Air compressor question

In article , says...


"Rich S." wrote in message
...
Check out item 47065-2VGA at http://www.harborfreight.com/.

4-1/2 HP 21 GALLON CAST IRON VERTICAL COMPRESSOR
Two Built-in Universal Quick Connect Couplers for Convenient Air Hos
e
Connection
Long-life oil lubricated compressor with precision machined cast iro
n
sleeve
Twin capacitor motor with thermal overload protection
Wheel kit with 6'' wheels and ergonomic for smooth portability
Oil level indicator window for easy maintenance
Reduced vibration with rubber foot stabilizers
4-1/2 peak horsepower; 120 volt, 60Hz
125 PSI max; 4.4 CFM @ 90 PSI; 11.1 CFM @ 40 PSI
Shipping weight: 152 lbs.
$169.99

Rich S.

I dunno beans about air compressors, so maybe someone else can explain
it to
me:
The usual wall circuit is 15 Amperes, times 120 volts peak is 1800 wat
ts.
746 watts in a horsepower, so how do you get 4.5 HP out of a wall soc
ket?

Tim Ward


2 answers Tim. It is common to run seperate higher amperage circuits
to larger users. For instance, your electric range is probably on a
seperate circuit (but 220 volts). In a shop, it is common to have
seperate circuits to each of several higher powered machines.

The real kicker here is the way the ad is worded. They use the term
"peak horsepower" which could be defined anyway they want.... such as a
30 second life span They carefully fail to mention the recommended
breaker size or normal current drawn which would indicate the real
world horse power. It is much more effient to run larger motors on
220 volts so you can be certain that this motor is actually much lower
in real horsepower.