Gast Vacuum Pump Electrical Question

[Christopher K. Hartley]

I have a question about my Gast 0523-P335-G509DAX 220 VAC Vacuum Pump. I have 10 ft of [16/3 SJO Oil Resistant] electrical cord. It will take about 7' to go from the placement of the pump to the 220 outlet. My question is this. Is the cord heavy enough to carry the load without current loss. It will plug in to it's own 20 amp isolated circuit right next to the 20 amp isolated circuit for the lathe. If all this is over-kill please let me know. My thought is to err on the high side not the low.
Any help would be appreciated.

[Paul Andrews]

If memory service me correct, this pump only draws 2 amps. So 16 guage at 7' should work well. A 20 amp breaker deadicated for this line seems a bit much.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

This is one of those times I wish my Dad were still alive, he'd have known all this stuff right off the top of his head. Thanks Paul, you were very close as you can see. If I may, let me ask you, what size breaker would be good to use? I have the duel 20 amp breaker already but if necessary I can down size it. As you can see, this is not my area of expertise. Thanks again.
SPECIFICATIONS

• HP 1/4
• Voltage 220 AC, 50/60 Hz, 1 ph.
• Amps 1.5
• RPM 1725
• 4.5 CFM at 0 PSI
• 3.6 CFM at 10 PSI cont.
• PSI 15 int.
• 0.5 CFM at 26" Hg max.
  Ports 1/4" NPT
• Duty continuous
  Thermal protection on motor

[Paul Andrews]

As I am not an electrician I would hate to give anyone advise that could go against your local codes or cause other problems. That said, I have the same pump. My old lathe drew a maximum of 12 amps so I dropped a line from that outlet to a 220 switch and from there to an outlet for the vacuum pump. Works fine on the 20 amp breaker. You might try an electrical supply house and see if the make a smaller breaker for your type panel.

I am expecting my new lathe to be delivered next week and am not sure what it draws, but it should be more than my cuurent lathe, so I expect I will have to change my setup.

Best of luck.

[Bruce Smith]

Check it out. The vacuum pump no doubt draws that amperage while running but quite a bit more on start up. If it were me I would use 14 gauge wire which will safetly handle 15 amps and if the circuit is dedicated then use a 15 amp breaker. If you use a 20 amp breaker you have to pull in excess of 20 amps before the breaker will trip and 16 gauge wire will not safetly handle 20 amps. The only thing I use 16 gauge wire for would be a trouble light. My 2 cents worth but I hate to see the wrong information given out to people which could lead to a potential accident. Good luck Chris but I would hate to see you burn the place down especially before the new toy arrives

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Check it out. The vacuum pump no doubt draws that amperage while running but quite a bit more on start up. If it were me I would use 14 gauge wire which will safetly handle 15 amps and if the circuit is dedicated then use a 15 amp breaker. If you use a 20 amp breaker you have to pull in excess of 20 amps before the breaker will trip and 16 gauge wire will not safetly handle 20 amps. The only thing I use 16 gauge wire for would be a trouble light. My 2 cents worth but I hate to see the wrong information given out to people which could lead to a potential accident. Good luck Chris but I would hate to see you burn the place down especially before the new toy arrives

Thanks Bruce

[Rod Sheridan]

16 gauge wire is just fine for your vacuum pump. The 20 ampere breaker is not sized to protect the 16 gauge cab tire, it's sized to protect the branch circuit wiring and receptacles. ( just like when you plug in your clock with #18 flexible cord to a 15 ampere circuit).

For obvious reasons, a 15 ampere circuit would be fine for the pump motor as well. The pump motor will either have an overload type device such as motor starter, or built in thermal protection such as an over temperaure switch.

The breakers used in house panels all have an inverse time curve, the higher the overload, the faster the breaker will trip. Breakers, or time delay fuses have enough delay to accomodate motor starting, which on small motors is normally in the 6 to 10 times running current range.


Rod Sheridan, Electrical Technologist.

[Hilel Salomon]

I can't swear to this, but an electrician told me not to run 16g to a 220v outlet. When I set up my shops' electrical outlets, I always ran the 12 g to the 220's and 14g to the 110's. When I make an extension cord for any of my machines which plug into 220 v (they're always on a 20 amp circuits) I always use heavy gauge wire. If your pump were wired to a 110 outlet, then 16 would be ok, but.... why take the risk?