Help roughing in new Shop. Help please :-)

[StreetDreams]

Hello everyone,
We have a new building being added to our fleet! It is basically just a baby, but it will be our new Fabrication Shop that will have one of our lifts in it (The red rectangle in pic), four 6' benchs (the brown in pics) and will have a 3' by 5' Fabrication table to the right side in the picture, and will also have a few needed pieces of equipment like a parts washer, sand blaster, english wheel, planishing hammer, welder, small 3in1 shear, brake and roll, and also a small lathe/mill combo. That will basically fill her out hehe. BUT I really need help roughing in the electrical because I need to save as much as I can because our budget and capital is gone. I am attaching a picture of our outlets, lights etc. If someone could draw something a but more professional for me to use so I know what to put where, etc. I have a 125amp 8 slot 16 circuit service box. I have one 220v 100amp breaker (will run the South Wall 220 Outlet towards to west, and also run the East Wall 220 Outlet both those are 50amp outlets each), I then have a 220v 50 amp breaker to run the 220 outlet on the east side of the south wall (that will be running to a separate building running our 60 Gallon air compressor). I then have three 1 pole 30 amp 110v breakers. One will run the three 20amp 110v outlets on the north wall, one will run the two 20 amp 110v outlets on the east wall, plus the E with the circle is a outlet on the ceiling that will have out 50' reel plugged into it. the third breaker will run the two 20 amp 110v outlets on the south wall. The last slot in the Breaker box will be for my Overhead Fluorescent lights but I don't currently have a breaker for that, should I just get another 30amp breaker for those?

I also have 250' of 12/2 Romex, but still need to get my 220 romex, is 8/3 ok? or will I NEED 6/3? The outlets will be running 30-50 amp welders, plasma cutters, etc.

I really have no idea what I am doing lol, I am basically just running off common sense. I will obviously have the electrician double check everything in the end, but I wanna do as much of the running of wires, boxes, switch, etc myself.

Any help in this area would help alot. Sorry for the messy picture hehe. The thin lines are the 110v and the dotted thicker lines are the 220v

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Mustang51js]

12-2 is only good for 20 amps, if your going with a 30 amp breaker you have to use 10 wire. 8/3 rx is only good for 40 amps so you would need 6/3 in that part. The only part I'm having trouble with is the 2 50 amp plugs, are you putting them on one breaker that is 100 amps or having another panel that is 100 amps and then doing two 50 amp breakers off of it. I also would replace that 8 circuit panel with a 20 space panel is you can, this way your not using tandom breakers in the whole panel.

 

[StreetDreams]

I will be using a Siemens 100 Amp breakers and running both 50 amp outlets off it. Budget really doesn't allow for a new box. Also all my 110 outlets will be running off 20 amp breakers so the 12/2 will be fine for that. I will grab 70 feet of the 6/3 to run my three 220 outlets.

Thanks
Rich

12-2 is only good for 20 amps, if your going with a 30 amp breaker you have to use 10 wire. 8/3 rx is only good for 40 amps so you would need 6/3 in that part. The only part I'm having trouble with is the 2 50 amp plugs, are you putting them on one breaker that is 100 amps or having another panel that is 100 amps and then doing two 50 amp breakers off of it. I also would replace that 8 circuit panel with a 20 space panel is you can, this way your not using tandom breakers in the whole panel.

 

[Mustang51js]

I will be using a Siemens 100 Amp breakers and running both 50 amp outlets off it. Budget really doesn't allow for a new box. Also all my 110 outlets will be running off 20 amp breakers so the 12/2 will be fine for that. I will grab 70 feet of the 6/3 to run my three 220 outlets.

Thanks
Rich

You can't run two 50 amp plugs off a 100 amp breaker because you are now making them 100 amp plugs,each plug needs it's own 50 amp breaker or they will be overloaded. The wires going to them would have to be rated for 100 amps also. And you mentioned you had 30 amp single pole breakers for outlets so that's what I was talking about with the 10 wire. You can't put 12-2 on a 30 amp breaker because then you can overload that circuit also.

 

[Mustang51js]

As far as replacing the panel it's not that much if you do it yourself, maybe $100. You can put a bigger box for around $100 or have to buy special breakers to fit the 220v stuff in the panel which will cost almost the same. Your 8 circuit panel says 16 but that's if you use tandom breakers and they are around $18 each for the single pole style,and prob around $30 for the double pole style. Whereas a regular single pole is $3 and double pole is $10. I can almost bet that you will not be able to use that 8 circuit panel the way you were thinking.

 

[1grnlwn]

You can put 2 50A receptacles on a 50 amp breaker. If you plan on using both at the same time they cannot pull more than 50 amps together. You will have to plan some sort of junction box for wire joints because you can't get two wires in the plug lug. I currently run my 210 A mig on a 30 amp breaker and have never blown it . I have never welded at 100% power either.

 

[volleyball]

Rich, I am all for doing it yourself but this looks like a pro shop and you don't have the leeway of a home shop.
You have an electrician. Use him. Let him spec out what goes where and what kind of wire. You do the apprentice work of running the wires the way he wants so that he just has to do the ends and collect a small check.
Use the money destined for the lift and benches if you are broke.
Do this wrong and you'll be doing it twice. And if someone gets injured, you'll be out of business.

 

[Aceman]

Rich, I am all for doing it yourself but this looks like a pro shop and you don't have the leeway of a home shop.
You have an electrician. Use him. Let him spec out what goes where and what kind of wire. You do the apprentice work of running the wires the way he wants so that he just has to do the ends and collect a small check.
Use the money destined for the lift and benches if you are broke.
Do this wrong and you'll be doing it twice. And if someone gets injured, you'll be out of business.

I agree.

If money is tight right now, then I would save until you can hire an electrician to do this, properly.

 

[pattenp]

I would split the lights on two switches and make them 3-way with adding a switch at the large door entry. I would also add at least one more outlet box a each work bench. I'm not to sure about your lighting. It may be on the low side. The fixture placement is not the best. I think 2 parallel run of lights the long dimension would be better.

 

[larry_g]

You can't run two 50 amp plugs off a 100 amp breaker because you are now making them 100 amp plugs,each plug needs it's own 50 amp breaker or they will be overloaded. The wires going to them would have to be rated for 100 amps also. And you mentioned you had 30 amp single pole breakers for outlets so that's what I was talking about with the 10 wire. You can't put 12-2 on a 30 amp breaker because then you can overload that circuit also.

To simplify what is said above, The breaker is there to protect the downstream wire. Understand that one basic of wiring.

If you put in a 100 amp breaker then everything downstream of that breaker has to be rated for 100 amp current carrying capacity.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Falcon67]

My two pennies would be two to three times the light fixtures are needed. Fabrication says to me that the workers need very goid light to see details with no shadows. Also, I'd put at least two quads at each bench. General use plugs go fast.