Need more amps in the garage

[craigibc]

I would like to use the welder or compressor and plasma cutter in the garage but I am lacking the amps to use more then one 220v device at a time in the garage. I would like to put a another breaker box in the garage.

I am sure this question has been asked before but I only need to amps for the garage not the rest of the house.

Ultimately think I might need to do a full service upgrade for the house but I was hoping you could give me some advice or give me a few links to help guide my decision.

Thanks!

Craig

 

[Grumpy365]

I would like to use the welder or compressor and plasma cutter in the garage but I am lacking the amps to use more then one 220v device at a time in the garage. I would like to put a another breaker box in the garage.

I am sure this question has been asked before but I only need to amps for the garage not the rest of the house.

Ultimately think I might need to do a full service upgrade for the house but I was hoping you could give me some advice or give me a few links to help guide my decision.

Thanks!

Craig

What do you have now?

Most of the time people grossly over estimate what they need.

Most of us aren't physically able to simultaneously weld and plasma cut at the same time, nor do we weld with the machine maxed out full tilt boogie (the compressor is valid)

 

[T_Raven]

I just finished upgrading the sub panel and wiring in my shop. I have a 200A panel in the house and now a 100A panel in my shop. So if you have a 200A main panel you can easily add a 100A sub panel in your garage. If you only have a 100A main panel you could have a 50A sub in the garage.

Obviously you don't run everything in your house and garage at the same time so you'd just have to figure out what would be running and how much amperage you'd need at once. I figure if I were welding in the winter and the heater and lights were on and the air compressor kicked in while welding, that would be about the most I'd use at once. My 100A sub panel should be just fine.

If you only have a 100A main panel you'll probably need to upgrade to have a couple 220v items going at the same time in the garage and the load of everything in the house, lights, tvs, oven, furnace/heat, etc.

 

[justsam]

What capacity do you have now?

How is the existing garage box fed?

Is garage attached or detached?

How much current do you need in Amps at 220V

Do you pictures of existing garage box, and the panel that feeds it?

Is house 200 Amp service?

Depending on answers to above, job could be relatively simple, or much more difficult and costly.

 

[craigibc]

I currently have 100 amp service. I have a 30 amp that I am using in the garage which I moved from the dryer to the workshop in the garage. I also have a 40 amp going to the kitchen stove. I could replace that stove with gas and move that 40 amp and put another plug into the garage. The compressor alone is 20 amps so I can only use one 220v tool at a time. If I had one more plug I would be fine.

The garage is attached to the house.

Craig

 

[craigibc]

If I could move the 40 amp form the kitchen to garage my problem would be solved!

What do you think?

 

[CNGsaves]

If I could move the 40 amp form the kitchen to garage my problem would be solved!

What do you think?

Only if you don't want to cook in the kitchen anymore.

Best long-term plan is do it right and install a subpanel in the garage. Upgrade whole house electrical panel to 200A and run 100A in the garage. This won't be a cheap solution.

Do you own house and plan on living there for years to come?? What is your budget to upgrade electrical??

I've had several electricians quote me upgrades but my whole house panel would need replaced - - - minimum for that is $1,300 to $1,500 and the garage would be on top of that. Mine could easily hit $2,000 to $2,500 due to buried electrical to detached garage.

I'd recommend you get a couple quotes from licensed electrician so you have a starting point.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Is your main service panel full? What other high draw devices/appliances do u have(elec heat, A/C, elec water heater, etc.)? Depending on what else you u have in the panel, u may or may not have to upgrade the service!

 

[BD1]

Where is the house panel located ? Is it close to the garage ? If it is close and easily accessible add panel in garage. Remove 40 from kitchen, add larger breaker [where 40 was] to feed new panel in garage. Install 40 in garage panel and wire to kitchen wiring in old panel. Just size wire to match breaker size. Like T_ Raven said, your not gonna have everything running at once. If you got bucks , go and upgrade service. The old days houses only had 60 amp service, then 100, and now 200 is kinda the norm. It's not like your gonna have 4 guys working at the same time.

 

[craigibc]

I can put gas to the kitchen and buy the wife a new oven and then move the 40 amp to the garage. I would love to replace the service with 200 amp but I think we are looking at a few thousand to get that done and not really ready to commit to that now. The current box is full and the service runs underground. I am going to contact SDG&E and see what type of wire already comes to the house and see how hard it would be to upgrade to 200 amp. If that does not work out I can at least put a subpanel in the garage and move the 30amp and the 40amp from the kitchen/garage to the subpanel that would give me plenty of amp to do whatever I want in the garage.

Thanks again for your insight!

Craig