number-1
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 04:57 PM |
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compressor on extension lead
Afternoon All
Does anyone know if i can run a 50l air compressor on an extension lead? The garage is 50m from the house.
Ive seen conflicting info re this so thought id ask the trusted bunch on here?
I can of course buy longer air lines but that isnt in the keeping of locost 
Thanks
N1
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 06:24 PM |
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Tank size is irrelevent. It is the motor size that matters. If 3hp, it will be at the limit of a 13A plug. As such you would ideally have a decent
quality extension lead which MUST be fully unwound. 50m is a long extension, so will suffer a voltage drop, about 10% if the cable is 1.5mm2 cable.
Better would be 2.5mm2 cable but I doubt an off the shelf extenion is available.
Now the confession. I ran my garage on a 13A extension for 2 years. It was 1.5m cable, and I ran a compressor, heaters, welder etc at different times.
It all worked, but was 20m.
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gremlin1234
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 06:26 PM |
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if running a high current device on an extension lead, ensure the lead is fully unwound.
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number-1
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 06:32 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
Tank size is irrelevent. It is the motor size that matters. If 3hp, it will be at the limit of a 13A plug. As such you would ideally have a decent
quality extension lead which MUST be fully unwound. 50m is a long extension, so will suffer a voltage drop, about 10% if the cable is 1.5mm2 cable.
Better would be 2.5mm2 cable but I doubt an off the shelf extenion is available.
Now the confession. I ran my garage on a 13A extension for 2 years. It was 1.5m cable, and I ran a compressor, heaters, welder etc at different times.
It all worked, but was 20m.
Its the Clarke Shhh 50/350 unit. 3.5 hp. I have a 50m extension lead so will be fully unwound but kit seems i will be risking issues on a 13a socket?
I could plug the extension lead into the cooker socket so will be 32a?
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gremlin1234
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 06:38 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by number-1
ts the Clarke Shhh 50/350 unit. 3.5 hp. I have a 50m extension lead so will be fully unwound but kit seems i will be risking issues on a 13a socket? I
could plug the extension lead into the cooker socket so will be 32a?
the fusing on the circuit is to protect the cable.
if it's 16A cable the fuse/ circuit breaker should be similar.
edit to add
yes a lead with a 13A plug (and its associated fuse) could be plugged into a socket adjacent to a cooker point.
[Edited on 21/7/26 by gremlin1234]
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number-1
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 06:45 PM |
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16a? It will be run from a 240v socket. I didnt know you could get a 240v 16a extension reel? Any links to where i can get one?
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 21/7/26 at 08:21 PM |
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For 16A rather than 13A, you need a 16A, blue, industrial socket and a matching extension lead.
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Sanzomat
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| posted on 22/7/26 at 09:59 AM |
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Looked it up on the Clarke website. That compressor runs at 2500W so draws 10.9A (@230v) 10.9A is fine for a 13A fused plug and should also be fine on
a decent quality extension lead (they usually use 1.5mm2 flex so fine for 13A on a radial). Some leads are fused down to 10A though as they run
thinner cable. As others have said make sure its fully unwound. Unless you are running really high flowing tools it should not be running continuously
but if so feel the wire to make sure its not getting too hot (might get a bit warm). The bigger overheating risk is resistance in any of the
connections along the way e.g. if a terminal is corroded or not fully tightened inside the plug, on the plug pins or the wires inside the socket. If
anything gets overly warm or smells fishy turn it off and check (or get a sparks to)
You may get a voltage drop along the cable but shouldn't make much difference to it's performance.
BTW, the 13A outlet on your cooker outlet is still only rated at 13A even though the circuit behind it is on a 6mm2
I'm assuming the start up load for the motors is dealt with in the machine so shouldn't give a big spike on start up but some older motors
will trip modern sensitive breakers with their starting surge (used to be fine with old re-wirable fuses as they take so much longer to go pop!)
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 22/7/26 at 07:50 PM |
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My compressor runs at the end of a 25m extension, mostly rolled up. Yes I know the rules. you'll see ~6.7% voltage drop so the motor will be less
happy at the end of 50m but it's not the end of the world - it's fine for occasional use. I wouldn't spray a car with it like that or
do many re-fills. That said, I suspect your compressor is not a 100% duty cycle device too.
[Edited on 23/7/2026 by coyoteboy]
https://www.fixmystreet.com/
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