# 220 outlet cost



## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

I realize this is a common topic but I wanted to talk specifically about my situation.

I'm asking for two, 200v 20 amp outlets in my shop. I have block walls and new conduit will need to be run. I have two existing 220v circuits in the panel that aren't being used that can be changed out to 20 amp breakers. The conduit run is ~45 feet total. I've asked for 10 gauge wire in case I want to increase the amps later on.

They're wanting $2,300 for this. Seems incredibly high to me, but I'm assuming the majority of that is the labor to install the conduit.

I'm interested in feedback on the price relative to the scope.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Get a breakdown on the bid then get more than one bid.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

That sounds very high to me. Is there some complication with the breaker box, running the conduit or something else?

If it were me I would do it myself.


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## WhyMe (Feb 15, 2014)

If following code is desired then a 240V 20A outlet circuit with multiple outlets is not to be more than 20A. If wanting to convert to 30A or higher outlets then it can only be a single outlet per circuit. I'm not sure from your post if you have dedicated circuits or multi-outlet circuits.

Oh… and $2300 does sound high. Not knowing the details I'd think no more than $1500.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

You could do something like hire an "electrician's
helper" from Craigslist to help you install the 
conduit and pull the wires. Lots of guys learned
how to do that work but never formally apprenticed
so they can't get licensed.

You can get an electrician to check it over and
hook it up if you want. Most of the work is drilling
holes and bending conduit in a job like this, unless
there's some complication you didn't mention.


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

TOO MUCH MONEY …as Loren said find a CL Sparkie …get it done for 100.00 if you supply materials …even offer to help him and learn as you go …......GOOD LUCK :<))


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## TangoFox (Jan 7, 2018)

I just had 220 run in my shop (new house, new garage, not enough power) not very long ago. It was $2800 to completely replace the house's main breaker panel (roughly half the total cost), and run 2 220v outlets and a handful of extra 120v outlets. That estimate was a little on the high side, but wanted to go with that bid based on previous positive experience with that electrician.

In hindsight, I would have done a lot of the prep work myself. I just wasn't experienced enough with anything even remotely resembling electrical work for my wife to trust me with it!

My best advice is to get another quote or two and shop around. I'd also go with Loren's suggestion and hire some lower-cost help to take care of some of the prep work - or just do some of it yourself.

-Ian


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## Fresch (Feb 21, 2013)

Your in Fla. if it took 8hrs. @ $100/hr. =$800

Material? $300 
Inspection $200
Total $1300
Is your shop attached to the house or free standing?
Need more info.


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

Seems high but not outrageous to me.


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## YesHaveSome (Sep 10, 2017)

If you're comfortable working with electrical, do it yourself. I just installed a sub panel, new lighting, a whole bunch of outlets and a mini split in my garage shop using EMT conduit. Hired an electrician to come over and spec everything out and pull the permits and then come check on my work. That cost me $500. Doing it all myself probably saved $3-4k.

The conduit bending can be a little tricky but there's a great app that tells you where and how to make your bends.


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## buckbuster31 (Dec 27, 2016)

I had two put in.. 220 dollars


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## buckbuster31 (Dec 27, 2016)

mine was 12 gauge and only about 50 total feet


> I had two put in.. 220 dollars
> 
> - buckbuster31


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

+1 get more quotes and provide details.

If you only need to run 2 circuits 50 ft in conduit without a new building permit, this is really high.
If you need to upgrade main panel, run a sub-panel, change service, or are making changes that require a permit, then it might be 100% fair price?
Only more detail will allow forum to accurately judge the price?

FWIW - Parts cost for a simple (2) 30 amp circuit 100' conduit install is <$350 at BORG prices, less @ wholesale. There has to be something big involved in job to justify a ~$2000 labor bill?

Could be you received a typical "Thanks for asking, but I do not want that work right now" quote, which is commonly 2-3x actual parts & labor costs required for them to stop/delay current projects to work on your small job?

Best Luck.


