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Electricity Theory/Practicality

To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Electricity Theory/Practicality
From: Nickbk@aol.com
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 20:22:28 -0400
Fellow Shop Rats...

I've seen a nut and a bolt, and I've even assembled/disassembled
one or two, BUT, my knowlege of electricity ends just after I throw the
switch, and it either works, or I call the electrical guy.

So, I went out and got the 60 gal 5 hp "speedaire" ( same as a
Campbell-Hausfield) compressor and tried to wire it myself. Hey, how hard
could it be, right ? Only three wires on each end, piece-o-cake.
Wrong-a-mundo.

I went out and bought some overkill size wire and a plug to go into the 220
outlet where the dryer sits in the garage. The instructions that came with
the plug, say that the white wire goes on the center
(weird angle) prong on the plug, which they note as "neutral" (?).
The instructions do not seem to care where the other two wires go (black and
green). So far, so good. Now I get into trouble. When I take the top of the
connector box off of the compressor, I find that the green wire is definitely
the ground wire on the unit. The two remaining connectors are marked + and -.
Does it make a difference which is + and which is -, and how do I find out ?
More importantly, is the prong that the white wire is connected to on the
plug called "neutral" really the ground ? Should this "neutral" be hooked up
to the green ground on the compressor, or should I wire all the like colors
together ?

H E L P
 Nick in Nor Cal
 

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