The electric shed

[G19Tony]

As part of my Tuff Shed garage project, I'm turning my 8x14 Tuff Shed into my dirty room. The drill press, grinders, media blaster and that kind of stuff with go into it. The first order of business was cleaning it out and putting in electric.

The lights are Philips T8 LED's that drop into a standard T8 fixture.





I've never done much electrical work, but this turned out to be pretty easy. I just took my time.





The shed is plugged into the garage.



I made up an AC tie bus.



I have half a box of Race Deck from the garage. I may only need one more box to finish the floor. I've decided on a Barrel Blaster that I will get on the way in a few weeks.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

With such a short distance between the two buildings, I'd be tempted to run a bit of underground conduit. I did this with my shed and it was surprisingly easy and affordable.

I also put in LED night lights into all the open outlet boxes in the shed for lighting when the overhead is off. I don't know that I'll ever need it, but like the effect.

 

[HOTFR8]

Nice, but I would be worried about that power lead working like a heat coil and catching fire. Do you have a shorter lead you can use ?

 

[njride]

Is that a suicide plug? I mean if I walk up to your shed while you're using it and pull that plug out will there be live male terminals In my hand?

 

[C96]

I've never done much electrical work, but this turned out to be pretty easy.

Yeah, sometimes things seam easy because your doing them wrong.

You’ve got a lot of wrong going on here...

 

[G19Tony]

Is that a suicide plug? I mean if I walk up to your shed while you're using it and pull that plug out will there be live male terminals In my hand?

I guess you would. But, why would you do that in the first place?

 

[G19Tony]

Yeah, sometimes things seam easy because your doing them wrong.

You’ve got a lot of wrong going on here...

Thanks for letting me know. What would the problems be?

 

[G19Tony]

With such a short distance between the two buildings, I'd be tempted to run a bit of underground conduit. I did this with my shed and it was surprisingly easy and affordable.

I also put in LED night lights into all the open outlet boxes in the shed for lighting when the overhead is off. I don't know that I'll ever need it, but like the effect.

I asked the electrician who wired my garage about that. He told me the county would rather have me run a cord. They don't like permanent power to a temporary building.

 

[larry4406]

Ditch the suicide cord, put a power inlet box on the shed, and use a normal heavy duty cord. I can't believe the County frowns on power to a shed.

 

[G19Tony]

Ditch the suicide cord, put a power inlet box on the shed, and use a normal heavy duty cord. I can't believe the County frowns on power to a shed.

I didn't even know they made such a thing. Thanks!

They don't frown on power to a shed, just permanent power. The shed is considered a temporary structure, as it can be moved.

 

[bczygan]

Why would you even tell anyone?

Just run the power you need.

Jeez!

 

[er3456df]

Thanks for letting me know. What would the problems be?

Probably nothing you didn't know already. If you're not worried already, don't start now. Just don't forget about the live ends if the jumper cord gets unplugged.

One thing you might not know, is you can have trouble running high-amp loads (compressor?) through a coiled-up cord. The coil will reduce the effective voltage, causing the motor to overheat. If you're running anything stronger than a drill out there, I'd get a shorter cord that will lay straight, otherwise you'd need to uncoil all that extra and stretch it out in the yard.

 

[gasgas17]

Why would you even tell anyone?

Just run the power you need.

Jeez!

Ditto!

 

[er3456df]

I guess you would. But, why would you do that in the first place?

The real reason is for anyone else who might eventually end up in your yard, who might not know that an "unplugged" cord can shock them. Kids, for example. Anything else in the house, you can unplug it and touch the prongs and nothing happens. This one? Different story.

One way to fix this, without spending a bunch, is to make a short pigtail for the shed, with a male connector on it. That way, if the shed gets unplugged, the male prongs aren't on the live side of the connection.

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

Yeah, if using male and female, the female end needs to be on the source and the male on the load and never the opposite.

There is no logical reason that you would ever need to have a male end on the source.

If someone trips over it, disconnects it, and gets shocked, they will sue you. I do not support frivolous lawsuits (spilled hot coffee on yourself? tripped on ice? F off, your own fault...) and yet I would be on the phone with a lawyer before I even left your yard.

 

[C96]

Thanks for letting me know. What would the problems be?

Hi G19Tony, well as mentioned, that jumper cord you made is the biggest hazard. That could easily turn into somebody getting seriously hurt.

Also, never use an extension cord while it is still rolled-up. This creates lots of heat and can actually start melting the insulation of the wire without tripping a breaker. Those cord reels are meant for easy return of the cord and storage. When using them you’re supposed to fully unroll the cord first.