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## coxhaus (Dec 14, 2015)

I bought and installed my 220v wire. I let the electrician connect it to the breaker box. Since I only had to pay his time for connecting to the breaker box it was a lot cheaper.


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## Sludgeguy (Jan 24, 2018)

I had an electrical guy give me a list of materials and walk me through it. I installed only one 60 amp outlet for a welder. It took about 2 hours and was pretty easy. I would look for an electrician who is doing work on the side from his regular job and pay him $300 to $500. Unless you're running a lot of conduit and wire material cost will be minimal.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

He's robbing you. 1500$ max. And that's still high. If I did it in the side it would be me more than 800$ unless your panel is on the other side of the house.


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## Holt (Mar 15, 2011)

Not the same operation at all, but I had an electrician install a sub-panel in my old garage shop (we were renting, so I wasn't comfortable wiring someone else's space). Price including the sub-panel and the breaker in the main panel was $700.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Just one more vote for WAY TOO MUCH! I had a 100 amp subpanel installed 100 feet away from the house in my shop, trenched feed and and all materials for less than that.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

$1200 for a 75' run, garage shut off panel, GCFI in originating panel, 220 VAC @40 Amps, bay area California price about 5 years ago!


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

A little more info…

Shop is free-standing with its own panel shared with guest house.

Panel has two 2-pole breakers in it now for guest house kitchen that we don't use. New hardware required here is (2) 20 amp 2-pole breakers.

New conduit is 50 feet of 3/4", two bends. Two new quad boxes with a 20 amp 240 volt outlet in each.

Estimator came out and walked the shop. I've spoken to him on phone 2x since then.


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## Holt (Mar 15, 2011)

I just got through doing that to get power to my wife's stained glass shop. After digging that trench by hand, $2300 for someone else to do it starts to sound pretty good <g>.



> Just one more vote for WAY TOO MUCH! I had a 100 amp subpanel installed 100 feet away from the house in my shop, trenched feed and and all materials for less than that.
> 
> - Fred Hargis


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## RobS888 (May 7, 2013)

I had a single 220 line run from one side of my basement to the other, through the wall across the garage and then down about 4 feet. 45' of 12 guage. 10 guage would have been about $75 more.
The garage portion is enclosed in plastic pipe. 
The company supplied and installed the plugs for my jointer and the wall outlet. 
They also installed a whole house surge suppressor.

Total was $550 or $600.

I found them on home advisor, and yes they are licensed.


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

Well as others have said i think it's high, but i don't know the norms for your area, are Electricians union. Did you pick a vendor that does large commercial jobs and therefore is use to this cost. Unless he's putting in a bigger panel, a grand - 1500 mak. 10awg is expensive and you don't say pathway requirement either i.e he's crawling in a crawlspace and punching through a concrete slab, or is he just running overhead for 45 feet.

Like others get quotes, find a friend from church that might know a guy. Or, dig in learn how and to it yourself. If in doubt, though get a pro.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

I just did a quick takeoff, and allowing for the following, I came up with <$200 in materials. The same quote includes their hourly rate and it's $90, meaning they expect this to take 22 hours, or two guys 1.5 days?

Breaker 20 Amp 2 in. Double-Pole Type BR Replacement Circuit Breaker 2
Conduit 3/4 in. EMT Conduit 7
Coupling 3/4 in. Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Set-Screw Coupling (5-Pack) 1
Elbow 3/4 in. 90° Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Elbow 2
J-box 4 in. Square Welded Box 1-1/2 in. D with 1/2 in. and 3/4 in. TKO's 2
Outlet 20 Amp Commercial Grade Double-Pole Single Outlet, White 2
Connector 3/4 in. Electrical Metallic Tube (EMT) Set-Screw Connectors (5-Pack) 1
wire 10 AWG THHN Stranded Building Wire 100ft 4
Straps 3/4 in. 2-Hole Conduit Straps (10-Pack) 2
Cover ELECTRICAL BOX COVER, 2-GANG  2


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

the conduit will be surface-mounted on an exposed block wall.

