OT? Running 220 line in my garage questions

I want to run a 220 line in my garage.

I'm comfortable with 12 volt DC systems, but don't know much about AC.

Is this a simple matter of turning off the power, installing circuit breakers for either one- or three-phase, running the wiring through conduit, and then turning the power back on? Or am I going to do something really, really wrong?

Any suggestions, our helpful DIY websites would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

 

Do you have a circuit available? Hopefully your main box has enough space and load capacity for a 50 amp circuit. If so you are in business. You may need to use conduit unless the wires are covered with sheetrock inside your walls. Gauge of wire required depends on amp load and distance most use 8 or 6. Most cities have local codes concerning wiring methods, it's not a bad idea to check with your local electrical inspector concerning your situation. Don't do illegal wiring in your home. As far as 220 single phase goes; white=neutral, bare copper=ground, black=hot, red=hot. The black and the red are each carrying 110 volts thus together they are 220. Good luck.

 

Thanks.

I have the space in the box. How do I know if I have the load capacity for a 50 amp circuit? Is the box rated at a certain amperage capacity, and I need to make sure that the total used circuits don't exceed that rating?

 

Best. Advice. Ever. The way I look at it is, no point in saving the $30 on the permit, and then not getting the insurance money if you burn the house down.

Ben

 

You might want to check your local building codes for correct installation requirements this is important for insurance purposes. You also need to know how many amps you need to properly size the circuit breaker. Also what wire gauge size depending on the amp requirements you need and lenght of wire you need to get to the garage. You also need to know if your main breaker box can handle the additional amps. If you do a search on 220 wiring I'm sure you will get wire lengths and sizing of breakers for your application. Good luck.

 

check this place out

http://forum.doityourself.com/

then go buy/borrow a book from the library...i have an electrical 123 book from homedepot that i did my garage with and a licensed electrician said i did a better/safer job than most electricians would do. and i never touched electrical before.

my main problem is my box in the house. its small, and needs to be upgraded.

 

Is this an attached garage? How much power are you going to need in there? How old is your home? How many amp service do you have to the house and how much is being used currently (no pun intended!)? How many free spaces are there in the breaker panel?
I would suggest installing an auxilliary breaker box in the garage at a minimum so you don't need to run inside if you trip a breaker. I am building a freestanding garage right now and forsee the need for a lot of power (big compressor, welders, lift etc.) so I am having a separate 200 amp service run to the garage with it's own meter.

 

I just took a electrical safety course offered by Edison. I looked at enough cooked and charred bodies to gain even more respect for electricity and it's power. Always err on the side of caution.

 

Thanks, everyone.

Rob, that forum is awesome. Thanks.

I guess I should say that this is for an attached garage. Basically, I just want to run the 240 line about 5 or ten feet from the junction box.

 

Just to a piece of equipment or an outlet, or are you planning on branching off?
If it's just for one outlet, then you need to determine if you have the capacity for an additional circuit in your panel box (is this what you are calling a junction box?) You'll need two adjacent empty spaces. Next you need to know how many amps of power you need, what are you planning to run off this circuit? Are you going to hard wire the piece of equipment or are you looking to install a plug in outlet?
Is the garage wall that you'll be working with sheetrocked or open studs?
Sorry for all the questions, but they make a difference in giving the correct answer/procedure.

 

Some good advice there. I am going to be building a garage soon and have been looking at the same type of stuff. i went to the bookstore and scouted a few do it yourself books on electrical systems and home wiring. I have old service in the house, and a fuse panel, so I think I'll either upgrade the house and run a line out to the garage, or just have a separate service run directly to the garage with a separate meter...

Don't cut any corners, it pays to do it right the first time. I am an insurance adjuster and i can't tell you how many electrical fires I have been out to where someone had done some shoddy work....

 

Thanks, AXracer, for a great reply.

I've been using the wrong words.

I'd like to run the line from the main panel to an outlet. I do have two adjacent empty spaces on the main panel. The panel sits on a cinderblock wall, and I was hoping to run wiring along this same wall.

I'll probably use the same outlet to power a heater or a welder or a milling machine. What's an appropriate amperage?

Thanks again.

 

You may not be able to get separate service if you are building an attached garage. If you still have screw in fuses, it's likely your service is very inadequate for even your house and the wire in the house old and decrepit and is a time bomb waiting to go off. My house was built in 1939 and had a 4 fuse panel, one of which was the main. Some time in it's past a new 220 service was installed with a large breaker panel probably to serve the central AC and appliances of the day. The only problem was that whoever did the install simply fed three circuits into the old panel box and connected them to the original wiring circuits, removed the fuse mounting plate and screwed the box closed! So the entire house's 115V was still being serviced by three circuits and old wire. I have since rewired the entire house with new wire and now have 10 115V circuits. Most of the insulation on the old wire crumbled in my hands when I handled it.

 

Lot of good information. I think we all need to consider the real electrical needs and upgrade our garages to meet the requirement.

This is timely for me as I need to add a 220 outlet in my own garage.

 

I've done a bit of wiring. It's not too hard as long as you research it first.

Make sure you use the right gauge and right color insulation wire matched to the properly sized breaker.
Red=hot
Black=hot
White=neutral
Green or bare=ground

Neutral is not the same thing as Ground

Anchor things solidly. Don't use used parts. Ground it well.
Most importantly,make sure the power is OFF when you work.

