Recent content by 7635tools

I’d probably do a 120v strip light and a 24v relay to turn it on. Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

I put two 40’ high cubes in my front yard 4+ years ago and nobody has said a thing. What I do on my property is my business and nobody else’s. Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

Ditch the drill press and get a mill. You can do so much more with a mill and it still serves as a drill press. Not sure about your area, but here (Wisconsin), used Bridgeport’s are a dime a dozen.

You say you might get a 15hp machining center. Unless you have a 3 phase service which I doubt, how do you plan on hooking that up. Phase convertor? If that’s your plan than you would need at least a 20hp convertor and most POCO’s limit residential motors to 10hp. Also, depending on the make of...

Put the rods outside. 40-50’ of #6 doesn’t cost that much. If that’s going to break the bank then you’ve got more pressing things to worry about than missing ground rods. Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

Generally with emt conduit you go a 1/16” less on hole saw diameter for a tighter hole on the connector. Although I haven’t had an issue with a 7/8” hole saw for 1/2”, I do have better luck with 1 1/16” for 3/4 and 1 5/16” for 1”. Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

I had (16) 6 lamp t8 fixtures converted with led tubes and they were ok but they don’t even come close to the linear high bays I put up. Guess it comes down to how much light you need/prefer. I’d rather have the option to light it up and wear sunglasses than have to squint to see what I’m doing...

If you see oil on the capacitors, I would check each one to see if they are still good. You’ll need a meter that can read capacitance. Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

I have 10’ ceilings in my shop and I have 15 200w led linear high bays in my 30x50 shop. They light up the shop great. Lights are separated into 4 zones so I don’t have to turn all of them on at once. Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

As was said before, install a in line switch on the t-stat and your problem is solved. I have my gas heater in my barn hooked up this way just for this purpose and it works just fine. Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

This where conduit is your friend. Pipe in a 3/4 from the panel to a 4” deep box and blank it off for now. You can pull the wires later. I would never run romex (or anywhere for that matter) in a garage/shop. Shops are always changing with new equipment showing up and machines getting moved...

It really depends on how the barn will be used. If it’s going to be a shop, then I would run emt. It’s a much better installation and leaves you with options down the road. Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

I would use stranded. Solid wire *****. Solid does form better for trimming the panel but trying to add wires in the conduit down the road is a pain with solid. Stranded wire is easier to pack in the boxes when trimming outlets and switches. Me personally, I never use solid wire.

The outlets won’t trip when tested. How are you testing them? With the test button on the outlet or a plug in tester? If it trips with the button on the outlet, then the gfi is working. If you’re using a plug in tester, then it won’t trip the outlet with no ground. Sent from my iPhone using...

1 1/2” will work but 2” would be easier to pull through. At least with the 2” if you ever want to upsize the wire down the road because you need more power, the pipe is already there. Garages/shops are always evolving. You never know what you might get into down the road. I did 2” to my shop...