While i'm sure I can figure out how to do it, my time is at a premium. Just not a $2200 premium. I want to spend my limited shop time doing shop stuff, not electrical stuff.


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## Runner (Apr 13, 2016)

I added 4 circuits to my garage. Took about 4 hours and cost me $600.


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## Kelster58 (Dec 2, 2016)

Count me in as way too high. Hard wiring some thing or adding outlets, that is not a difficult job. I would think that bid is twice what it should be. I'm thankful I can do that type of work myself…...... Run the conduit and pull the conductors yourself. let an electrician connect to the box and appliance. Should save you lots….

Get individual conuctors NOT romex. (THHN Solid Copper) Run 3/4" conduit within a foot of the breaker box and where you want the appliance or outlet. Pull a white, green, red, and black 10 wire through the conduit. Leave 10' of wire stick out of either end of the conduit. Should take an electrician an hour or two at the most to finish up…....

I like Wire and cable your way: https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/THHN-THWN/


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

> Count me in as way too high. Hard wiring some thing or adding outlets, that is not a difficult job. I would think that bid is twice what it should be. I m thankful I can do that type of work myself…...... Run the conduit and pull the conductors yourself. let an electrician connect to the box and appliance. Should save you lots….
> 
> Get individual conuctors NOT romex. (THHN Solid Copper) Run 3/4" conduit within a foot of the breaker box and where you want the appliance or outlet. Pull a white, green, red, and black 10 wire through the conduit. Leave 10 of wire stick out of either end of the conduit. Should take an electrician an hour or two at the most to finish up…....
> 
> ...


They only sell the solid copper in 500 ft spools for $100 ea.


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## Rayne (Mar 9, 2014)

> Count me in as way too high. Hard wiring some thing or adding outlets, that is not a difficult job. I would think that bid is twice what it should be. I m thankful I can do that type of work myself…...... Run the conduit and pull the conductors yourself. let an electrician connect to the box and appliance. Should save you lots….
> 
> Get individual conuctors NOT romex. (THHN Solid Copper) Run 3/4" conduit within a foot of the breaker box and where you want the appliance or outlet. Pull a white, green, red, and black 10 wire through the conduit. Leave 10 of wire stick out of either end of the conduit. Should take an electrician an hour or two at the most to finish up…....
> 
> ...


I bought mine at Home Depot for $50. 100' THHN Stranded (same price for solid), Black, White, Green in one spool. Well worth it for me.


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

That's way out of line. New 200 amp service , box and cleaning up of some circuits and checking of outlets I installed cost me $1500.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

That's the I don't want to do it price. I'll bet he mostly does new installation. Call another electrician.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

It's not rocket science. Any intelligent person can get a book and do the work himself for way far less than what the electrician quoted. You could get a permit, do the work and have it inspected for less than $200.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

Again, the issue isn't about whether or not I *can* do it, but whether or not I want to spend my valuable and limited shop time doing it.

Evidently "do the work yourself" is the equivalent of "search craigslist and buy used".

Someone else that is not me will be doing the work.

The issue is that the price seems extremely inflated to me, which this thread has confirmed. I'm in the commercial hi rose construction business so I have some idea as to rates and takeoffs.

Thanks to this thread confirming my thoughts I'm calling the estimator today to find out why the price is high.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

> It s not rocket science. Any intelligent person can get a book and do the work himself for way far less than what the electrician quoted. You could get a permit, do the work and have it inspected for less than $200.
> 
> - MrRon


+1, This is what I did. Just check with the inspector before you start. My jurisdiction requires you to get a permit before you begin if you are not a licensed electrician. If you don't feel comfortable doing the work in the breaker box, just hire an electrician do do the final connection and inspect your work. Should be a couple of hours of his time max.


