Powering the shop

shawn said:
That math doesn't work. Were all of the 110V appliance circuits on the same leg?

I can say for absolute fact that I can run a 40A 220V plasma cutter, a 15A 220V compressor, some fluorescents, and whatever misc crap I wanted on a 70A branch circuit simultaneously.

The 210 mig only pulls 30A wide open.
Click to expand...
Remember we are talking minimum point of view! BTW I bought the house and building was like this...I only up graded to the max my 200 amp box and house could stand. Baseboard heat and all. Older house with a much smaller breaker panel then now commonly used as well. A lot of those skinny 15's in that one, lol.
So yes the 110 was all on 2 breakers. Fan (i should be clear it was a converted air handler), radio, and compressor. Stand-up unit with 25 ish gallon tank. Lights all on another breaker. Four 60 watt regular bulbs, and two more that I rarely ran because of the power issue. And that Syncrowave I was talking about, it pulls 53 amps and I was flat footing it. A LOT! The box in the building may have had 6 breaker total. Wire was ran about 40 yards to the supply at the house. I never burnt anything up and the breakers did their work. Renter still uses the building and works fine, minus the welding. He's a carpenter. The building was never intended to be used for welding....wood floor and all. I added the larger supply breaker and buried the new feed wire. Up graded the breaker in building and added the plug. For fabrication it still wasn't enough.
Just saying unless you want to ween everything you do and have to be very selective on power usage. Don't waste your time on a minimalist approach.
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
And that Syncrowave I was talking about, it pulls 53 amps and I was flat footing it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but you said you were popping the breaker with the 210. Even still, the Syncrowave should run on a 70A circuit with some lights and a radio.

Either way, McCracken still hasn't responded with what size free wire he has or what he plans on doing in the building, so it's just wasted breath until then.
 
shawn said:
Yeah, but you said you were popping the breaker with the 210. Even still, the Syncrowave should run on a 70A circuit with some lights and a radio.

Either way, McCracken still hasn't responded with what size free wire he has or what he plans on doing in the building, so it's just wasted breath until then.
Click to expand...
your definitely right about the wire size....outside of that it's my personal experience and also why I spent 8,500 the next go round. It still makes my head spin it cost that much. But then I can run everything at once and not look back.
 
shawn said:
Yeah, but you said you were popping the breaker with the 210. Even still, the Syncrowave should run on a 70A circuit with some lights and a radio.

Either way, McCracken still hasn't responded with what size free wire he has or what he plans on doing in the building, so it's just wasted breath until then.
Click to expand...
Kiss my ass. I didn't realize I was on kid duty today. He and I have been kicking around town picking up stuff for the new house. I'll take some pics in a minute. He just went down for his nap.
 
MVIMG_20180824_170459.jpg
IMG_20180824_170503.jpg


Le cable
 
Assuming 90C breakers, it sounds like you're in honey badger territory.
 
I’m not an electrician but I know a little. I’d check with your utility as they may be helpful. My local utility would charge a monthly fee for a second service but it may be worth it. Not sure if there’d be any up front charge. Detached buildings are treated differently by code if you do feed it from your panel. I think the minimum rating is 60A and you’ll have to add a ground rod or two at the detached building. The neutral is then isolated rather than bonded to ground. Asking the inspector first usually helps clear up any misunderstandings. If you direct bury the cable it needs to be 24” deep. If in pipe it’s 18”. Even if you direct bury the cable you have I’d consider running conduit while you have the ground open—it helps the next guy if the wire ever fails. Oh, and don’t forget to call 811 before you dig to get underground utilities located.
 
If you’re pulling 4/0 you’d probably have to go a larger breaker to be able to fit the wire. Don’t forget to use oxidation inhibitor for aluminum conductors (“No-Ox”). I can’t tell from the picture, but you’ll need four conductors (two hots, neutral and ground) to the detached building whereas service wire may only have three wires. I think you are required to mark them too. My advice is do as much homework as you can, form a plan, then run the plan by the inspector before doing anything. Codes are there for a reason but nothing a handy homeowner can’t do.
 
Back
Top