# shop wiring



## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

getting married, moving to a new state, and moving the man shop all at once yippee. wiring question: i am familiar with outlets lights etc but never been in the electrical panel . all my tools are 110. table saw ,band saw, planer, jointer,dust collector, etc. i have a homes and garden electrical book but any suggestions for a better more details book to teach me about adding and planning circuits and installing breakers ? just a one man shop. thanks


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## scotsman9 (Mar 25, 2013)

Not trying to stifle your enthusiasm, but I would strongly suggest finding an electrician to help with this.
Being trained properly can still lead to mistakes, having no training in circuitry or basic electrical theory will certainly cause you more headaches than it may be worth.

If you still plan to go ahead as a DIY project, I suggest:

Electrical Wiring Residential, Authors: Ray C. Mullin and Phil Simmons

Good Luck and Congratulations on a brand new beginning…..ALL THE BEST!


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Your tools may all be 120V at the moment, but that's likely to change over time. It's wise (IMHO) to plan ahead with plenty of 240V power as well. For someone comfortable with getting into the panel, none of this is hard (most breakers just snap into the panel in some fashion, for example). If you are the least bit wary of doing that it's time to get help. Also consider putting a subpanel into the shop area, makes life easier.


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## all10digitsstill (Oct 2, 2013)

I have been an electrician for almost 20 years now and I have to agree with both of the previous responders. First off, I don't think learning electrical theory is really necessary for what you want to do. Its not quite that simple. Secondly, I think that room for expansion/growth electrically is always wise. I will lend my expertise to you but I have a few questions. First of all, is there a sub-feed panel(breaker box) in the garage? If there is a panel out there, how big is it? How big is the service for the entire house? 100 amp, 200 amp? Secondly. are the walls finished (drywall, plywood)? This is a good place to start.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

"Wiring Simplified" (Richter, Schwan, Hartwell) is a pretty good book that gets into wire sizing, box sizing, etc. I see my copy is based on 2008 Nat'l Elect Code (NEC) so you might want to look for a newer edition.


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## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

thanks guys. it is a rental house , i will only be there maybe two years, it is in a unfinished basement so everything is exposed. i am not afraid to tackle it. i have wired before just never into the breaker box. it has only the one main breaker box with a 200 amp main switch. although it is full of breakers.


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## all10digitsstill (Oct 2, 2013)

In a rental house, I would do as little as possible since you are only staying a short time. Is your shop going to be in the basement? Are there recepticals down there already? With the panel being full, you would need to do one of two things to add circuits. The first would be to put in a small sub feed panel. This would require relocating two of the circuits in the main panel to the sub feed. Then adding a two pole breaker to the main panel to feed the sub feed. Your sub feed could be as small as a 4 spot box. I recommend nothing smaller than an 8 spot. The other route to go is to get special space saver breakers that will free up a few spots. It looks like an old Cuttler Hammer box. The breakers might cost you a small fortune. The thing with the space saving breakers is to make sure nothing is sharing a neutral. By the looks of the neutral buss, I do not see an issue. With a one man shop, you will only be using one tool at a time. I would say that a couple recepticals strategically placed around the work space on a 20 amp breaker would be all you would need?


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## all10digitsstill (Oct 2, 2013)

You really need to discuss this with your landlord before you proceed. He may even help you out.


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## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

not actually fully moved into the house yet . i am not sure that all the breakers are still being used. what about the three double breakers on the left that are open. can they be replaced with single breaker? i also willl have 6 4 foot overheads lights


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## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

the landlord is a duche said he didnt care what i did . i learned quickly he was worthless and didnt care


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## all10digitsstill (Oct 2, 2013)

Didn't see the empty breakers. The space can be used. You just need single pole breakers. You have plenty of space to do what you want. Get moved in and figure out a layout. Is the basement framed at all or just concrete?


