Breathing Air Compressor

[silurian]

I am almost strictly a residential electrician, but was recently asked by a local volunteer fire department to advise them about whether their service is big enough for a new breathable air compressor they would like to install. I got the specs, took note of other loads in the building and said I'd do a load calculation and get back to them. It is a Bauer Legacy 13 E1 compressor. Specs: 230 V single phase; full load amps-50; locked rotor/start up amps-300; time delay fuse rating amps-60; circuit breaker size-100. Although I haven't done the load calculation yet, I think adding this load will exceed their 200 amp service. But here is my question which I can't seem to find the answer for in the code book. Can the locked rotor/start up amps (300) of a motor exceed the rating of the service (200 amps)?

 

[ActionDave]

The fact that the locked rotor amps is more than the service is okay since there will be that much load only for a microsecond. The most important number you need to look at for your load calc is the horse power of the motor or the overall rating of the unit. I doubt you'll exceed the capacity of the building service but I bet the lights will dim for a second when this thing kicks on.

What is a "breathable air compressor"? Sounds like something used to fill the air tanks for the fire fighters.

 

[JDB3]

Another way to determine the actual load on the service is to just turn all the normal usage items on & the check the amp draw (of course using the proper protection & method of so doing).

 

[Jraef]

... What is a "breathable air compressor"? Sounds like something used to fill the air tanks for the fire fighters.

That's exactly what it is, that's Bauer's specialty; medical, firefighting, HazMat and SCUBA. Because it is going directly into the lungs, the compressor has to compress the air with no oil and minimal moisture in it. Translate: $$$

 

[ActionDave]

That's exactly what it is, that's Bauer's specialty; medical, firefighting, HazMat and SCUBA. Because it is going directly into the lungs, the compressor has to compress the air with no oil and minimal moisture in it. Translate: $$$

So a vein compressor and some filters, add some heavy marketing and blessings from a certifying body and you have a license to print money, no?

Now a different question.....
I have been told that the oxygen from the welding supply house is better quality than the oxygen from the medical suppliers. I know that oxygen is not air, just wondering if you have some knowledge.

 

[Jraef]

So a vein compressor and some filters, add some heavy marketing and blessings from a certifying body and you have a license to print money, no?

Now a different question.....
I have been told that the oxygen from the welding supply house is better quality than the oxygen from the medical suppliers. I know that oxygen is not air, just wondering if you have some knowledge.

Well, it's way more complicated than that. In a nutshell though, a welding shop CAN, if they want to, get certification that allows their bottled O2 to be sold as medical oxygen, and many do. But they don't have to, so you can't just go to a welding gas supplier and buy a tank, expecting it to be certified for medical or SCBA/SCUBA use. You also usually can't have them fill your tanks for you. There are blow-back standards for the fill apparatus itself as well, intended to protect against biological cross contamination, something completely irrelevant for welding.