100 amp sub panel ???/

[Junkman]

The distance is no more than 60 feet from the main panel to the sub panel. Is #4 copper heavy enough for this? I want to put a 100 amp breaker in the main panel to protect the wire. It is for a small shop, and mostly lighting. I already have done this, but some of the recent questions have me rethinking the size of the breaker. It presently have 4 #4 copper conductors in an 1 1/2" PVC pipe. I set it up with the neutral and grounds seperated. Thanks

[brad d]

I had to go #3 copper for my 100amp that is about 75' of wire

[pattenp]

It also depends on the type of wire. You need to look at Artical 310 of the NEC. You may need #2 copper depending on the type of wire you're using

[pattenp]

www.llr.state.sc.us/pol/bcc/PDFfiles/2002%20NEC%20website.pdf

If you don't have a copy of the NEC, here's an online copy of the 2002 NEC. I don't believe the conductor sizing tables have changed much with later versions.

[sberry]

It is for a small shop, and mostly lighting. I already have done this, but some of the recent questions have me rethinking the size of the breaker. Put a 90 in it if you are worried about over current protection, like you said, mostly for lights. 60A is usually sufficient for home garages and you are way above that. As a side note we see you have number 4 on all 4 conductors, the code requires only 8 up to 100 A for ground depending on size of the conductors to 100A. It wont hurt to have bigger wire but it fills the pipe.