At what point do you have too many receptacles?

[jeff000]

So I just ran a sub panel to my garage, 60amp.
And was about to start putting boxes in for receptacles. And once I layed it out I thought I must be losing my mind to put so many.

I have a 10' work bench. Thinking 4 receptacles, two circuits, on the back wall. Plus 2 receptacles on the front of the bench kind of.

Then just off the work bench I will have a 30a, a 40a, and a 50a receptacle, never know what I will need to plug in.

Then 4 receptacles down each side of the garage. And 2 in the ceiling for any drop devices I may want. 4 circuits split up for these.

Right now I don't have anything to plug into any of these.

 

[dittle fart around]

You can never have too many receptacles. What you can have is too much stuff running at the same time. Locate receptacles for your convenience the likely hood of having more than one or two items running at the same time on the same circuit is slim.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Right now I don't have anything to plug into any of these.

Chances are you never will.

People go nuts putting in receptacles, and while they won't hurt anything I think in many cases they end up being overkill. After all, how many power tools are you going to operate simultaneously? I think I have eight or ten receptacles in my garage, and I probably only use two or three of them.

 

[aka Larry]

IMO,it depends on how far you want to run a drop cord.

I'm installing 3 120V 20A receptacles along each wall of my 40'x40' shop spaced 10' apart. I'm also dropping two from overhead to install on each post of a 2-post lift. I'm not counting dedicated circuits like the air compressor or 240V welder.

 

[jeff000]

I'm going to cut back, my garage is only 24x23. lol.
I'm going to keep my 30,40,50 as just in case. And I'll put a 30 where I want a compressor.
But everything else I thinking I am going to half.

I have lots of cordless tools too.

 

[pattenp]

My outlet placement in my garage/shop is that no spot along a wall is more than 4 feet from an outlet and on my work bench surface no point is more than 2 feet from an outlet.

 

[FluxCore]

LOL, you and me think alike.....I installed duplex 120 outlets on every other wall stud all around my shop. My shop is only 24X26, and I installed 22 duplex outlets in the ceiling too.

I also installed two 220 outlets on all walls, plus a 50 amp welder outlet.

I HATE extension cords. I want an outlet in reach no matter where I'm standing near a wall or work bench.....I also installed 2 high quality cord reels, one in the shop, and one in the ceiling of the carport outside.

Just take care to not exceed number of outlets per circuits and make sure to run all 12AWG, and use industrial or hospital grade 20 amp outlets that use stab wire screw clamps

 

[bczygan]

The purpose of convenience receptacles is to avoid using extension cords which are a tripping and fire hazard.
By code, you are required to have a certain n umber located so as to not have extension cords running across openings or having overly long lamp or appliance cords.
Remember though, that more receptacles doesn't mean more power unless they are on more circuits. Those plug in strips some guys mount above their benches don't give them more power, just more convenient locations to plug things in.
A regular string of outlets on walls and ceiling are a good idea but alternate them between different circuits so you can use more than one tool on different circuits but near each other, without overloading. Fixed tools and workbenches benefit from separate circuits and require them if the load is big enough. Even a workbench will benefit from more than one circuit. Lighting too, should have more than one circuit even if the load doesn't require it. I like to leave excess capacity in each lighting and power circuit for unexpected extra loads.

Don't forget to put one outside power outlet for yard equipment or working in the driveway.
And don't forget lighting (Inside and out) and security and communication circuits and wiring. And a ceiling outlet for garage door opener.

Best bet is to make a list of what items you might eventually have in the space and design the electrical to accommodate them.

 

[Speedy Petey]

The 30A receptacle is fine if you think you may someday need something there. The 50A is fine if you think you may someday have a stick welder there.
There is no such thing as a 40A receptacle, so just have a 30 and 50 for future use.

