Is it advisable to exceed the rated currect of a relay for a brief moment, when using it to drive an inductive load (a motor)?
Motors are inductive and take start currents that are much higher than their run currents .This is hard on relays .Reputable relay manufacturers show a curve of current Vs number of operations .You can read down on the curve and estimate product life .Finding a suitable relay is easy when the number of operations per day is low and difficult when the number of daily operations is high .Some larger relays that are sometimes referred to as contacters give a rating in terms of HP so selecting a relay for your motor is easy .