Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
David, aka RTcat posted this in a discussion on barrel stoves on the A/C and Heat forum. I thought I'd repost it here so he could get an audience. Hope you don't mind David
I'm going to throw in my two bits here.
Some of which way you go depends on how you are presently equipped in the house, wiring wise, what your local inspectors will demand of you, and if you can be without power for some period of time in the house.
IN MY AREA, and this is true of most places with building inspection, if you want to replace the meter socket, you will have to bring the service entrance feed from the meter socket into the house up to CURRENT code, if it is not already. Most local codes now demand an outside disconnect (for the fire dept) and then you have to run a four wire feed into the main panel inside (hot,hot, netural,ground) and have an isolated netural/ground bars in the panel.
If you are not already equipped with the above installation, you will be faced with a huge expense and some amount of time without power in the house while you do this changeover. If you already have a disconnect and four wire feeds, its possible to get a permit, get the power co to pull the power, replace the meter socket, add a second disconnect and the new feed to the shop, and have the power co reconnect (after building inspection OK) all in a reasonable amount of time.
If your shop is a fairly low draw, or one person use anyhow, you probably should consider simply tapping off the main panel with a 100 amp or less feed and running it to the shop, observing all facets of the NEC for the type of wire, grounding, etc of the installation. Some of this hinges on accessability of your panel in your house and the distance you will need to run, up down, under and around in the house and outside to the shop.
I needed a 200 amp panel in my shop and faced with replacing the meter socket, installing dual outside disconnects, service entrance in the house, new panel in the house and some amount of rewiring associated with this, plus a new heavier underground feed from the transformer, I opted for a second meter. Cost is a little more in the long run, but I also have a second power source if I need to shut off the house and work on a electrical project or shut off the shop and work on it as an elect project.. 12 gauge extension cords work wonders in an emergency.
Charles
I'm going to throw in my two bits here.
Some of which way you go depends on how you are presently equipped in the house, wiring wise, what your local inspectors will demand of you, and if you can be without power for some period of time in the house.
IN MY AREA, and this is true of most places with building inspection, if you want to replace the meter socket, you will have to bring the service entrance feed from the meter socket into the house up to CURRENT code, if it is not already. Most local codes now demand an outside disconnect (for the fire dept) and then you have to run a four wire feed into the main panel inside (hot,hot, netural,ground) and have an isolated netural/ground bars in the panel.
If you are not already equipped with the above installation, you will be faced with a huge expense and some amount of time without power in the house while you do this changeover. If you already have a disconnect and four wire feeds, its possible to get a permit, get the power co to pull the power, replace the meter socket, add a second disconnect and the new feed to the shop, and have the power co reconnect (after building inspection OK) all in a reasonable amount of time.
If your shop is a fairly low draw, or one person use anyhow, you probably should consider simply tapping off the main panel with a 100 amp or less feed and running it to the shop, observing all facets of the NEC for the type of wire, grounding, etc of the installation. Some of this hinges on accessability of your panel in your house and the distance you will need to run, up down, under and around in the house and outside to the shop.
I needed a 200 amp panel in my shop and faced with replacing the meter socket, installing dual outside disconnects, service entrance in the house, new panel in the house and some amount of rewiring associated with this, plus a new heavier underground feed from the transformer, I opted for a second meter. Cost is a little more in the long run, but I also have a second power source if I need to shut off the house and work on a electrical project or shut off the shop and work on it as an elect project.. 12 gauge extension cords work wonders in an emergency.
Charles
