How hard can it be to purchase Hammer products?
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junk731
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It really isn't about what Felder says at all and the fact it's wired with 12Ga, it's about what the Electrical code says in a individual's country. Like I said previously. If you have even a slight understanding of the Electrical code you will get the concept, it's not whether the machine will operate on a lower amp circuit it's about the safety aspect, especially in your home. As always do as you please.
There was an interesting discussion on the first FOG about a member who also checked Felders electrical requirements before buying a widebelt sander and the power it was going to take to operate. He had the electrician wire what Felder said it needed and when the machine arrived and was hooked up, the amp draw of the machine far exceeded what they (the Felder Rocket Scientists) told the customer. Needless to say alot of problems and downtime for the guys business. He was unable to upgrade the circuit with the existing power on hand. Long story short, those same people are telling you to go against code. The happy ending is that because of the Felder BS they are taking back the machine and he's getting a unit that will work.
John
There was an interesting discussion on the first FOG about a member who also checked Felders electrical requirements before buying a widebelt sander and the power it was going to take to operate. He had the electrician wire what Felder said it needed and when the machine arrived and was hooked up, the amp draw of the machine far exceeded what they (the Felder Rocket Scientists) told the customer. Needless to say alot of problems and downtime for the guys business. He was unable to upgrade the circuit with the existing power on hand. Long story short, those same people are telling you to go against code. The happy ending is that because of the Felder BS they are taking back the machine and he's getting a unit that will work.
John
Mismarked
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I don't purport to know a lot about electrical stuff, especially 240v, but the issue as explained to me was that it would take an extra fraction of a second to trip the 30A breaker vs the 20A if the machine got overloaded and it could harm the motor slightly each time it happened. Since the thing runs fine on 20a, no reason to go higher.
An electrical engineer on another site understood the issue but said it was a theoretical possibility and I'd probably get hit by a meteor before I managed to overload the machine enough to trip the 20 but not immediately trip the 30.
That sounded right but I did the sub-panel anyway so as not to void the warranty if something bad happens.
An electrical engineer on another site understood the issue but said it was a theoretical possibility and I'd probably get hit by a meteor before I managed to overload the machine enough to trip the 20 but not immediately trip the 30.
That sounded right but I did the sub-panel anyway so as not to void the warranty if something bad happens.
I just called Hammer's Delaware office five minutes ago and asked them again about the correct amp circuit for the A3 31. They again stated for a second time that 30 amps is preferred. All Hammer A3 31 specific documentation that I have seen says to use a 30 amp circuit.
The technical support guy said that it might run ok on 20 amps but if your voltage drops at all the machine will draw higher amps and since start up uses close to 20 amps, it is better to go with a 30 amp circuit.
The technical support guy said that it might run ok on 20 amps but if your voltage drops at all the machine will draw higher amps and since start up uses close to 20 amps, it is better to go with a 30 amp circuit.
ben_r_
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What number or who did you call? I have called Hammer/Felder people too and gotten the "20A is what we recommend and have never heard of an issue". This is getting humorous. As I mentioned earlier Ive had my N4400 on a 20A circuit for over a year now and never had any kind of issue.RobBob said:
866-792-5288 is the number I called. Don't remember his name but I asked for technical support. I got voice mail and left a message. They called back within ten minutes.
Maybe California is giving a different answer than Delaware or maybe the N4400 has different requirements than the A3 31?
Maybe California is giving a different answer than Delaware or maybe the N4400 has different requirements than the A3 31?
Mismarked
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The plastic bag that comes with the machine and contains the hardware has a flyer that states: Maximum upstream protection not to exceed 20A at 3KW (S6-40%) 1 x 230V / 60Hz. That matched what the tech told me before delivery. There is another document that says to ensure the circuit does not have voltage fluctuations exceeding a specified percentage. I think it was plus or minus 10 percent. I think the EE's comment was that 30 amp should work fine, and I am sure that's right, but since the flyer specific to the machine as delivered and the Delaware tech both said to use a 20 amp circuit, I went with that. no problems running 12 inch hard maple workbench top through the planer.
View attachment 2
No, the Delaware tech told me today and 6 months ago (same answer 6 months apart) that a 30 amp circuit is preferred even though it may work on a 20 amp circuit.
Which machine and motor? The manual says 20 amps for a three phase motor. The motor on my A3 31 is single phase. I did not have 240 volt service in my shop until recently. I could easily have put in a 20 or 30 amp circuit.
![ATTACH]](http://[ATTACH]2[/ATTACH])
Mismarked said:
No, the Delaware tech told me today and 6 months ago (same answer 6 months apart) that a 30 amp circuit is preferred even though it may work on a 20 amp circuit.
Which machine and motor? The manual says 20 amps for a three phase motor. The motor on my A3 31 is single phase. I did not have 240 volt service in my shop until recently. I could easily have put in a 20 or 30 amp circuit.
Attachments
Mismarked
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A3-31, 4hp. I have residential single phase 240, 30A circuit, which is a dryer outlet with 4 10AWG wires that they put in the garage in case I buy an electric car at some point. my recollection is you just wire the same motor differently if you have something other than single phase. Did the 20A subpanel with 12AWG for the over current protection to the machine. It seemed complicated to me but made sense to the electrician. my guess is you are absolutely fine if your machine isn't tripping the breaker but you could do the subpanel with magnets like my electrician did if you have concerns.
Mismarked said:
I am happy with my 30 amp circuit. The people using it on a 20 amp circuit are the ones that should be concerned.
Could you post a picture of the flier that came with your machine? What year was your machine built? The year of manufacture is on the plate on the back of the machine. See my picture above.
ben_r_
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As long as the motor never draws over 20A (which if it did it would just pop the breaker) there is no cause for concern. If it is popping the breaker and its doing it regularly, then the circuit definitely needs to be bumped up to a 30 amp breaker with at least 10AWG wire. But so far I havent read to read or hear from anyone having issues with a Hammer 4HP motor tool on a 20amp breaker. Just a lot of people talking.RobBob said:
And FWIW there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting the saw on a 30amp circuit if it makes one feel better. Hell, you could put it on a 100amp circuit and as long as you gauge the wire correctly nothing will change. A system will pull only as much current as it needs unless there is a short or electrical failure of some other sort. Allowing the availability of more amperage does nothing but allow more current to be drawn.
Circuit breakers are there to protect the wiring so that if there is a fault your building doesn't go up in smoke.
If the saw is that critical as to the size of the CB then it should be built into the machine by the manufacturer and not left up to the discretion of the installer.
If the saw is that critical as to the size of the CB then it should be built into the machine by the manufacturer and not left up to the discretion of the installer.
Mismarked said:
Yeah, we should have started a new thread, although we're both happy with what we have and I doubt anyone else cares...
Yours is same year as the machine I received. Don't remember seeing that document attached and I see that none of the boxes are checked on yours. Wonder if that means anything?
bkharman said:
Yes. Hammer is a Felder line of machinery. Just like Lexus is part of Toyota. Or Acura is part of Honda. Or MiniMax is a part of SCMI. Or Powermatic is a part of Jet. Or with beer, many, many world famous brands are all owned by the same company. Miller and Coors are the same company now. But Bud and Miller were the same company for a short while. And Heineken is part of Bud now. And Fosters and Corona are owned by one of them too. In the US and Europe, a couple companies make all the name brand beers. They are sold and serviced by the exact same people. Hammer was recently purchased by Felder. 10+ years ago. In Europe maybe Hammer was a separate brand from Felder where they both operated as competitors for a few years. In the USA Hammer was never sold until after Felder bought the brand and introduced it to the USA.
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