Originally Posted by
Rollie Meyers
Motor rules are significantly different then for branch circuits, and you can have different wire wire and fuse/circuit breaker combos then what is allowed for a branch circuit, same thing also applies to air conditioning equipment, and welders.
With a 5 HP motor the circuit must be sized from NEC table 430.248 which lists a 5 HP 1Ø motor as 28A @ 230V and 125% of 28A is 35A so if Romex® is used it has to be 8AWG, if THHN is used 10 AWG is 35A (motor rules apply, not branch circuit) is fine. Even if a motor nameplate amperes is less then that NEC table it is still required to be sized from table 430.248.