![]() Is that adequate for the wires I'll need? And is there really a good reason to line the steel conduit with plastic?Ģ) My understanding is that the limitation is 9 outlets on a 110V/20A circuit, and 1 on a 220V/30A circuit. It looks like 10ga wire is right for the 220V circuit.ġ) It looks like I can run up to 1" plastic conduit (possibly 1.25") in the existing steel conduit. I'll probably do 12-2 for everything that's 110, so as to reduce the number of types of wire I need to buy. If that's not the code, please let me know.ģ) In-garage. It looks to me as if code says 6ga bare copper, two grounding rods 6' apart, so that's what I'll do. I'm figuring 4-4-4-6 SEU cable from the main panel to a junction box over the end of the conduit, switch to four separate THWN cables (to ease the curve at each end), and run the four separate cables to the new subpanel.Ģ) Ground. While it's in good shape at the ends, I have no idea what the middle looks like, and currently code seems to suggest plastic conduit anyway. Line the existing steel conduit with plastic. The eventual goal is two 20A/110V circuits for power (woodworking tools, primarily), a 15A/110V circuit for lighting, and a 240V circuit, probably 30A, for future large tool purchases. The actual route distance looks like it's going to be just about 75 feet. Getting out of the conduit is a relatively sharp bend: the well is around 8" across. On the garage end, it opens into the bottom of a well that looks like it was made with a clay chimney pipe. The conduit has a 1.5" internal diameter, and passes through the foundation on the house end. Both are elderly, and of the cloth-jacketed wire variety. Currently there are two BX cables run through a buried steel conduit to the garage. I'm in the planning stage of getting (reliable) electricity run to a detached garage. Or measure across the incoming lines.Hey folks. If you have a multimeter, you can also pretty easily measure voltage across two adjacent breakers in the subpanel to see if you show 220. If it's wired correctly, ground and neutral should be on separate bus bars inside the subpanel. Either case will also have a white wire for neutral and should be a bare or green ground. The hot wire for 110 only is normally black. You connect across the two hots to get 220v, or using either on its own to neutral gives you 110v. With 220 you have two 110v hot legs (normally one red and one black) which are opposite phase. If there are 4 wires coming in (may be 3 insulated wires and bare ground) you likely have 220. How to check? Assuming there is a breaker in the main panel for the garage subpanel, is it single pole (one space) or double pole (two spaces, with a bar connecting the switches)? If it's on a double pole breaker, it probably has 220v available even if it's not currently being utilized.Īnother visual check would be to pull the cover off the garage subpanel, and see what wires are coming in. Hopefully the actual situation is that you have 220v at the subpanel but it is currently only populated with 110v breakers. If you truly only have 110v going to subpanel in the garage you will have to go back to the main. With electrical, if in doubt, hire a pro. Wire gauge needs to support the max amps of the breaker so that the breaker trips before your wire starts to melt down. Your limiter should, obviously, be your breaker. Space in you sub panel, amps used already in your sub panel, your sub panel main breaker size. There really isn't a one size fits all answer here. If your electric heater is 40 amps, and you have space for a 220 breaker in the box (usually two spots are needed), then you might be OK. If you have 50 wrapped up in heater and 20 on a separate circuit, you'll run out of amps. Typically, that kind of equipment needs a 20amp breaker (and appropriate wiring to support 20 amp service). And, if you plug in a shop vac or a table saw, then expect a breaker trip. If that is the case, you will run out of amps really quickly. I'd guess your electric heater to be 50amps. ![]() If you run out of amps (60), your main breaker on the sub panel will trip on amps. Assume the heater is on full amps draw as well as lighting, etc. How many amps does the heater draw? You need to add up your loads on the current sub panel.
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