 

[Ryf]

never!!! you can only have so many per circuit IIRC, sooo moore circuits!! I like to have them every 4 ft of wall in doubles, and 2 sets of 4 per work area, dedicated runs for any major appliances or equipment. I did this in my front garage, love it. will do the same in the new shop. I work by myself, so the outlets at the work area are mostly so I don't have to swap plugs, but they are on their own breakers from the rest of the wall outlets.

if your doing your own wiring, think about buying a few colors of nail polish and dobbing the outlets somewhere (all on one circuit the same) and then the corresponding spot on the box, i did this on mine and it helps when others are using your shop to know what outlet goes to which breaker without knowing N,S,E,W. I did not do this in the front garage,but my father recommended it after talking about which ones are dedicated and which aren't. haven't bothered to do it yet but I like it for the new one.

 

[FluxCore]

The purpose of convenience receptacles is to avoid using extension cords which are a tripping and fire hazard.
By code, you are required to have a certain n umber located so as to not have extension cords running across openings or having overly long lamp or appliance cords.
Remember though, that more receptacles doesn't mean more power unless they are on more circuits. Those plug in strips some guys mount above their benches don't give them more power, just more convenient locations to plug things in.
A regular string of outlets on walls and ceiling are a good idea but alternate them between different circuits so you can use more than one tool on different circuits but near each other, without overloading. Fixed tools and workbenches benefit from separate circuits and require them if the load is big enough. Even a workbench will benefit from more than one circuit. Lighting too, should have more than one circuit even if the load doesn't require it. I like to leave excess capacity in each lighting and power circuit for unexpected extra loads.

Don't forget to put one outside power outlet for yard equipment or working in the driveway.
And don't forget lighting (Inside and out) and security and communication circuits and wiring. And a ceiling outlet for garage door opener.

Best bet is to make a list of what items you might eventually have in the space and design the electrical to accommodate them.

Yup, what he said above.

I built these gang boxes recently to mount on my yet-to-be-built welding table. The table will be on swivel locking casters and contain ALL my welders/cutters, mig gas bottles(not 02 or Acet), drawered tool box, and all my grinders/sanders.....The whole table will be powered off one 50' 8 AWG factory made 250V 50A extension cord.

One box contains three 250 V 50 Amp Nema 6-50 welder outlets, the other holds 3 duplex hospital grade 20 amp outlets...In use, all three welders and plasma cutter will remain plugged in and so will all 6 of my grinders(different wheels on each grinder), but only ONE welder/cutter or grinder will EVER be powered/used at a time.

Sorry bout the missing screws in the top box, I ran out, but have added them since

 

[Speedy Petey]

you can only have so many per circuit IIRC,

True only in Canada, and in the US for non-residential applications.
There are some other isolated areas in the US with this rule as well, but in general you can have as many receptacles on a circuit as you want..

 

[Gary S]

There is no such thing as too many receptacles. Everybody lives with too few.
My current garage has (30) 120v receptacles, and (2) 240 ones. If my needs increase, there will be more added.

20 years from now, you will never know if there is a receptacle in the garage that you never used, but you will know right away if you are short one receptacle.

 

[jeff000]

Should have stated I'm a sparky and have my own contracting company. Mostly Commercial/Light Industrial.
Lighting is on different circuits, nothing worse then having a tool trip out the lights too.
Lighting is two 8' T8 two tube fixures, two 4' two tube T8, and 2 single tube 4' T8 above the work bench. May add more later.

LOL, you and me think alike.....I installed duplex 120 outlets on every other wall stud all around my shop. My shop is only 24X26, and I installed 22 duplex outlets in the ceiling too.

I also installed two 220 outlets on all walls, plus a 50 amp welder outlet.

I HATE extension cords. I want an outlet in reach no matter where I'm standing near a wall or work bench.....I also installed 2 high quality cord reels, one in the shop, and one in the ceiling of the carport outside.

Just take care to not exceed number of outlets per circuits and make sure to run all 12AWG, and use industrial or hospital grade 20 amp outlets that use stab wire screw clamps

It'll all be #14, not running any 20amp devices, no need to oversize for no reason.
Never seen industrial grade receptacles, and hospital receptacles are isolated ground. I think you are looking to say commercial grade.
All my devices are always commercial grade. Some are stab and screw and some are just wrap and screw.

