100 amps?

[4wd4ever]

I'm building a 16x24 detached garage and want to cover my bases...in the future I'd like to be able go have:

Lift-2 post not sure which one yet
Compressor 60 gal 5+- hp
Welder, stick and mig
lots of plugs and lots of lights

Will a 100 amp panel/ service be enough, I know I won't be using them all at once, I just don't know enough about draw and amps to be sure I'll have enough juice. I will be digging a trench and burying the wires/pipe before it gets built so I thought I'd ask some experts first.

Thank you all in advance,
Rick

 

[StaggeringGoat]

100 amps should be mucho-plenty unless you have several guys working at once.

 

[MrMark]

I doubt you'd pull 50 amps at one time. Remember you have 100 amps on each leg for 120V power. That's 200 amps of 120V power if the load is completely balanced. Of course, some of your devices are 240 and they pull equally from each leg, but you get the idea. 100 is plenty big in a panel for that size garage. Most houses up until recently were 100 amps.

 

[jvitez]

Add up the wattage, not amperage of everything you could foresee running at the same. Divide by 240. You must supply at least this amount and a bit more for future expansion. Watts=volts x amps, so a 60 amp service @ 240v will supply 14,400 watts of power. That's a lot for running at one time, unless you're planning on any electric heat. Do the math. Don't guess!

 

[tfi racing]

Unless you are planning a full scale metal fab/welding shop with 3-4 full time employees in the future,100 amps is more than you will likely ever need.

 

[StaggeringGoat]

In one of the old shops I used to rent, we had 200 amps that we shared between 4 shops, roughly 5000 sq ft total, often with 4-5 guys working at once with big tools and all kinds of lighting. Never had any power problems.

 

[4wd4ever]

Perfect! Thanx a bunch!