Amps & generator load

[paulmars]

Year 2002 two ton 240vac hvac compressor. Plaque says 21.4 amps. Paperwork says use 30a dbl breaker.

Is that 21.4 amps on each hot wire?

Air handler central hvac 120vac fan paperwork says 6.2 amps

2 fridges in house. Plaques say 6.5 & 4.5a. 120vac.

Both fridges on same hot. The 6.2 amp central fan is on the other hot.

Only other things running were modem\router and two phone charges. Smart tv & microwave were plugged in, but off.

Yes water heater was off and no one was washing or drying clothes.

Yes both fridges were cycled on during amp measurements.

6500 watt generator has a 27 amp breaker on each hot. My ammeter read 15 & 18 amps.

Should 21.4a 240vac compressor pull 21.4 on each hot? If not why does it need a 30a dbl breaker?

Can I add another fridge & window ac?

P
.

 

[James]

it may draw up to 21A when under full load.
the 30A breaker is to cover the start up current that may be considerably higher.
in theory you have a spare 9A to play with based on your measurements.

but to be fair the only way to be sure is to run it all with the loads you want on and see if everything is ok for an hour or 2.

 

[paulmars]

Compressor LRA 82, RLA 16

Fan FLA 1.6

Maximum circuit amps 21.4

Max fuse 30

 

[paulmars]

So 18ax240v is 2320 watts

Slightly over 1\3 the 6500 watt capacity

I understand mtr start up pulls a lot more.

 

[Megawatt]

Year 2002 two ton 240vac hvac compressor. Plaque says 21.4 amps. Paperwork says use 30a dbl breaker.

Is that 21.4 amps on each hot wire?

Air handler central hvac 120vac fan paperwork says 6.2 amps

2 fridges in house. Plaques say 6.5 & 4.5a. 120vac.

Both fridges on same hot. The 6.2 amp central fan is on the other hot.

Only other things running were modem\router and two phone charges. Smart tv & microwave were plugged in, but off.

Yes water heater was off and no one was washing or drying clothes.

Yes both fridges were cycled on during amp measurements.

6500 watt generator has a 27 amp breaker on each hot. My ammeter read 15 & 18 amps.

Should 21.4a 240vac compressor pull 21.4 on each hot? If not why does it need a 30a dbl breaker?

Can I add another fridge & window ac?

P
.

It will pull 21.4 amps which is an actual load and the breaker is sized based on the calculated load. Which is 30 amps