Author Topic: Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer  (Read 1495 times)

Offline Mark @ Hurricane Printing

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Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer
« on: November 13, 2013, 10:00:25 PM »
First off, my MAIN electrical panel that feeds my entire house is outside and in it I have a double pole 50 amp breaker which feeds my garage where my equipment is. In my garage I installed an electrical panel (which is fed by the outside double pole 50amp breaker i mentioned) which holds all the breakers for my equipment (dryer; exposure unit; flash)...each piece of equipment has its own dedicated breaker in that panel.

I currently have a Vastex Econored IR dryer single phase....the wall plug is a 3 prong 20A 250W socket......on the control panel of the dryer where all the knobs are, it has a 240 V.A.C. stamped on it right above the breaker switch which is the on/off switch of the dryer.........feeding the dryer from the wall electrical panel to the wall socket is a double pole 30a breaker.....and i think its a  12/4 wire (red;white;black;ground) going from the electrical panel to the wall socket.

The dryer I may upgrade to is a 6300 watt...28 amp dryer, single phase...and the upgrade is simply same size dryer in dimensions but this one has forced air and better condition and more current than the dryer i have now.

i just went to home depot and explained this to the electrical guy there and he says my 30 amp double pole breaker will work BUT i need to change the wire from a 12/4 to a 10/3.

Does this sound right to you guys? I'm hoping someone on this board is up to speed on electrical things and just wanted a second opinion/ assurance so I don't burn my house down haha.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2013, 08:54:41 AM by Mark @ Hurricane Printing »
Mark


Offline jvanick

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Re: Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2013, 10:06:38 PM »
30a is definitely requires at least 10ga... not 12.

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Offline ScreenPrinter123

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Re: Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2013, 10:26:17 PM »
The 30 amp breaker would likely work but I believe NEC requires protection at 125% which for 28A would be 35A.  10 AWG copper wires would meet code if 75°C conductors are used.

Offline mk162

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Re: Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2013, 10:48:50 PM »
also, the LAST thing you want to do is ask an orange apron.

if you are asking questions like this, HIRE it done.  see if you can trade some shirts.

also, what is the length of the run?  also, 28 amp is more than likely includes the over-amperage, but 30 is running really tight.  if your panel gets hot in the summer it will trip.

Offline Gilligan

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Re: Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2013, 10:53:36 PM »
Not always... My msp3140 draws more than the panel says, by a good amount... It settles as the bulb warms up, but I was told this is normal.

Offline Mark @ Hurricane Printing

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Re: Eletrical question about upgrading converyor dryer
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2013, 12:00:56 PM »
Thanks for the info guys..I greatly appreciate it.....I went ahead and bought it....I really needed to upgrade in quality of dryer...it was time.
Mark