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## Fresch (Feb 21, 2013)

Union rate to the men in Fla. is ~$35/hr x2= $70/hr this is a one man job, not a full days work but go with 8hrs.=$600
You can buy cut wire at the borg. Your take off of material is good, they should have pipe benders so no 90s, but $200×2=$400, so total job if inspection was $200(real high)= $1200.


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

its a 1k plus or minus job , or do self, pretty simple, run some pipe, cut some wire, a breaker or two, a box and out let or two and walla, ya have the crackling sound of power at your outlet.
rj


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

Changing tactics a bit…

One of my existing j-boxes has three 10/2 wires that are capped. They aren't hot. They are red, white, and black.

You'll also see in the photo the red and white that terminate here for this circuit and the blue and white that pass through to the outlets on the other circuit. What I am wondering is, if I can find the other end of the three 10/2 wires and land them on my existing 20 amp 2-pole breaker that I'm not using, that should get me 240 at this location, no?

Can I use the ground that is servicing the 120v outlets or should I use the 10/2 white and use tape to mark it green for ground?


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

Also, I spoke to the electrical estimator yesterday. I pointed out that he has about $2k in labor alone, which is a acouple of days. He confirmed that he did, and said that's how long it would take them to run the pipe. His issue is that they have to run the pipe around and behind my existing shelves. I still think it's insanely high and as much as I don't want to be out there doing electrical work I may just go pick up the $60 worth of pipe and boxes and fittings and run the pipe myself as some of you suggested.


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## AlmostRetired (Jun 11, 2016)

I was a little unsure about adding 220 to my new garage so I hired a guys from CL to do it and the one circuit cost me $200. I then realized that the 120 side was not gonna support my 20A stuff so I needed to redo that to. I ended up installing 6 new 120s and 4 more 220s and called the same guy from CL to take swing by and take a look at my work before I applied power to give me a sanity check…for which I offered him a $100 for his time (20 minutes) and exprtise. He was reluctant to take the $$$ money but he saved me a ton.

Roger


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## slolearner (Feb 4, 2018)

Its not rocket surgery, watch youtube….


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## MrFid (Mar 9, 2013)

You can use those three wires to hook up a 240 20A receptacle. Use the red and black as your two hot leads, and the white as the ground, as you suggested above. The wiring suggests that someone has previously had a 240V outlet there in the past. Not sure why they'd remove it or what the story is behind those extra wires being pulled.


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## rbrjr1 (Nov 2, 2017)

the price is whatever they want to charge for the work..

find someone who wants to charge less.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

The price is actually a massive fudge factor for not knowing what it's really going to take.

My thought now is that the existing conduit is 3/4" what I should need in there is:
(5) 12/2 for the two 120v 20A circuits and a common ground
(3) 10/2 for a 240v 30A circuit and a dedicated ground

According to this site, I should be actually able to get (5) 12/2 and (5) 10/2 in a 3/4" pipe and still be under the 40% rule. That would get me the two 120v 20A circuits and the two 240v 20A circuits I originally asked for, all in the existing piping. In fact, I should be able to get a total of (7) 12/2 in there along with the (5) I need for the two existing circtuits, and those additional 2 should get me a dedicated outlet for a window shaker.


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

even this hot girl can do it :<))

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrBT4OnvX1a8_UAwppXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE0aG5oOTc3BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjUxOTJfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=installing+220+outlet&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-s#id=7&vid=18ba2fe1ff16aa0dc5cbc7ccf476375c&action=view


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

> even this hot girl can do it :<))
> 
> https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrBT4OnvX1a8_UAwppXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE0aG5oOTc3BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjUxOTJfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=installing+220+outlet&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-s#id=7&vid=18ba2fe1ff16aa0dc5cbc7ccf476375c&action=view
> 
> - GR8HUNTER


I've watched that video several times along with several others.

I just worked up a drawing of the existing, the new proposed using the existing pipes, wire lengths, and hardware takeoffs, and sent them back over to the estimator.

I may just use the existing wire as a pull line and make up the new wiring and pull it through on my own.


