Jet DC1200 Amp Draw

[Rob Miller]

Hello, All!
I have acquired a Jet DC1200 with 2hp motor for my shop and hooked the hoses up to my 17" Grizzly G0513ANV bandsaw. My problem is that they're both wired for 220v and I only have three outlets in the shop. The dust collector is in a good place in the corner but there is no outlet there for the 220v plug so I want to install another outlet for it. The main box for the shop is a sub-box wired to the main box in the house on a 100A breaker. The 220v shop outlets are wired to a 40A breaker in the sub-box. According to Grizzly, the bandsaw full load current is 10A and the saw requires at least a 15A circuit. I am not able to find specs for the am draw on the Jet DC. Does anybody see any reason why these two machines won't run simultaneously on the same circuit? I'd like to simply install another outlet on the same circuit but I don't want to overload it. Anybody know what the amp draw would be on the Jet DC1200?

Many thanks,
Rob

[Duane Meadows]

The motor plate should give you the Amp draw. Not all 2 HP motors are created equal, but the math for 2 HP on 240V is about 6.2 amps. You would be pushing a 20 amp circuit fairly hard and totally overloading a 15 amp circuit if both run FLA(full load amps) at the same time. I have my DC on it's own circuit, so it doesn't matter what else runs at the same time. You will probably be ok with a 20 amp circuit, but no room for expansion! Probably should not start both machines at the same time, as start current greatly exceeds run current!

[Rob Miller]

I visited with a guy at Home Depot for a while and got the answer to this. Not having done much with electric, I didn't fully understand initially, but this is how it was explained. My shop is not to code if I have a 40A circuit with three 20A outlets. The circuit breaker cannot exceed the weakest link in the chain, so should not exceed either the capacity of the wire (20A if it's 12 gauge wire) or the capacity of the receptacle (also 20A). So, what I should really have is a 20A breaker and therefore cannot run more than 20A on that circuit. Therefore, what I should do is add another 20A circuit breaker for the DC and pull the wire to a new receptacle. Not what I hoped to hear, but now I understand how all of the components of the system work together.

[Rollie Meyers]

I visited with a guy at Home Depot for a while and got the answer to this. Not having done much with electric, I didn't fully understand initially, but this is how it was explained. My shop is not to code if I have a 40A circuit with three 20A outlets. The circuit breaker cannot exceed the weakest link in the chain, so should not exceed either the capacity of the wire (20A if it's 12 gauge wire) or the capacity of the receptacle (also 20A). So, what I should really have is a 20A breaker and therefore cannot run more than 20A on that circuit. Therefore, what I should do is add another 20A circuit breaker for the DC and pull the wire to a new receptacle. Not what I hoped to hear, but now I understand how all of the components of the system work together.


It is REAL dangerous to be taking electrical advice from Home Depot employees, locally they advise customers to use the ampacities of the 90 degree column of NEC table 310.16, there no lugs or circuit breakers rated for 90 degree C, this is just one example.

A 15A receptacle can be used on a 15A or a 20A if more then one, a 20A is 20A max, a 30A is 30A max, a 50A can be used on a 40 or 50A circuit. Now if a machine is hard wired & meets the requirements of NEC art. 430, there are wire & circuit breaker combinations that would not be allowed in a branch circuit & but is quite code compliant for the application.

NEC table 430.248 lists a 2 HP motor as 12A at 230V, and for the OP the simplest way to do it, run a 20A 240V circuit for it.

[Wade Lippman]

First thing you want to do it replace the 40a breaker. It is a fire waiting to happen.
While I personally would put in a new circuit, you really ought to be okay.
Two HP motors are typically 10a at full load; though it would be prudent to confirm that for the DC. While the DC will always be at full load, the band saw rarely will be. Unless you rip some 8/4 oak with a dull blade you should be okay. Even then, the worst that "should" happen is that you trip the breaker.
No promises; it isn't right and "could" have unfortunate consequences.

On reflection, you would want to start the bandsaw first and then the DC. Doing it the other way will likely trip the breaker.