Lathe tripping the power

[LocalOak]

Hi

I have an old Myford ML8 which runs nicely but regularly trips the power. A bit of a pain as I have to tramp in from the workshop and reset the trip switch on the consumer unit in the house - it also puts out some of the house at the same time, including the TV and the phone which doesn't impress swimbo.

I have a consumer unit in the workshop but it's normally the one in the house that goes, I have a spur off the ringmain going to my workshop, 13A I think.

The lathe has either a 0.5HP or 0.75HP motor, I suspect the 0.75 but I am a definite novice when it comes to this sort of thing. When I turn the lathe on the lights dim until it's up to speed, takes about a second or two.

I have two questions.

1. is there anyway I can ensure that it always trips the workshop consumer unit first so I don't have to come back to the house?

2. does this suggest I need to replace the motor? Or is it just that a 0.75 HP motor is pushing it for a 13A spur?

Sorry to ask such naive questions but I am going round in circles trying to find an answer and would be very grateful for any pointers in the right direction.

Thanks

toby

 

[tisdai]

Hi Toby

If you are taking a spur from the house consumer unit to the consumer unit in the workshop then that i really underpowered.

You need to install a breaker in the consumer unit in the house and have that going the the consumer unit in the workshop.

I am not sure the size you will need as that depends on the type of machinery you are using.

Cheers

Dave

 

[LocalOak]

Ah, that makes sense. So I'm running everything in the house on the that spur and the workshop together. An electrician put this in for me when they re-wired the house, said it would be fine.

The lathe is by far the biggest thing I use, the only other things are powertools with a big triton router (1500W I think) as the next biggest.

I'll go talk to that electrician...

 

[9fingers]

If your lights are dimming when starting such a small motor then your installation is suspect. I second the need to get a spark in to sort it out.

Bob