Pump breaker

Looking through several member's schematics and plans, it seems a lot of people use 15A breakers for a March/Chugger/LG pump.

I plan on using a LG pump. According to the specs, it's a 1/25HP pump. This equals about 30W which at 115V, equals a current draw of about 0.3A.

The specs also call out 94W, which equals roughly 0.8A.

Furthermore, according to this, it draws 1.3A.

Why all the 15A breakers, if pumps draw an 1.3A or less? Is the startup current for the pump that high?

I'm using 2A for my chugger pumps. IIRC they have a draw of 1.4

ExHempKnight said:

Looking through several member's schematics and plans, it seems a lot of people use 15A breakers for a March/Chugger/LG pump.

I plan on using a LG pump. According to the specs, it's a 1/25HP pump. This equals about 30W which at 115V, equals a current draw of about 0.3A.

The specs also call out 94W, which equals roughly 0.8A.

Furthermore, according to this, it draws 1.3A.

Why all the 15A breakers, if pumps draw an 1.3A or less? Is the startup current for the pump that high?

Click to expand...

2A or 3A would be about right for the pump, to protect it from a locked rotor condition. Being a magnetically coupled pump, a locked rotor is only a remote possibility, like a seized bearing or something. Maybe the 15A breakers are protecting the wiring only?

I got these 2A CB's, haven't fired them up but seem like a good choice.


http://www.factorymation.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5681/.f?sc=2&category=15748

30 watts? Hardly worth a breaker. You don't run much risk of it causing a fire at that wattage if it locks up. If there is not thermal overload in the motor I'm not sure a fuse will help much against a lockup. You might PM walteratmarchpumps or whatever his handle is to take a look at the thread and comment.

Could be because of the inductive load...I know just enough to be dangerous...but motors, pumps, etc. need a big push to get started, then they just sip juice. But the breaker should be more to protect the wire....which is probably 14 AWG. It's really no different than plugging it into the wall. Should something cause a short, like spilled liquids, you would see a high current draw (and/or a ground fault) in which case your breaker should pop and/or your GFCI should kill power. One big reason why GFCI is so important.

15 amp breakers are a commonly available size. (most i have seen installed are either 15 or 20) My guess is that 15 amp is because of the availability (and price)