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

i think you can do it …if not sure call in an expert …but as said its not that hard :<))


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

You can you the ground in there. You can't tape it green. If you have a metal building tell them to run MC on the purlins and pipe down.


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## RobS888 (May 7, 2013)

My homeowners doesn't cover damage from an unlicensed electrician. That makes it an easy choice for me.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

> My homeowners doesn t cover damage from an unlicensed electrician. That makes it an easy choice for me.
> 
> - RobS888


That's a very good point. And the reason we have this electrician coming already for a bunch of other work.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

> You can you the ground in there. You can't tape it green. If you have a metal building tell them to run MC on the purlins and pipe down.
> 
> - TheFridge


i think maybe your first sentence has some typos? I'm not understanding.

As mentioned previously, it's a CMU building.


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## Rayne (Mar 9, 2014)

> even this hot girl can do it :<))
> 
> https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrBT4OnvX1a8_UAwppXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE0aG5oOTc3BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjUxOTJfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=installing+220+outlet&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-s#id=7&vid=18ba2fe1ff16aa0dc5cbc7ccf476375c&action=view
> 
> ...


I'm just looking forward to the new quote. lol. Many are suggesting to do it on your own but fail to realize that you're not doing it. I didn't do it the first 2 times as I had an electrician come out to install new outlets as I wasn't comfortable and it's time consuming if you don't know every little detail of what you're doing. On the 3rd one, I DID do it myself as I had the time and felt comfortable because I can cut power to the entire Subpanel, so I had nothing to worry about this time around. It still took me about 3 days to do it outside of my work hours and several trips to HD/Lowes to get parts. I tried anticipating everything I needed, but still had to make many trips. I also ended up rerouting from my original plan and am very glad I did. No pipe bender needed.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

I got the "revised" quote back. Basically their response to my detailed drawing was to suggest doing the work on T&M. My current plan is to just release them to do all of the other work on the house, including replacing my old fluorescent fixtures with LEDs, and try and talk one of the guys into coming back on a weekend at 1/3 the hourly rate.


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## MinnesotaSteve (Dec 17, 2015)

> Also, I spoke to the electrical estimator yesterday. I pointed out that he has about $2k in labor alone, which is a acouple of days. He confirmed that he did, and said that's how long it would take them to run the pipe. His issue is that they have to run the pipe around and behind my existing shelves. I still think it's insanely high and as much as I don't want to be out there doing electrical work I may just go pick up the $60 worth of pipe and boxes and fittings and run the pipe myself as some of you suggested.
> 
> - Rob_s


Or just spend the time clearing the garage of shelves and such so they have an easy path.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

> Also, I spoke to the electrical estimator yesterday. I pointed out that he has about $2k in labor alone, which is a acouple of days. He confirmed that he did, and said that's how long it would take them to run the pipe. His issue is that they have to run the pipe around and behind my existing shelves. I still think it's insanely high and as much as I don't want to be out there doing electrical work I may just go pick up the $60 worth of pipe and boxes and fittings and run the pipe myself as some of you suggested.
> 
> - Rob_s
> 
> ...


I don't think that's going to rectify the pricing situation. The price is artificially high because he can't accurately estimate how long it will take.

My new proposal involves using the existing 3/4" conduit and boxes and only adding new outlets and they still won't commit to a number.


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## Rob_s (Sep 12, 2016)

So the final tally isn't in yet, but I got almost everything I wanted. All in the existing conduit.

I got a new 240v, 20A with #10 wires that were existing in the pipe but not hot.

I got each of my two 120v, 20a wall outlet circuits in all of my four locations. This means I can plug a tool and a shop vac in at the same location and be on two circuits. It also means I have a *ton* of outlets now. four boxes with four plugs total, and at each location I have a Tripp Lite Isobar 6 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip plugged in and mounted to something. I'm going to try and keep all the power strips on the same circuit, not that it matters.

Having them use the existing conduit and boxes made all the difference in the world as they also got it all done in only a couple of hours.

not that these mean anything, but here's the new outlets.


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