I'll bet if you check around you could find somebody with experience to look things over before you flip the breaker. If an electrician is too expensive, try someone at a tech school, or your electric company-or ask around at the electrical equipment supply house for someone to help.

Hot wires are not your friends.

 

(disclaimer: I am NOT a licensed electrician. I did work a summer job in college as an electricians helper, do all my own wiring and I stay at Holiday Inns! This is for information only!)
You would need to size for the heaviest load+safety or for the rating of the outlet whichever is lower. All the 220V outlets I've seen were 30A max, any power equipment over that would be direct wired. DON'T try to add a plug onto a piece of equipment that draws over 30A!

 

most of the homes around here have a 220 oulet for the dryer (at least of the 70's vintage). i just changed the reciptical and i'm good to go. it's a 40a circuit but i've only popped it with a 220 buzzbox at full power.......185amp mig is ok and so is my compressor.

 

Range plugs are 50A 240v.

 

Can I splice into my existing 220v supply going to my laundry area ( electric dryer is no longer being used) and set up another outlet in my garage?

 

Good question. That would solve my problem.

 

AX- I think my hobart 250 is 50 amp. Whle we are on the subject of 220, does anyone make a 220 extension cord? There's been a few times that I've had to break out my little 110 welder on something I just couldn't reach. A friend of mine made a 75' extension ( he build big sign structures from home) but he's not the safest guy, so I don't copy his methods.

 

You'll need to find a compatable 50A receptacle. 8 ga should handle 50A, but 6ga would give less voltage drop, critical if you need full power of your welder. Running inside conduit you can run individual conductors instead of sheathed cable. Considerably cheaper (only need a red, black, and ground, the white is not used for 220.) and a lot easier to pull thru conduit in the larger sizes.
Same problem on the extension cord, I think you'd have a problem finding cord large enough and the voltage drop would be appreciable even on a 20' cord. It can be done in theory, but would be a very heavy expensive cord, cheaper to add another outlet! Materials to run a 50A circuit to my hot tub was >300.00

 

i've run it that way for about 8-10yrs, mind you it's not a biz so i don't have the welder/compressor running all day long everyday, but is sure works good on the weekends (and at night). i just put in one plug so i have to switch back and fourth, because it's only a 40a circuit.......that would trip with the welder AND the compressor on at the same time. if you want to run multiple things then the best way would be a sub panel and some heavy wire.

 

Hire an electrician. Get a permit to ***ure that a building inspector will look after the job is done to verify that you hired a competent electrician.

Or.......if you're going to do it yourself, make sure your life insurance is current. If you get it done by yourself and are still alive, make sure the fire insurance is current.

Finally, Don't let the kids play in the garage anymore.

 

You can make your own pretty easily with a trip to Lowes. I looked on the website to give ya a parts list, but they don't list anywhere close to everything they sell online. Anyhow, they have the correct wire, I think it's technically some kind of outdoor/underground wire, and it's spendy. Get however many feet of that ya want, a 50a plug and a surface mount receptacle. The wire isn't gonna be super flexible, because it's heavily insulated, and hey, it's 6 guage, but it's not impossible to deal with. We have 4 or 5 30 foot extensions floating around the shop, and it'd be pretty hard to live without them.

 

i made 2 from home depot, they have an extension cord (rubber casing, stranded wire) thats 6/4, get a plug, a recepicle and your in biz.........i dunno if 6 gauge will be best for 75ft but it works great for 15ft (rated at 55a max).

 

I used the abandonded 40A dryer circuit for my buzz box; works ok just dont lay on the beads too long or you'll pop a fuse/breaker. Bob

 

Lots of good advise there. Best being be careful. Don't fear it, just be careful. You said attached garage, dryer circuit. I would'nt just jump it over myself. You'd do best to run a separate line to handle what you want. According to local edison all homes have 250amp capacity to them...whether or not the home is wired for that is what you need to know. Most built in the last 10 or so yrs should be at least 200amp service mains. You can tell by the double main breaker. If it says "100" top and bottom (side by side), you have 200 amp service. I recently upgraded to 200 and ran a 100 amp service to the barn. Be sensible and don't over think it. Run an individual circuit and breaker to do as you wish. Use the next larger wire than spec to avoid fire hazards from heat (occaisional overloads may happen), and to have upgrade ability. Longer wires=more drop/resistance. Has adverse effects on welding equipment at higher loads (like frames and such). You may want to run a separate panel to the garage to be able to service things without having to go to your ba*****t. Shut-off/service boxes are a good thing.

If you have an air compressor, welder and milling machine, you need to also figure the total amp required to run all at once. Example...

Air-----20A

Welder-50A

Mill-----30A

Total___100A

Done that way you can't go wrong, and done to code and legal increases the value of your home. Good luck. As said above it's a good time for all to look over and upgrade.

 

Two things to remember about electricity:
1. You can't see it
2. It can kill you.

I do my own and then have it checked by a friend that is a journeyman electrician. My insurance man and myself both sleep better that way.

 

Thank you, everyone, for all the posts and for all the information.

Perhaps I'll have my brother-in-law do it for me. He's not trained as an electrician at all, but he is kind of a pain in the ***...