I have some portable refrigerant recovery machines that were just purchased. These are 115V machines. The nameplate doesn't have a clearly defined MCA and MOCP. It just says Min Ckt: 20 Amp and Max Ckt: 25 Amp.
It has a 2 HP compressor motor with an FLA of 20 amps and a condenser fan motor with an FLA of 2.5 amps. The control box has built into it a NEMA L5-20P plug. It was shipped with a 50 foot 3/C 12 AWG SO cord with a NEMA L5-20R receptacle on one end and nothing on the other end. We installed a NEMA 5-20P plug on the other end.
When plugged into a receptacle on a 20 amp circuit with nothing else on the circuit, there were two instances when the breaker for that circuit tripped. I didn't have a practical way of measuring current at the time. I'm hoping to get to that tomorrow.
We are considering installing dedicated circuits/receptacles where these machines are going to be used. Since the machine was being fed from an essentially dedicated circuit and still tripped the breaker, I'm concerned that we are going to see more tripping, even with a 20 amp dedicated circuit.
My question is about the "Max ckt: 25 Amp" that is on the nameplate. Would it be acceptable to install circuits with 25 amp breakers, 10 gauge wire, NEMA 5-30R receptacles and NEMA 5-30P plugs on the cords? Or, can we not do this because of the NEMA L5-20P plug that is built into the control box of the machine?
I'm also wondering about the minimum and maximum ampacities on the nameplate. Normally, the MCA would be determined by the FLA of the compressor and condenser fan motor. 20 amps x 1.25 + 2.5 amps = 27.5 amps. Although, this is a portable cord connected appliance and I don't have experience with how the numbers are calculated for those. I'm not sure if these would normally even have an MCA or MOCP. It still seems like 20 amps, or even 25 amps, is a bit low for this machine.
I appreciate any replies. Thanks!
It has a 2 HP compressor motor with an FLA of 20 amps and a condenser fan motor with an FLA of 2.5 amps. The control box has built into it a NEMA L5-20P plug. It was shipped with a 50 foot 3/C 12 AWG SO cord with a NEMA L5-20R receptacle on one end and nothing on the other end. We installed a NEMA 5-20P plug on the other end.
When plugged into a receptacle on a 20 amp circuit with nothing else on the circuit, there were two instances when the breaker for that circuit tripped. I didn't have a practical way of measuring current at the time. I'm hoping to get to that tomorrow.
We are considering installing dedicated circuits/receptacles where these machines are going to be used. Since the machine was being fed from an essentially dedicated circuit and still tripped the breaker, I'm concerned that we are going to see more tripping, even with a 20 amp dedicated circuit.
My question is about the "Max ckt: 25 Amp" that is on the nameplate. Would it be acceptable to install circuits with 25 amp breakers, 10 gauge wire, NEMA 5-30R receptacles and NEMA 5-30P plugs on the cords? Or, can we not do this because of the NEMA L5-20P plug that is built into the control box of the machine?
I'm also wondering about the minimum and maximum ampacities on the nameplate. Normally, the MCA would be determined by the FLA of the compressor and condenser fan motor. 20 amps x 1.25 + 2.5 amps = 27.5 amps. Although, this is a portable cord connected appliance and I don't have experience with how the numbers are calculated for those. I'm not sure if these would normally even have an MCA or MOCP. It still seems like 20 amps, or even 25 amps, is a bit low for this machine.
I appreciate any replies. Thanks!
