I need an electricians advice.

[68_F100]

OK here is what I am going to do. I am going to use a 30 amp breaker. Run 3 feet of 10/2 to a box with a twist lock receptacle. Then I am going to use about 3 feet of 10ga stranded wire with a twist lock plug on one end and crip lugs on the other to fit the screw terminals. Thats like a 6 foot run with a twist lock in the middle. Sound good?

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Wow, luxury; you're already right next to the breaker. I had to run about 25 feet to get to my outlet for the welders, but yeah, 30A and 10/3. Didn't worry about a twist lock since there's not really any motion and I'll always be right there when it's running My compressor is only 120V, but it has its own circuit, too.

Voltage drop with wire to code will pretty much just soften the startup current a little, but the breaker will pop before the wire gets hot enough to ignite the insulation. Remember, as long as you haven't kinked the snot out of some spot, the voltage drop, and therefore the heat, will be distributed uniformly along the length of the wire. Run too long a wire, and you're not running a fire risk, just going to slow down the motor startup. Slow it down enough and the breaker might pop, but it still won't catch fire.