The 30A receptacle is fine if you think you may someday need something there. The 50A is fine if you think you may someday have a stick welder there.
There is no such thing as a 40A receptacle, so just have a 30 and 50 for future use.

Had the 40amp range from this morning on my mind. Good catch.

if your doing your own wiring, think about buying a few colors of nail polish and dobbing the outlets somewhere (all on one circuit the same) and then the corresponding spot on the box, i did this on mine and it helps when others are using your shop to know what outlet goes to which breaker without knowing N,S,E,W. I did not do this in the front garage,but my father recommended it after talking about which ones are dedicated and which aren't. haven't bothered to do it yet but I like it for the new one.

Garage, utility and outside receptacles I always lamicoid for easy identification.

True only in Canada, and in the US for non-residential applications.
There are some other isolated areas in the US with this rule as well, but in general you can have as many receptacles on a circuit as you want..

Really in the states you can put as many devices on a circuit as you want?
Here we are limited to 12 devices per circuit.
Commercial we can load it how we wish based on what is spec'ed to be installed. The thinking is that residentail any blowhard can plug anything in, or replace lamps with higher wattage, but commercial would all be replaced with what was spec'ed

I have a copy of the NEC 2008 in pdf, but it's so hard to locate stuff in compared to the CEC.

 

[FluxCore]

Should have stated I'm a sparky and have my own contracting company. Mostly Commercial/Light Industrial.
Lighting is on different circuits, nothing worse then having a tool trip out the lights too.
Lighting is two 8' T8 two tube fixures, two 4' two tube T8, and 2 single tube 4' T8 above the work bench. May add more later.




It'll all be #14, not running any 20amp devices, no need to oversize for no reason.
Never seen industrial grade receptacles, and hospital receptacles are isolated ground. I think you are looking to say commercial grade.
All my devices are always commercial grade. Some are stab and screw and some are just wrap and screw.




Had the 40amp range from this morning on my mind. Good catch.




Garage, utility and outside receptacles I always lamicoid for easy identification.



Really in the states you can put as many devices on a circuit as you want?
Here we are limited to 12 devices per circuit.
Commercial we can load it how we wish based on what is spec'ed to be installed. The thinking is that residentail any blowhard can plug anything in, or replace lamps with higher wattage, but commercial would all be replaced with what was spec'ed

I have a copy of the NEC 2008 in pdf, but it's so hard to locate stuff in compared to the CEC.

You never seen 'industrial' grade outlets?...Here ya go:

http://www.hubbell-wiring.com/press/pdfs/h5254.pdf

 

[jeff000]

You never seen 'industrial' grade outlets?...Here ya go:

http://www.hubbell-wiring.com/press/pdfs/h5254.pdf

Actually pretty interesting, never actually looked through the hubbell book that I have.
Always order by part number. Turns out the grey receptacles with light that I installed like 200 of in an office building are called hospital grade. And the commercial grade ones I always use are actually called industrial grade, although I don't understand what makes them different, for being "industrial" I have had lots of issues with them lately.

I wonder how those snap connect ones hold up? Would save a lot of time.
Hmm fake edit, wholesaler says custom ordering, so pricing is terrible.

Damn they have aluminium service poles too, going to have to smack my rep around for not knowing this. And 2x2 3" core fire rated stub throughs. SOB. I could have used those last month.

 

[FluxCore]

Actually pretty interesting, never actually looked through the hubbell book that I have.
Always order by part number. Turns out the grey receptacles with light that I installed like 200 of in an office building are called hospital grade. And the commercial grade ones I always use are actually called industrial grade, although I don't understand what makes them different, for being "industrial" I have had lots of issues with them lately.

I wonder how those snap connect ones hold up? Would save a lot of time.
Hmm fake edit, wholesaler says custom ordering, so pricing is terrible.

Damn they have aluminium service poles too, going to have to smack my rep around for not knowing this. And 2x2 3" core fire rated stub throughs. SOB. I could have used those last month.

