more wiring FAQ's.

[ModSquad]

ok, so I'm getting the wiring done in the garage. all is good.. here's the scenario..

from house 200Amp Main to 100Amp sub panel in the garage..
wired wtih #3 copper burried in PVC
got my lights circuit up the other day, works fine
tonight I got my 1st rec circuit up
I also ran 40Amp to a sub Panel that is in a shed(attached to the garage)
History on the shed, when I bought the house, that's all was here was the shed. He was running 40 Amp from the house to an Old Squard D subpanel in shed.

I basically did the same thing, but from the sub panel in the garage..
All my lights, and recepticals work in the shed now that I have 40 Amp running to it, however, there is a construction heater plugged on a 15 Amp 220v that doesn't work. the breaker doesn't trip, it just doesn't run.. it ran before I disconnected the power to build the garage.. Any Ideas?

the neutral bus on the Sub Panel in the garage is NOT grounded with the screw.. I took it out as it is a sub panel.. it is being grounded by the main in the house.. the Sub Panel inthe shed has it's own ground in the floor.. Think perhaps that it doesn't have a good enough ground? the breaker for the 15Amp 220V that's running the heater looks different. I'll have to double chcek again in the AM..

Any input to check would be great.. thanks guys..

 

[bmwpower]

A bad ground shouldn't prevent it from running - it'll just protect you from getting .

The breaker may be of a different type/kind and may not be connected properly.

What type/kind of breaker is it?

Get your meter out and measure the voltage on the lines at the heater.

 

[ModSquad]

yeah, I'll have to do that today.. for the breaker not being connected, I never touched a thing in the box.. just the main line going in.. it worked before I disconnected it..

 

[PAToyota]

Stupid question, but does the 40amp to the shed come from a "double" breaker - that is, a 220V breaker? I have to ask - I've seen a lot of odd mistakes...

 

[ModSquad]

not stupid question.. Hey, i've seen alot of people do stupid things (including myself) lol.. It's a double pole 40Amp breaker.. maybe that's my mistake? I should use single pole? hehe kidding.

but seriously, should I be using another type or breaker? I haven't had the chance to cehck wiht a meter yet. I'm hopeing after work.

Just another thought, the neutral bus is properly connected cause the lights and recepticals all work except the 1.. Nothing has changed in it's configuration, just the main power going into the box..

would the orientation of the 2 hot lines going in make a difference? wouldn't think so cause they are both hot, but it's jsut a thought. The person who originally wired it used 2 reds for the hot and a while for the neutral, it was kinda hard to trace the lines (were all in PVC).. I just wired it at the Junction box.. maybe I need to swap the 2 Hots?

 

[W-Cummins]

Do you have 240V between them at the box?? Your panel you came off of or that panel your looking at might have a strange bus bar setup. You may have to install the breakers in it a certain way to make sure that you have two hots 240 to each other rather than two hots 120V to ground.


William...

 

[ModSquad]

cummins, exactly what it was.. I was finally able to get chance to take a look with the meter. was only getting 120 in the shed, hence why the lights and recepts were working. so I checked the connection from the main box in the garage.. I was getting 2- 120V.. I had to move the breaker to split 2 zones(not sure if it's the right term or not) to get 120 from each zone making 240.. Switched it, tested and heater is working fine now..

Thanks for your help guys. This is a great resource.. I haven't posted much as I do more reading then give someone the wrong info.. I'm learning lots.. Been spreading the word around here about this site..

Thanks again..

 

[JMURiz]

Glad you got it figured out, up in Canada you need that heat for sure.

 

[ModSquad]

yaeh, tell me about it. lol. -35 C here right now with the wind chill.. it's like -20 without..

 

[PAToyota]

I was finally able to get chance to take a look with the meter. was only getting 120 in the shed, hence why the lights and recepts were working.

That's basically why I asked about the double pole breaker... Didn't think to ask if it was installed properly... Unless it isn't the proper breaker for the panel I'm not sure how a double couldn't get one of each leg. Good to hear you figured it out.

 

[ModSquad]

Pa, you were on the rihgt track.. it's a Federal Pioneer box.. the way the units are setup is each leg of 4 is seperated by a small groove.. I didn't realize you could fit the breaker over the groove and that they were the same gapping between each leg.. kind of a small illusion.. I haven't had too much experience replacing breakers so I didn't know.. there was nothing wrong with the connection itself, was a tight and sturdy connection, just both 120 from the same leg which didn't give me the 220 i needed. lol.. it's kinda hard to explain.. maybe I'll take a pic and post for any newbs like me to make sure they don't make the same mistake.. last garage I built, I had a friend electrician setup the box for me.. he wasn't available this time. lol, I was very careful, and did it myself.. lesson learned.

 

[PAToyota]

Interesting! I have SquareD QO panels - which are pretty near impossible to mis-mount a breaker. I've seen some other panels that there could be a question. Glad it worked out!