Now, you have used MC Cable for the inside wiring, but you failed to use the correct connectors where the cable terminates at the boxes. It appears you have used flex connectors; this of course is wrong and should be replaced. When you purchased the MC it came with anti-short bushings that are to be used at the termination points. The correct connectors allow for the anti-short bushings to be used as designed and held in place. The way you have it, the armor of the cable is not properly connected to the box, but simply free floating, therefore it’s not secure or grounded properly and the anti-short bushings if used will fall out and not protect the wire from abrasion.

Another thing is they need to be GFCI protected. Can’t tell from the picture, but if the receptacle you are plugging into is GFI (as it should be) then your covered.

If you insist on powering up your shed this way, then at least use something like this at the shed with an approved cover applicable for your location:

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Maybe another option would be to go overhead with your temporary cord. Get it above your heads and there won't be a tripping hazard.

 

[G19Tony]

Hi G19Tony, well as mentioned, that jumper cord you made is the biggest hazard. That could easily turn into somebody getting seriously hurt.

Also, never use an extension cord while it is still rolled-up. This creates lots of heat and can actually start melting the insulation of the wire without tripping a breaker. Those cord reels are meant for easy return of the cord and storage. When using them you’re supposed to fully unroll the cord first.

Now, you have used MC Cable for the inside wiring, but you failed to use the correct connectors where the cable terminates at the boxes. It appears you have used flex connectors; this of course is wrong and should be replaced. When you purchased the MC it came with anti-short bushings that are to be used at the termination points. The correct connectors allow for the anti-short bushings to be used as designed and held in place. The way you have it, the armor of the cable is not properly connected to the box, but simply free floating, therefore it’s not secure or grounded properly and the anti-short bushings if used will fall out and not protect the wire from abrasion.

Another thing is they need to be GFCI protected. Can’t tell from the picture, but if the receptacle you are plugging into is GFI (as it should be) then your covered.

If you insist on powering up your shed this way, then at least use something like this at the shed with an approved cover applicable for your location:

Thanks for the info. I'll get the correct bushings for the switch. I'm plugged into a GCFI outlet from the garage. I just ordered the proper inlet. Thanks for the info.

 

[G19Tony]

Thanks for the advice on fixing the mistakes, friends. I picked up the isolator bushings and a male outlet. I also got a shorter cord. I ordered some more racedeck and put in the floor to match the garage.







I'm very pleased with the LED lights.

 

[barnjunkie]

Nice job on the male plug Tony. Much safer for everyone. You may want to go to Lowe's or HD to get someone to help you with the fittings for the switch handy box. It is really not the correct use of these components.

If you are like me, it will take 3 times before you get it right!

 

[G19Tony]

Nice job on the male plug Tony. Much safer for everyone. You may want to go to Lowe's or HD to get someone to help you with the fittings for the switch handy box. It is really not the correct use of these components.

If you are like me, it will take 3 times before you get it right!

Would you happen to have a photo of the correct usage? Thanks!

 

[G19Tony]

Ready for projects.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

Ready for projects.

Tony:

Tell us a bit about the black canister next to the blast cabinet. It looks like a dust collector. Got any details?

The place look great.

Cheers

Jim

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking fantastic Tony, luv the LED lights.

Thanks for posting.

 

[HSpencer]

If my shed, which is the exact same size as yours, looked that nice I would be very happy. Your doing a great job on organizing it.

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

 

[G19Tony]

Tony:

Tell us a bit about the black canister next to the blast cabinet. It looks like a dust collector. Got any details?

The place look great.

Cheers

Jim

It's the SKAT BLAST dust collector that fits with the cabinet. I've only blasted a couple small items, but it works great. I'm glad I made the investment. Suddenly, I have lots of friends!

 

[cabfiveforty]

What power inlet did you end up using? I've only been able to find the expensive twist - lock ones locally...

 

[G19Tony]

What power inlet did you end up using? I've only been able to find the expensive twist - lock ones locally...

http://www.gordonelectricsupply.com...ocess~search?gclid=CKTqnbyJ78QCFUZafgodKhcAsg

I got mine from Amazon. I couldn't find anything locally either.

 

[cabfiveforty]

Awesome thanks!

 

[J Banning]

Great shed G19Tony!
I'm definitely bookmarking this for when it's time to build my shed.

 

[1953mercury]

You've done a nice job there and have a lot of good resources in a small convenient space. I live on a small Caribbean island in the winter and if you want to see some really scary wiring you should see some of the stuff here. Even the stuff put up by the so called utility co. Mike

 

[Dave88LX]

It's nice to see people take constructive criticism and do good things with it. Good job there!