Gerry347
Well-known member
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide as much info as possible the first time. I've read a lot and ran a bunch of numbers but I want to make sure I'm doing things right the first time.
I want to run a 70 amp service from my house to my barn and the main panel in the house is 200 amps. From the main panel a 125 amp breaker feeds a sub-panel on the other side of the house that previous owner installed to feed the barn at a later date. The sub-panel services the kitchen (fridge, microwave, dishwasher), 3 garage door openers and some wall plugs. The barn will have a 100 amp main lug panel being fed by a 70 amp breaker in the 125 amp sub-panel.
The power items in the barn will be as follows,,,,,, 8 - 4' LED shop lights, 2 outside LED lights, 1 ceiling fan, Hot Dawg propane heater with an internal fan (it draws 2.7 amps), Craftsman 5.5 hp compressor, band saw, a couple cordless chargers, 4 light switches and a dozen of or wall plugs. I also have a Millermatic 211 welder that can run on 110 or 220 (30 amp breaker needed for 220 and will see very limited use).
Of course everything won't be on at the same time and at most I can see myself using the following items at the same time....
- lights, heater, chargers and welder
- lights, heater chargers and compressor
- lights, heater, chargers and band saw
(I think you get the idea)
From the house to the barn is 104' inside 1 1/4" PVC at 18" underground. I was planning to use #4 copper wire with a #8 ground and then 14-2 or 12-2 wiring in the barn. A grounding rod will be installed outside the barn.
With all this information do you think #4 wire is big enough for my needs or should I step up to #2 wire?? Or am I going too big and should drop down to #6 wire (I doubt it)?? The cost between the 3 is huge so I don't mind saving a few dollars if I can.
Am I doing the right thing here or do I need to tweak my plans a bit??
Thanks in advance for any help you folks can offer.
I want to run a 70 amp service from my house to my barn and the main panel in the house is 200 amps. From the main panel a 125 amp breaker feeds a sub-panel on the other side of the house that previous owner installed to feed the barn at a later date. The sub-panel services the kitchen (fridge, microwave, dishwasher), 3 garage door openers and some wall plugs. The barn will have a 100 amp main lug panel being fed by a 70 amp breaker in the 125 amp sub-panel.
The power items in the barn will be as follows,,,,,, 8 - 4' LED shop lights, 2 outside LED lights, 1 ceiling fan, Hot Dawg propane heater with an internal fan (it draws 2.7 amps), Craftsman 5.5 hp compressor, band saw, a couple cordless chargers, 4 light switches and a dozen of or wall plugs. I also have a Millermatic 211 welder that can run on 110 or 220 (30 amp breaker needed for 220 and will see very limited use).
Of course everything won't be on at the same time and at most I can see myself using the following items at the same time....
- lights, heater, chargers and welder
- lights, heater chargers and compressor
- lights, heater, chargers and band saw
(I think you get the idea)
From the house to the barn is 104' inside 1 1/4" PVC at 18" underground. I was planning to use #4 copper wire with a #8 ground and then 14-2 or 12-2 wiring in the barn. A grounding rod will be installed outside the barn.
With all this information do you think #4 wire is big enough for my needs or should I step up to #2 wire?? Or am I going too big and should drop down to #6 wire (I doubt it)?? The cost between the 3 is huge so I don't mind saving a few dollars if I can.
Am I doing the right thing here or do I need to tweak my plans a bit??
Thanks in advance for any help you folks can offer.
. I had a company give me a quote to run the power wire and they were crazy high so I'm doing it myself. I've done inside wiring before but never ran a feed line between panels so that why I'm asking questions before I start.