Relocate 3 Phase?

[kbeefy]

Just bought some property that has 3 different power supplies on it.
House. (110+220)
MIL House. (110)
Shop (110+220) + Grain facility (480).

The Grain facility has it's own 3 phase that will likely never be used again. It's pretty much the same distance from the Grain facility to the power pole as it is from the shop to the power pole.

Aside from Electrifying myself (I'm ok with electrical work), how difficult would it be to move the existing 3phase panel from it's existing location into my pre-existing shop? If I reposition it I think I can do it without even changing any cable lengths.

 

[matt_i]

Is that service hard piped or flex?

Theoretically if you had a load center/motor control center/lugs/etc outside you can run a 3ph panel inside by adding new wiring.

Whatever you work on it has to be able to goto zero energy first.

I would still mostly rely on the 120/240vac panel for most of your shop needs and use 480x3 for your motor loads where needed. You will be mildly amazed at the small wire sizes that you can run things with.

 

[walrus]

First step would be talk to power company and ask what would need to be done.

 

[walta]

First you need to understand how the power is billed for your 3 phase service. Some are billed at the peak load 24/7 for the billing period. Make sure you understand the charges for unbalanced loads and power factors for your service.

480 Is great if you have power hungry equipment that can use it. For me changing the service to 208 and moving it to the shop would be more useful to me unless you have several motors that would not take the lower voltage then 240 3 phase may be a better choice.

I would not spend my time moving rusty old 3 phase panels.

Seems to me the grain equipment should be sellable.



Walt

 

[Norcal]

480 volt rated equipment is expensive, and the OP does not state what type of 480 service they have, whether it is 480/277V, or ungrounded, & so on, plus 480 volts is a dangerous voltage that is not for the untrained/unqualified & have to seriously doubt the qualifications of someone refers to voltages that went away before the second world war. In terms of costs, they would be better served by either 120/240V 3Ø, or 208Y/120V, if having 3 phase power is really necessary. If any 3 phase equipment is using smaller (3 HP & smaller) motors, it might be more cost effective to use VFD's for phase conversion, & be served with a 120/240V service, the only way would be find out the power company's rate structure and compare.

 

[mike93lx]

480 is absolutely not a Diy voltage. Give up on any idea of working on it yourself if you don't want to get seriously hurt.

Even with pros, my company's plants still have an occasional arc flash incident. Thankfully, they guys have the right PPE, so we don't hear about fatalities, but every one of the is terrifying when they are announced.

You are lying to yourself if you think it is an appropriate thing to work on yourself

 

[jar944]

480 volt rated equipment is expensive, and the OP does not state what type of 480 service they have, whether it is 480/277V, or ungrounded, & so on, plus 480 volts is a dangerous voltage that is not for the untrained/unqualified & have to seriously doubt the qualifications of someone refers to voltages that went away before the second world war. In terms of costs, they would be better served by either 120/240V 3Ø, or 208Y/120V, if having 3 phase power is really necessary. If any 3 phase equipment is using smaller (3 HP & smaller) motors, it might be more cost effective to use VFD's for phase conversion, & be served with a 120/240V service, the only way would be find out the power company's rate structure and compare.

High voltage used 3ph machinery is typically considerably lower priced than a low or dual voltage machines at least for wood cutting machine tools. Id personally be all over a shop with high voltage 3ph.

 

[Norcal]

High voltage used 3ph machinery is typically considerably lower priced than a low or dual voltage machines at least for wood cutting machine tools. Id personally be all over a shop with high voltage 3ph.

480 volts is NOT high voltage, it is considered low voltage, it is to be respected but high voltage will reach out and touch you if you get too close.

 

[jar944]

480 volts is NOT high voltage, it is considered low voltage, it is to be respected but high voltage will reach out and touch you if you get too close.

High voltage with respect to 3ph motors.

 

[jeepxj]

480 volts is NOT high voltage, it is considered low voltage, it is to be respected but high voltage will reach out and touch you if you get too close.

oh stop. 480 is higher than most res shops voltage. dont be that guy.

 

[Metal-Marc]

oh stop. 480 is higher than most res shops voltage. dont be that guy.

Norcal is not wrong.

 

[jeepxj]

Norcal is not wrong.

and that level of technicality doesn't matter here. so while technically correct, its not relevant to the conversation at hand.

"hey guys my water pressure is really high. its coming out at 120psi". THAT'S NOT HIGH PRESSURE. HYDRAULIC LINES ARE HIGH PRESSURE.

edit:
to common homeowner bob when you have arc flash issues its "high" voltage. yes 100% medium and high voltages are clearly defined to industry types but in this context it doesnt matter.