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

This looks easy. On the left side, where you have breakers with no wires, is where you are putting in your circuits.
The double handle breakers are 220. If you need 110s, then you need to replace them. You should turn off the main breaker, take out the 220s and bring one to the big box store where they will show you the 110 ones that fit in your box. You probably want 20 A. Get some 12/3 wire.

Your pictures are showing the ground connections, but you can see the white and black wires. The blacks go to the breakers. The whites go to the neutral block in the upper left. You pull the 12/3 in from the shop, connect the white to the neutral block, ground to the ground block, and black to the breaker, just like all the other circuits.

If you can afford it (wire and breaker), and there is room to properly route them, I'd try to get the TS and the DC on separate circuits. You can probably put the planer and jointer on the same one, assuming you don't use them at the same time. Then I would suggest two strings of outlets, alternating, around the walls. The bandsaw can probably go in one of those outlets, assuming it's under 1HP. If it's beefy, then maybe either a circuit for it, or share with the TS and don't use them at the same time.

It's all amps - add the amps up and keep them under the breaker. Motors pull more amps when they start up, and that's really the number you want to use.

If you need fewer runs, then use 10/3 and 30A breakers.


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## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

concrete stucko. i figure one breaker for lights and two or three circuits for outlets maybe. thanks for all your wisdom sir


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## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

great thanks guys one last dumb questions. why do i need 12/3 wire instead of 12/2? whats the third conductor for?


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

Sorry, my bad, I was thinking about those 220 breakers. It's 12/2 for 110 (with ground of course)


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## droppedtuning (Jun 21, 2013)

thanks guys so much more schooling the newbe newlywed new state guy


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## rhford (Aug 28, 2013)

You only need 12/2 wire, which has white, black, and ground (bare) conductors in the sheath. The third conductor doesn't apply in your situation.

Best of luck in your new life!


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I've owned too many houses each with different brands of main panels (my first house was actually Fed Pacific that I have heard described as the best arc welder on the market…those breakers would not trip even with all the water the fire department poured on the burning building). Seems the brands are a local preference. Since he has a few unused ones, I'd say to pop one out and head to the nearest big box store. I think one house I owned had a CutlerHammer box and I was able to find compatible breakers under a different brand name. He'll want 20a breakers and maybe they are already there.

That picture is interesting though. Most of the breakers seem to be tied (for split outlets I guess). But it looks like he has 5 on the left with no wires attached at all counting that one that is tied to another but that is probably just a sleeve that is usually easily removed. It looks like a lot of circuits are currently off. I do like the placement of the neutral/ground bus though…far removed from the hot panel (I like Sq D but that is a problem with their design). And whoever wired it did a very neat job. New wiring should be a snap.

Just some advice though…#1 spend a few bucks on a good stripping pliers (I think I used a yellow Stanley for years but now have a blue Channel Lok). #2 Under no circumstances do want any tool or wire or body part near that hot panel if the main is on. #3Do the "knock outs" and install the wire clamp on the panel first and then feed the wire through it. I knew an idiot (I see him in the mirror) that once got everything done and then figured that out.

Route your white and bare ground wires and find a spot for them in that bus in the upper left. If you are going to wire with a live panel, then connect the black/red wires to a breaker that is in your hand and in the off position, not attached to the hot bus. From there it's simply a matter of snapping it in (keeping in mind that at that stage you are dealing with juice that can hurt you so the "no touch" rule is important). Study the breaker though to see how it mounts in the live bus (e.g. Sq D has a flange on the outer edge and the inner edge then swings into and connects with the hot bar).

A lot of people will choose to shut off the main at that point so somebody behind you with a flashlight will be required and then be prepared to spend a few hours resetting every electronic clock in the house. I wire live for that reason but I'm ok with it. It's not that hard to do (my son and I wired an entire house and shop and actually had fun). There are a few code requirements outside the panel (spacing of wire staples, number of connectors/box, fire caulking etc.) but that's just clean-up stuff.


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