A compressor, a washer and a 220v circuit walk into a garage and....

[UP2MTNS]

Hi everyone...first post on here, but not new to forums so I'll try not to waste anyone's time.


Background:
not new to electricity, but its been a while since I worked with 220v, and never really worked with electrical code, etc.

Equipment...I have all the right wire, tools, etc...this isn't about 'what gauge wire do I use?'
Husky 60 gallon compressor.  3.2HP motor
standard 220v dryer
All of it is in a 1 car garage separate from the house.


The situation:
My GF and I just moved into this house and I'm excited to have a proper garage to work in (we just moved out of San Francisco).  The breaker box for the house is actually outside (which I thought was weird) and the garage is wired, but no visible wires go to the garage so I assume everything is buried.  The plug for the washer just comes out of the ground (From the inside of the garage) and into a box where the plug is and that's it....NO separate breaker in the garage.  I found the 30 amp breaker for it on the side of the house.  Its definitely on it own circuit, as the 120V switches and lights are on a separate breaker.


I haven't measured accurately, but I'd say the garage is about 40 feet (down the driveway) from the exterior breaker box.  Visible when the door is open, not visible when the garage door is closed

Just to make sure it would work, I wired in the compressor to the dryer.  I opened up the box, put the compressor lines in through a side port and connected those into the same screw connectors on the inside of the plug, turned the breaker back on, tested the lines, turned on the compressor, and voila!  success.


The compressor is about 12 additional feet from the dryer plug, away from the exterior breaker.


So my REAL QUESTION:  Is this OK as-is? (is this to code?)  I know the drawbacks to having the compressor and dryer on the same 30amp circuit, but I'm renting this house and not exactly about to dig up the original line and install a 2nd circuit.  Do I need to put some kind of 2nd breaker between the dryer plug and the compressor?  Or should I do it anyway just to be safe?

Or is there another option I'm not considering?

Thanks!

[JP]

First off congrats on moving out of San Francisco!

In my opinion it is not in compliance with the National Electrical Code, having said that the local authority having jurisdiction is the judge of what is required in your area.

As for safety, providing the circuit breaker is in good working order it will protect the circuit against any current overload. A means of disconnect may be an issue, it is not only used as a convenience but also in the event of equipment problems as a means of disconnecting the power source.  For example if the equipment would catch on fire you would have no means of disconnecting the power source quickly. A disconnect can be a plug, switch or a regular electrical disconnect.

[UP2MTNS]

thx for the feedback.

to be clear, its not up to code because I don't have any kind of breaker/receptacle, or because I have 2 appliances on 1 220v circuit?

I was thinking of putting something like this between the compressor and where its hard-wired in:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ5ys95/R-100576894/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

(although, now taking a closer look on the specs on that...I don't think it'll work as the wire range is 14/3....so it won't take the gauge wire I have for the compressor...hmmmm)

[JP]

O.K. here is what I believe to be your best solution, take the cable going to your dryer and splice it in a junction box, come out of the junction box and install a receptacle for the dryer and another one for the air compressor, this will provide you with a means of disconnect for both, basically meet code and as long as you don’t use both at the same time you should be O.K.