Wiring question

Re: Wiring question

TD

>Doug, how much power is available from your main box? If you have a 200 amp box and you only use 150 amps max then you could put in a 50 amp breaker and take that to your shop where you would mount a 100 amp box and then put individual breakers for your 220 and 110 circuits. The wire size to the shop would depend on the distance from your current panel.

TD

Re: Wiring question

RevDoug

>TD, you have asked a good question. And, one I need to investigate. I knew I could get the info I needed here. Thanks 8)

By the way,

RevDoug

>The garage is about 25 feet from the back door of the house.

Re: By the way,

JamieDonaldson

>The ideal would be a new feed line to the shop from the transformer, but distance and how to run could be problematic. Having a breaker box in the shop is definitely recommended, especially when running several machines and 220v circuits. Some codes require a dedicated line for each machine, so it might make sense to hire an "electrical consultant."

Re: Wiring question

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>Will you be running new wires to new outlet boxes?

If you are, I suggest using 20 amp breakers and 12 ga wiring for multiple 110 and 220 volt lines. If you are going to have a single 220 volt line (as I do) running your 220 volt DC simultaneously with your 220 volt lathe (or TS, jointer, BS, etc) then you may wish to increase your capacity with a 30 amp breaker and 10 ga wire (which I did). For my 110 lines (I have 3), I used one for lighting and ceiling outlets, and the other two 110 lines connected every other outlet boxes that were place about every 4 feet apart around the circumference of the shop. I have a small central room in the middle of the shop (for utilities ... a real pain the the butt). I also ran the 110 and 220 lines around the perimeter of the small room.

John

Re: Wiring question

Fog Tanner

>I had a similar situation. I wired my garage for 110 and 220. All the 220 lines are on seperate breakers and I used 10 ga wire. On the short 110 runs I used 12ga and the longer runs 10ga. Garage is 32x50 so I wanted to minimiz voltage drop, i.e. 10 ga.

A breaker box in your garage will give you a central wiring location plus a master breaker to turn the whole thing off. I ran cable from the main service panel to the garage/studio/woodshop. I used a cable size that would support 100 amps, I could only get a 50 amp breaker at the time as it had to be a quad and thats all they had. The other side of the quad runs to my model airplane workshop - also 50 amp. I plan on adding a second power line, meter and service panel next to the main service panel. This will feed the garage, that was the reason for the larger cable at the time - I only wanted to pull it once, its buried in conduit.

But, if you already have wire from your house to your garage, that will determine the limiting size of the breaker you can use. If its 12 ga it safe for 20 amps, 10 ga - 30 amps. There are some online sites that can help you determine the load and wire size. They have web based calculators that you just feed in the numbers and they give you the sizes. Unfortunately, the links are on my other computer which is down at the moment. But, you can do a search on Google and find them easy enough.

Re: Wiring question

Barry Turner

>I faced a similar dilema a few years ago when I built my garage. Since it was built primarily for use as a shop, I decided to make sure it had ample wiring and circuits. I came out of my 200 breaker panel through a 60 amp breaker. In my garage I installed a 100 amp breaker panel. From that I have nine 110-volt outlets, three 220-volt outlets and fluorescent lighting. I have a Stubby lathe that runs on 220, a tablesaw that runs on 220, a 220-volt planer and a 60-gallon air compressor that runs on 220. I even run a 220-volt milk house heater in the winter. I just don't run everything at the same time. Never had a problem with a tripped breaker in 25+ years.

Hire a good electrician...

Paul Porter in Phoenix, AZ

>...who is licenced, bonded, etc. If you have any problems (i.e. fire) your homeowners insurance should cover it.

Re: Wiring question

Wood Spinner

>It sounds that you want to just change breaker size. NO NO NO

Your best is to run new wire from the main panel to a sub panel in the shop. Normaly a 100 amp will be fine. Then run armored cable to new outlets. I generaly run one outlet to a breaker. Normaly a good electrical store will tell you what size wire for breaker size. Be sure to do it to code or it can void your insurance if you have a fire. The Ins. company will blame the electrical even if the fire is on the other side of the house and there is no real connection.

Good turning and be safe

Bill in Casa Grande, AZ

Re: Wiring question

Bob G.

>My detached garage/shop is run off the house main. I have a 90 amp feed to the shop.

All 110 outlets are 20amp except for the line for the ceiling lights, which is 15amp. 220 outlets are either 20 or 30 amp depending on what machine they were targeted for.

A separate utility drop is nice but will incur a minimum monthly service fee / account fee depending what the local electric company charges. They also may charge a connection fee for the cable drop and setting the meter. For a personal shop it was not worth giving the electric company more money each month.

I would recommend if your not familiar with wiring and such to hire an electrician or at least pay one to look over your work. Using under sized wiring can spell trouble as others have stated.

Bob

Re: Wiring question

Steve Mushinski

>RevDoug,

There is so much dependant on what you have now that it is very hard to answer. The main item I would like you to understand is that it is the wires that are run to your equipment that dictates the power you have at it. What I mean if the wire is rated for 12 amps and you hook a 15 amp machine then you are cooking the wires and stressing the motor. The breaker is there to protect the wires. Each area has different rules so must find the information out for your area or call an electrician. Please remember that the code rules are there for a reason and not really a guide. They should be followed to a tee. Often it is years later that the fire starts from under rated wiring as the wire get brittle and the current increases. Best to ask someone in your area so that you get it done right.

Re: Wiring question

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>I did this about ten years ago. I used a 50 amp feed from the house, and a sub-panel in the shop.

When the AC and the lights and the dust collector and a machine are all operating, I worry about getting close to the 50 amp limit, but have not had a problem yet.

If I had to do it again, I would put more outlets, both 110 and 220, around the shop. When I did the design, I was sure that I would not need power in one area. Guess where my new lathe is.

Thanks everyone.

RevDoug

>Once again you have given me lots of good ideas and things to check out before I get to work on this project. This is indeed why WC is one of the best there is.

Turn 'em round,

RevDoug