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I have a 1.5HP Delta 50-760 dust collector wired for 120V, rated 15A 120V / 7.5A 240V (3450 RPM capacitor start motor). It starts slowly and takes a while to spin up, so presumably it has a high starting current. It has fried two GFCIs and a dust collector remote control box, after maybe twenty hours of use. What kind of outlet can I use for this in a garage? Are there heavy duty GFCIs that will stand up to the starting current?

Flooding is not a concern.

Can I get around GFCI requirements by reconfiguring the motor for 240V (this is a built-in motor option)?

Am I better off getting a dust collector that draws less power?

VFD with 234V input for a soft start?

In the US, Washington State.

I would appreciate ideas.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: found the motor start capacitor had a puckered burn mark, and appears to have sprayed out its contents. Think I missed it because:

(A) I was too close to the problem,

(B) it spent a long time in storage; it must have failed so long ago that I perceived it as 'always' like this.

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    you can't use anything, your have a defective dust collector. This reminds me of the joke of the guy who keeps changing fuses until he gets one that won't blow.
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Jun 30 at 3:22
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    What is your definition of "fries"? "GFCI trips when used" is different from "GFCI no longer works even with load unplugged and other known good loads plugged in".
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jun 30 at 19:41
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    @Harper-ReinstateMonica Excellent point: GFCI ceases to pass power through to the load. Nothing lights up. Pressing the 'trip' and 'reset' buttons does nothing.
    – Technophile
    Commented Jul 8 at 18:19
  • Well that could be a case of the GFCI successfully resetting, but then, immediately re-tripping because the ground fault is still there. Possibly in the wiring.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jul 9 at 4:49
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica while that would be nice, in my experience pressing reset on a GFCI outlet with a 'leaky-to-ground' load at least flashes the LEDs and you get a click as it re-triggers. The problem was excessive current to the slow-starting dust collector (not a ground fault). After unplugging everything from the GFCI outlet it still acted the same (dark LEDs and silence). Replaced it the first time, it worked until dust collector start. The dust collector was an inductive load getting stalled-motor current --> lots of I^2 L energy went somewhere.
    – Technophile
    Commented Jul 9 at 22:43

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I'd check the bearings - a fan (a dust collector is basically a big one, at its heart) really should not be that hard to start. It should have very low power requirements until it spins up, so hard starting suggests failed bearings or bearings in need of lubrication. Or else, possibly a starter circuit component going bad.

To "avoid GFCI requirements" hardwire it (no receptacle, just a junction box) as well as going to a 240V supply, if it's not moving around the shop. If you use a receptacle you'll need GFCI regardless of voltage (it will be a GFCI breaker for 240V.)

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  • Blown Start capacitor. Not sure how long it's been dead; presumably a long enough time that I perceived it as 'always' like this. The collector sat a long time.
    – Technophile
    Commented Jul 9 at 22:45

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