On Sun, 09 Apr 2006 21:03:21 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:


"Jack Goff" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 09 Apr 2006 03:47:35 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:


"Don White" wrote in message
...
CalifBill wrote:


15 amp circuits are 14 gauge, and few run 100' inside a house. More
like
50' at most. Contractors use 12 gauge because you can move the cord.
And most saws and tools are built to run in a 15 amp circuit, not draw
15
amps. Most are in the 7-8 amp range.

Maybe your rinky-dink Black & Decker stuff is 7 amps....
My Makita circular saw is 13 amps...
my Craftsman electric chain saw is 12 amps
my Toro Electric snowthrower is 12 amps...
etc...

That is with the blade almost locked or starting for a very short time. I
run a Skil Mag 77 worm drive and it is rated 13 amps. If they drew 15
amps
the circuit breaker would always be tripping.

Remember that a 15 amp circuit breaker can carry far more than 15 amps
for a period of time. Circuit breaker have "trip curves", and a
typical 15 amp breaker can carry 15 amps for over 15 MINUTES before
tripping. At 30 amps it takes 7 seconds to trip, and at 60 amps it
still takes 1 second.

A 15 amp saw, dynamically drawing 15+ amps, would pose no problem for
a 15 amp breaker.

Jack

Depends on the breaker as to how fast it trips. There are different
"curves" for breakers. I think most home ones are Curve "C".


Of course. The one I quoted was for a Square D "QO" breaker, a
common, high-quality home panel breaker. They don't identify the
curve by a C designation, but rather by a number. The curve PDF is on
their website.

Jack