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Shop Subpanel/Hot Tub

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tealetm

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Jan 21, 2020
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131
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NY
OK I may be stretching it with this question but I just don't know the answer. Just doing some brainstorming at this point.

I am building a detached single man (900sft) shop which I want to have a subpanel located within it- lets just say a 60amp subpanel although I'm still figuring out how much power I'll need (probably more than 60).

The wire routing from my main 200amp panel (basement of the house) to the shop will go right by where I coincidently need to install an exterior panel for our new hot tub (visible from the hot tub location and greater than 5' away). The hot tub requires a two pole 30amp and two pole 20amp breaker and typically you'd use a separate exterior mounted panel solely for the hot tub.

My problem is that my main 200amp panel has one two pole opening available and every other spot is used up. In a perfect world I'd obviously run two separate circuits for the hot tub and the garage. Is there any way, or am I dreaming, of putting a large two pole breaker (100amp) in the main panel to then serve an exterior panel near the hottub panel (two breakers for the hot tub, one for the garage) and then the 60amp subpanel in the garage? (due to locations it does not make sense to run the hot tub back from the garage panel).

Now that I'm talking about it I guess the obvious solution would be to install a subpanel in the basement to feed the hot tub and the garage (and future needs) but it just adds to the amount of panels and wiring in system.

Thoughts or suggestions?
 
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sparky 1971

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Central Iowa
Come out of the basement panel to an exterior sub panel like this fed with #2 and a 90 amp breaker, then go on from this panel to the shop with a 60 amp feeder. You can change the wire and breaker sizes to fit your needs. Since the hot tub uses a 30 and 20 amp circuit, I'm guessing it's a Hot Springs, the panel that they come with aren't much smaller than the panel in the link I posted, and you should also be able to use the Hot Springs GFCI breakers in this panel. At least, the last two I've wired came with a Siemens panel and they were both in the last two months.


 
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tealetm

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Messages
131
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NY
sparky 1971 said:
Come out of the basement panel to an exterior sub panel like this fed with #2 and a 90 amp breaker, then go on from this panel to the shop with a 60 amp feeder. You can change the wire and breaker sizes to fit your needs. Since the hot tub uses a 30 and 20 amp circuit, I'm guessing it's a Hot Springs, the panel that they come with aren't much smaller than the panel in the link I posted, and you should also be able to use the Hot Springs GFCI breakers in this panel. At least, the last two I've wired came with a Siemens panel and they were both in the last two months.


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This is what I was contemplating yes. I don't have the breakers for the Hot Springs tub (its a used tub with no panel) so I can use whatever for a 30amp and 20amp feed. No issues with having the shop having that extra breaker in the feed to the shop (breaker in main panel, breaker in "hot tub panel", breakers out in the shop)? Also I also didn't know if there was anything in the code that the breakers for the hot tub had to be in their own separate panel.
 
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dcg9381

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Austin, TX
tealetm said:
Also I also didn't know if there was anything in the code that the breakers for the hot tub had to be in their own separate panel.
Click to expand...
You'll need spa disconnect that is "readily accessible" and the spa breaker needs to be GFI. You'll find "spa panels" at Home Depot/Lowes.

I feed my spa from the garage sub panel on an appropriate breaker, that run feeds a "spa panel" outside the building (near the hot tub) and has a 2nd GFI breaker in it.
 
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sparky 1971

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tealetm said:
This is what I was contemplating yes. I don't have the breakers for the Hot Springs tub (its a used tub with no panel) so I can use whatever for a 30amp and 20amp feed. No issues with having the shop having that extra breaker in the feed to the shop (breaker in main panel, breaker in "hot tub panel", breakers out in the shop)? Also I also didn't know if there was anything in the code that the breakers for the hot tub had to be in their own separate panel.
Click to expand...
You just have to have a means of disconnect, it can be anything g you want. Since you don't have the Hot Springs panel you can use whatever brand you want, just make sure the GFCI breakers are available. I've been having a hard time finding them.

dcg9381 said:
You'll need spa disconnect that is "readily accessible" and the spa breaker needs to be GFI. You'll find "spa panels" at Home Depot/Lowes.

I feed my spa from the garage sub panel on an appropriate breaker, that run feeds a "spa panel" outside the building (near the hot tub) and has a 2nd GFI breaker in it.
Click to expand...

All a spa disconnect is is a two space 3R panel with a GFCI breaker factory installed. He needs two circuits. He could use a 40 space panel if he wanted to as long as it meets the requirements for the tub.
 
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u2slow

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Nov 20, 2011
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Location
BC
I did similar 'power tap' for my attached shed on the way to the shop.

I used a box with pad-mounted splitter blocks, in the crawlspace. Then you'd run a short tap wire (#8-6) to the spa pack.
 
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tealetm

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Messages
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NY
Thanks guys. For now I'm going to use the spare dual pole breaker space I have just to run a new exterior spa subpanel as somebody would normally do it. That will take care of the hot tub.

I'll end up adding a sub-panel (60amp?) in the basement later to relocate a few circuits to, then plug in a 100amp breaker in the freed up spaces to run the the subpanel out in the shop.

(note: there are already a few tandem breakers in the panelbox so I don't want to add more).
 
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