuses >:(
Main fuse board (in house)
Lighting - downstairs - 5amp
Lighting - upstairs - 5amp
Imersian heater - 15amp
Garage - 15amp
Sockets (house) - 30amp
Cooker - 30amp
Cable to garage - 600/1000v.
Im am surprised a tad....at your fuses AA
Lighting is ok :y
Immersion heaters are usually fused at 20amps
Why only one ring main for the sockets? Its usually kitchen and bedrooms on one 30amp circuit, rest of sockets on another 30amp circuit.
Cooker is usually 45amps(unless you have a gas hob) Electric cookers with double ovens etc, need more than 30amps usually
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if the compressor is duff it may be a short to earth or low insulation between live & neutral which would likely blow the fuse. the fuse in the holder (15a) will weaken in time probably rating itself nearer 9-12 amp. thats why it would blow that b4 the plug fuse.
uprating fuses usually means the faulty component is allowed to surge to a higher ampage along the cable before it burns the fuse out -eventually. fuses are there to protect the cabling not the components so upping fuse rating may damaging wiring- expensive to replace !!!!
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House is 18 years old fitted with fuses >:(
Main fuse board (in house)
Lighting - downstairs - 5amp
Lighting - upstairs - 5amp
Imersian heater - 15amp
Garage - 15amp
Sockets (house) - 30amp
Cooker - 30amp
Cable to garage - 600/1000v.
Im am surprised a tad....at your fuses AA
Lighting is ok :y
Immersion heaters are usually fused at 20amps
Why only one ring main for the sockets? Its usually kitchen and bedrooms on one 30amp circuit, rest of sockets on another 30amp circuit.
Cooker is usually 45amps(unless you have a gas hob) Electric cookers with double ovens etc, need more than 30amps usually
Agree that there should be at least 2 ring mains for the sockets of 30 amps each. However, this is obviously an older installation and Immersions were always 15 amps along with cookers at 30 amps. A separate ring for kitchens came out relatively recently....... I too, am surprised that you have fuses and not MCBs............................
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House is 18 years old fitted with fuses >:(
Main fuse board (in house)
Lighting - downstairs - 5amp
Lighting - upstairs - 5amp
Imersian heater - 15amp
Garage - 15amp
Sockets (house) - 30amp
Cooker - 30amp
Cable to garage - 600/1000v.
Im am surprised a tad....at your fuses AA
Lighting is ok :y
Immersion heaters are usually fused at 20amps
Why only one ring main for the sockets? Its usually kitchen and bedrooms on one 30amp circuit, rest of sockets on another 30amp circuit.
Cooker is usually 45amps(unless you have a gas hob) Electric cookers with double ovens etc, need more than 30amps usually
Agree that there should be at least 2 ring mains for the sockets of 30 amps each. However, this is obviously an older installation and Immersions were always 15 amps along with cookers at 30 amps. A separate ring for kitchens came out relatively recently....... I too, am surprised that you have fuses and not MCBs............................
Well, I'm stuck with it at the moment, can't afford a rewire.