shaneymack Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 It really depends on the tools you have but it does seem like you will be limited. I dont have one tool that runs on a 15amp breaker. Everything is either 120v 20amp or 240v 20amp and bigger. The only stuff that runs off 15 amp are portable tools. You definitely need to bring in an electrician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 You need at least 2 additional 240V circuits; 1 for a dust collector & 1 for machinery (assuming you'll only be using 1 at a time). The AC will need to remain on it's on circuit. You can run multiple 120V receptacles on 1 circuit, but keep in mind that a large shop vac can load a circuit by itself. It would be best to just run a new feeder to a sub-panel in the shop. Is the existing electrical run in conduit from the house to the shop? If so, you may be able to just pull out the old & pull in new wires. A 60A (3 #6 wires + ground) service will probably be plenty.LIke Mack says, you definitely need an electrician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted August 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 On the basement end of things it definitely looks to be conduit. It was certainly setup by a competent electrician (it has that professional kinda look). I can't say for sure what happens to the wires after they leave the basement, but my bet is conduit. Looks like my shop rebuild is going to be put on hold while I have an electrician straighten things out then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 No way you are going to be happy with a single 15A breaker, especially if your lights are on it. Also around here code requires HVAC to be on its own circuit with nothing else on it. Could be different there, but again, you're not going to be happy.So:1. Does your main panel have enough amps to put a subpanel in your shop?2. If yes is there conduit big enough to run thick wires for the subpanel?3. If no to either of the above I would look into running a separate line from your transformer to your shop. That's what I did when I built my shop and it has 200 amps all to itself. I get 2 bills and can keep track of how much power the shop is using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 minorhero did you end up adding circuits and/or a subpanel? I'm running everything off of a single 15A and a 20A that's shared with the kitchen...it's definitely a poor setup, but it works temporarily at least. I run the air filter and shop vac on the 15A and whatever tool I"m currently using on the 20A. Can't run the microwave or toaster while in the shop. You'll definitely need to add at least a few 20A circuits and a couple 220v ones, but it is possible to on a temporary basis to work with less...it's just inconvenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted October 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 I haven't solved it yet. I had an electrician come out and look at it. They said they could run a line from the existing box by creating a "tandem" circuit and that this would give me 100amps in the shop. They would use an existing conduit underground and just pull the new wire through. Then they would install about 10 new sockets for me. Unfortunately the price they quoted for this was 6,500 which was way to high for me. Frankly it just sounds high overall but they were the first and so far only electrician I have contacted so I don't know how high it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Does this include a subpanel in shop with 10 new sockets with all the outlets wired up? If it doesn't include the outlets then it seems pretty steep. I paid electrician to trench wire 100' from transformer to shop, install 200 amp panel, and run 2 outlets and 1 light which is the minimum requirement to get inspection before power company could make live. After that I ran all the 21 circuits myself. All my shop circuits are simple so it mainly was time and materials. My guess is most complicated part is putting in a new subpanel but shouldn't take an electrician that long. The simple part is running all the outlets but that is where the labor charges rack up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Ok so some activity has occurred! I decided to skip the electrical for the moment and instead focus on just getting my machines up here. From there I can try running my machines on the existing 15 amp circuit. If I can run one machine and my dust collector at the same time without blowing the circuit then I can swap cords. It will be a pain but its at least possible. So today was the day of the move! All of my machines got moved in less then 3 hours. I haven't gone over things with a fine tooth comb but near as I can tell its all safe and sound. I am pretty sure I will need to re-calibrate most everything, but other then that no complaints. So far things are more or less just tossed in there, but here are some pictures of the present situation. Sorry for the image quality. I used my cell phone and while it is really great at answering random trivia questions over lunch, it makes a terrible camera. Next up will be getting my shop "settled" and then seeing how it will work with the existing electrical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Thanks for the update..Great to see your shop coming together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 It's looking really good. Hate to sound like doom & gloom, but I think you'll be disappointed when you try a load on the table saw with the DC running. It's just not going to work & it'll be bad for the motors. Why not get a heavy guage extension cord & run it to the house & plug it in to an exterior receptacle? That will let you run your DC & a machine at the same time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Well if it blows the circuit I obviously will not be able to do it. However if it works then I'll run with it until I get some money together to do it proper. How exactly would it be bad for the motors if it's not blowing the circuit though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Frank is correct. Its like running to long hoses of the same water tap, by the time the water gets to the other end of the lines its just going to be a dribble. You can ruin your motors that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Check the voltage at the end of any extension cords. Voltage dropping too low can be bad for a lot of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 56 minutes ago, minorhero said: Well if it blows the circuit I obviously will not be able to do it. However if it works then I'll run with it until I get some money together to do it proper. How exactly would it be bad for the motors if it's not blowing the circuit though? They get hot and don't have the proper amount of cooling from fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 To get slightly more technical; a motor of a given horsepower wants to turn at it's rated RPM. As load increases, the motor draws more current (amps) in order to produce more power to maintain RPM. If the voltage drops, the same thing happens. The motor will draw more current to maintain RPM. Let's say, for example, that the motor, for a given load, is using 800W at 120V. At that load, the motor will draw 6.67A With the length if wire between your shop & the panel, & the current you will be drawing, the voltage at the motor could easily drop to 100V. At that voltage the motor will be drawing at least 8A to meet the same demand. There are other factors at work that I haven't included in the calculation, which is why I say at least 8A. Under those conditions the motor, try as it may, is not able to quite maintain rated RPM. With lower RPM comes decreased cooling. When a motor is drawing more than its rated current it runs hotter than it was designed for which will drastically shorten its life. If I were in your situation & couldn't get the electrical upgraded right away, I'd be spending $100 or whatever on a good extension cord. How far is it from the shop to the house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hmm I think the nearest outlet must be at least 100 feet from my shop. Too far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 If you get a #10 you'll be good. That will give you only about 3V drop at 12A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 But don't expect 100' of quality awg 10 extension cord to be cheap! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted February 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 Yea I might save the cash and spring for the electrician after all. I don't have any handy outside sockets, which means I would be running a cord through 2 doors which is pretty cumbersome. I can wire a socket from a panel. I will need to price out what just the subpanel will cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 Just a heads up, if you have space on your existing panel, the sub panel install is actually quite easy. I had my FIL come out who is a licensed electrician. We hit home Depot at 8am, dropped $700 on supplies most of that being copper. We had the sub installed in the garage, wire run in conduit, and I was hooking up my circuits by about 4pm. I'm positive there are plenty of diy books out there That will tell you exactly what to do. Spend on materials, save a bunch on labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 5 hours ago, minorhero said: Yea I might save the cash and spring for the electrician after all. I don't have any handy outside sockets, which means I would be running a cord through 2 doors which is pretty cumbersome. I can wire a socket from a panel. I will need to price out what just the subpanel will cost. i had a 100amp subpanel, 2 220v outlets and 4 110v duplexes installed in my garage for under $2000. That includes the run from my main panel to the sub. All surface mount conduit in my garage. union electric rates in chicago are high so I doubt it would be much more for a similar scope of work in maryland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.