Bowflex is full of ****, or they are trying to burn people's houses down

Corn-Picker · 04-14-2007, 05:27 PM

The GF and I are refinishing our basement, which requires that I wire the receptacles. We may buy a treadmill to complement our exercise bike, and I decided to spec the electrical requirements for a treadmill. I got the following stats from Bowflex concerning their 7 series treadmill:

Treadmill motor: 3.0 HP continuous duty
Power requirement: 120VAC 15A

Realistically a 120V 15 amp outlet can supply what, 1.5 HP? I'm guessing the Bowflex "3.0 HP continuous duty" motor is more like a 1.0 HP continuous duty motor that can make 3.0 HP for five seconds -- until it melts. I know better than to expect total truth from advertisers, but this is a lie of 100-200% magnitude

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

LastResort · 04-14-2007, 05:30 PM

That's pretty standard in the home use equipment. In general, I don't use an NEMA 5-20R for anything greater than 3/4HP. But that assumes that the motor is rated per NEC.

Nightwing · 04-14-2007, 05:45 PM

equipment like that doesn't actually run at a true 15a. They oump amprage into the motor until it fries and that is how they determine it's peak amperage. The motor itself only probably runs at a max of 12 amps.
If you run a dedicated curcuit from a 20a breaker using 12/2 copper Romex to a 20 A recepticle it should be more power than you ever need. you could honestly get away with a 15a breaker to 14.2 wire since it is rated to run 15 amps, and 14/2 wire CAN handle 20 amps safely. So....Don't sweat it.

GLwagon · 04-14-2007, 05:52 PM

FLA of various 1 phase 115v motors... (FLA - Full Load Amps)
1/6HP = 4.4A
1/4HP = 5.8A
1/3HP = 7.2A
1/2HP = 9.8A
3/4HP = 13.8A
1HP = 16A
1.5HP = 20A
2HP = 24A
3HP = 34A

Meh, I got a bazillion HP ShopVac in the garage.... it sucks, & doesn't draw squat.

LastResort · 04-14-2007, 05:56 PM

Keep in mind that the breakers you put in your panel are only rated to 80***37; of the current on the label. So if you have a 20A breaker, it's only rated to 16A. That doesn't mean it won't handle 20A, it just means you might get nuisance tripping if you go beyond 16A. But because of the NEC, you still have to use the wire for 20A breaker, and because the Lugs aren't rated to 90C, you have to use the 75 degree table. So you end up with less than 14 amps of load, on 20A wire.

Skell · 04-14-2007, 06:01 PM

nurdz

V6TurboTA · 04-14-2007, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skell

nurdz

GLwagon · 04-14-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LastResort

and because the Lugs aren't rated to 90C, you have to use the 75 degree table.

and because the NEC is really over cautious NM-B cable (Romex) can only be utilized up to the 60C charting...
14AWG = 15amps max over current protection
12AWG = 20amps

Full load on 14AWG is 12amps, & 12awg is 16amps...

LastResort · 04-14-2007, 06:50 PM

I rarely (never?) stray into projects where romex is OK, so this is news to me. Thanks.

The NEC while overly restrictive, makes my job pretty easy. I'm pretty confident that a good drafter could replace me with a couple of excell files, and a Fault current calculator.

burnera · 04-14-2007, 06:51 PM

It may well be rated 3hp continuous duty.... but only uses 1hp

LastResort · 04-14-2007, 06:51 PM

They are probably just quoting a service factor of 3.0, which I would be amazed if it could sustain it for more than a couple of seconds before shooting a bearing across the floor.

04-14-2007, 05:27 PM	#1
Corn-Picker Scooby Specialist Member#: 8679 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Morgantown, WV Vehicle: 2010 The most hated vehicle on the internets	Bowflex is full of , or they are trying to burn people's houses down The GF and I are refinishing our basement, which requires that I wire the receptacles. We may buy a treadmill to complement our exercise bike, and I decided to spec the electrical requirements for a treadmill. I got the following stats from Bowflex concerning their 7 series treadmill: Treadmill motor: 3.0 HP continuous duty Power requirement: 120VAC 15A Realistically a 120V 15 amp outlet can supply what, 1.5 HP? I'm guessing the Bowflex "3.0 HP continuous duty" motor is more like a 1.0 HP continuous duty motor that can make 3.0 HP for five seconds -- until it melts. I know better than to expect total truth from advertisers, but this is a lie of 100-200% magnitude * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

04-14-2007, 05:30 PM	#2
LastResort Scooby Guru Member#: 99289 Join Date: Oct 2005	That's pretty standard in the home use equipment. In general, I don't use an NEMA 5-20R for anything greater than 3/4HP. But that assumes that the motor is rated per NEC. Last edited by LastResort; 04-14-2007 at 05:40 PM.

04-14-2007, 05:56 PM	#5
LastResort Scooby Guru Member#: 99289 Join Date: Oct 2005	Keep in mind that the breakers you put in your panel are only rated to 80**37; of the current on the label. So if you have a 20A breaker, it's only rated to 16A. That doesn't mean it won't handle 20A, it just means you might get nuisance tripping if you go beyond 16A. But because of the NEC, you still have to use the wire for 20A breaker, and because the Lugs aren't rated to 90C, you have to use the 75 degree table. So you end up with less than 14 amps of load, on 20A wire. Last edited by LastResort; 04-14-2007 at 06:04 PM.*

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04-14-2007, 05:45 PM	#3
Nightwing Scooby Newbie Member#: 45007 Join Date: Oct 2003 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Jefferson City, TN Vehicle: 2010 Forester 2.5 S White	equipment like that doesn't actually run at a true 15a. They oump amprage into the motor until it fries and that is how they determine it's peak amperage. The motor itself only probably runs at a max of 12 amps. If you run a dedicated curcuit from a 20a breaker using 12/2 copper Romex to a 20 A recepticle it should be more power than you ever need. you could honestly get away with a 15a breaker to 14.2 wire since it is rated to run 15 amps, and 14/2 wire CAN handle 20 amps safely. So....Don't sweat it.

04-14-2007, 05:52 PM	#4
GLwagon Scooby Specialist Member#: 16696 Join Date: Mar 2002 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Baraboo, WI Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Stg2 2013 OBW roll'n at 30+mpg	FLA of various 1 phase 115v motors... (FLA - Full Load Amps) 1/6HP = 4.4A 1/4HP = 5.8A 1/3HP = 7.2A 1/2HP = 9.8A 3/4HP = 13.8A 1HP = 16A 1.5HP = 20A 2HP = 24A 3HP = 34A Meh, I got a bazillion HP ShopVac in the garage.... it sucks, & doesn't draw squat.

04-14-2007, 06:01 PM	#6
Skell Scooby Specialist Member#: 75638 Join Date: Nov 2004 Chapter/Region: NWIC Vehicle: new metalocalypse is effin funneh	nurdz

04-14-2007, 06:50 PM	#9
LastResort Scooby Guru Member#: 99289 Join Date: Oct 2005	I rarely (never?) stray into projects where romex is OK, so this is news to me. Thanks. The NEC while overly restrictive, makes my job pretty easy. I'm pretty confident that a good drafter could replace me with a couple of excell files, and a Fault current calculator.

04-14-2007, 06:51 PM	#10
burnera Scooby Newbie Member#: 56232 Join Date: Feb 2004 Chapter/Region: RMIC Location: omaha Vehicle: 89 325I i don't know	It may well be rated 3hp continuous duty.... but only uses 1hp