Hubble makes danged good stuff....I try to steal it over Leviton whenever presented a choice

 

[FluxCore]

Oh, and by the way, Hospital/industrial/commercial grade outlets are NOT all isolated ground. In fact most aren't....the ones that are have an orange triangle on their face...so a hospital grade plus isolated ground outlet will have a green dot AND an orange triangle on it's face.....Isolated ground means the outlet is NOT bonded to it's mounting flanges..Glad you mentioned that because folks here need to know the difference when selecting stuff for home use.

OOOPS, the outlet can also be solid orange in color.....or it can be bright red, meaning yet another special application....electrical coloring convention is in itself rather interesting, huh?

BTY, you see how those outlets are also wrapped in electrical tape once all connections are made?...That is good practice when working in metal boxes...Not required, but just good practice.

 

[rsanter]

Install power for drop cords and drop lights
I early plug anything into the wall any more unless it's a piece of stationary equipment or a 220 welder

Bob

 

[where2]

My 10x7 storage closet has two duplex outlets on a triple gang wall plate every 6' along the walls. I went with triple plates because so many things use wall wart chargers that hog the outlets if they are on a duplex plate. The same room has two quad bulb fluorescent fixtures in the ceiling. You can never have too much light, or too many outlets. I frequently find myself working in places where I have not enough of both!

 

[FluxCore]

My 10x7 storage closet has two duplex outlets on a triple gang wall plate every 6' along the walls. I went with triple plates because so many things use wall wart chargers that hog the outlets if they are on a duplex plate. The same room has two quad bulb fluorescent fixtures in the ceiling. You can never have too much light, or too many outlets. I frequently find myself working in places where I have not enough of both!

Yup....'hotrodder's motto, if a little bit is just right, too much is mobetter'

I like the way you think

Yaknow, I see lots of pretty, shiny, glorious garages/shops on here with epoxy floors and all that bling, but none really impress me except the working Man's shop that sports heavy duty infrastructure-especially electrical and lighting...and the creative use of available space...I sincerely admire the working Man's shop and how he makes the most of what he has.

 

[Slimgene]

I added 4 plex receptacle about every 6' in my 24'x36 shop to accommodate floor standing tools like a drill press or band saw with short cords. If I decide to rearrange my shop I will always have a plug nearby.

 

[EOC_Jason]

I agree that you can never have enough... Especially if you are pulling the wire down the wall already, having it spliced to add a box doesn't add that much cost...

What IS annoying is when you have lights on the same circuits as plugs... uuuughhhh... Got to love that flicker every time something pulls a little current...

Plugs in the ceiling have lots of uses... Depending on their location... Vent fan? Retractable extension cord? Bug Zapper? Garage Door Opener?

A plug on your outside wall can also be helpful from time to time so you don't have to run a really long extension cord to the inside of your garage...

A switched plug up along your soffit is great for christmas lights.

 

[spongerich]

When your wall looks like this, you might have too many.

 

[Executive]

Yup, what he said above.

I built these gang boxes recently to mount on my yet-to-be-built welding table. The table will be on swivel locking casters and contain ALL my welders/cutters, mig gas bottles(not 02 or Acet), drawered tool box, and all my grinders/sanders.....The whole table will be powered off one 50' 8 AWG factory made 250V 50A extension cord.

One box contains three 250 V 50 Amp Nema 6-50 welder outlets, the other holds 3 duplex hospital grade 20 amp outlets...In use, all three welders and plasma cutter will remain plugged in and so will all 6 of my grinders(different wheels on each grinder), but only ONE welder/cutter or grinder will EVER be powered/used at a time.

Sorry bout the missing screws in the top box, I ran out, but have added them since

This is nicely done but would be better with proper strain relief type connecters on the cables/cords interring the boxes.

Chris

 

[Dodge]

No matter how many outlets you have close together, it still depends on the length of the cord on your tool. More outlets will not always eliminate the need for a drop cord. So, I think some guys do get carried away with outlets.