Posted by Dave Horvath [76.125.248.166] on Saturday, January 04, 2014 at 13:12:55 :
Good news. The wire from the house to the barn is marked 2 AWG Compact 600V. So that should be just fine as far as voltage drop over 300' distance (600' loop), right?
The breaker at the house is two 50amp tied together with a single post/bail.
We still need to upgrade the wire from the panel in the house to the outside box that feeds the barn to something called "entrance" or "extension" wire. I think the fact that the current set-up was insufficient for even my Sears Craftsman 5 hp 25 gallon portable compressor is either due to the insufficient entrance line at the house or the old panel box in the barn. Seems it had nothing to do with the wire size to the barn. We will be upgrading the panel box at the barn also since my electrician/contractor says it does not really have a main breaker.
Will I have enough voltage with the 2 AWG line to go with the true 7.5 hp continuous duty cycle 80 gallon compressor that Eaton says takes a 60 amp breaker? Is the difference between true 5 hp and true 7.5 hp worth the upgrade? I do not plan on having an extra tank and the 120 gallon unit seems like overkill for my needs.
Anything else I should be thinking about?
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