Is this normal for a 30 amp breaker

LoudRam wrote:
As per NEC you are only allowed to load a breaker to 80% of it's rated capacity that way you have room for start up current. My AC is only on a 15a breaker and draws 10 to 11 amps. A 20a breaker should be more than enough. And as it was stated earlier warm is normal but hot is a problem. However it never hurts to check the connections.

That's not quite right when it comes to motorized appliances and equipment.

An AC unit (and any motor for that matter) has the breaker "over-sized" (per NEC table) to ensure the compressor motor will start on the initial momentary inrush current of 50-60 amps of a typical AC unit. The 20 amp (or 15 amp) AC unit breaker isn't based on the full load running amps.

Another thing to note is that a code-sized breaker for an AC unit doesn't take into account what happens when the voltage goes down which causes an AC unit to draw more current which can cause the 20 amp (or 15 amp) breaker to trip. A compressor load stays relatively constant but as voltage goes down, the motor has to draw more current to try to keep horsepower output up. The motor can end up drawing much more than 80% of the breaker rating and eventually cause it to trip due to the bimetal element heating up more. Low voltage is common in CGs in the summer and is often much higher than the 5% recommended by NEC.