Wiring for future 220V

[Zogman]

I'm running the electrical in my garage and I have a 30 amp run going in the ceiling to all 4 bays for 1 lift that is going in for sure and then the other 3 bays will have it waiting there if I ever get rich and decide to put in more lifts. I also want to run 220V on the perimeter of the building and have 4 outlets for welders & such for the future.

I was thinking of running 8/3 wire for 40 amp service. Do any of you out there think that 8/3 won't be adequate for most any garage type tools & accessories that I may want to use in the future? I looked at basic Lincoln welders and they draw 20 amps. I just want to be ready for anything that I may want to use in the future. I don't care to spend the extra $$$ for 6/3 wire if I won't need it.

Any thoughts or experience would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[patrickoneal]

I'm running the electrical in my garage and I have a 30 amp run going in the ceiling to all 4 bays for 1 lift that is going in for sure and then the other 3 bays will have it waiting there if I ever get rich and decide to put in more lifts. I also want to run 220V on the perimeter of the building and have 4 outlets for welders & such for the future.

I was thinking of running 8/3 wire for 40 amp service. Do any of you out there think that 8/3 won't be adequate for most any garage type tools & accessories that I may want to use in the future? I looked at basic Lincoln welders and they draw 20 amps. I just want to be ready for anything that I may want to use in the future. I don't care to spend the extra $$$ for 6/3 wire if I won't need it.

Any thoughts or experience would be helpful.

Thanks

40 amps may not be adequate. You've got a decent lighting load from what I saw in your other thread. If all you're going to run are the lights, and one tool at a time, it might do, but those exterior 1500w fixtures you've got eat up quite a bit too.

If you add a heater or an air conditioner later, try to run the lights, and an air compressor or a welder, I don't think 40 is enough.

No need to overkill it though... some people put a 100 amp service and never use it. You're not going to run a drill, grinder, circular saw, welder, etc., all at one time.

ETA: definitely pull your wire in oversized conduit, so you can upgrade easily if you ever need to. I used some large NM cable from my panel to the crawlspace to a junction box on the crawlspace wall, then transitioned to individual THHN conductors in conduit to the garage. My garage is fairly close to my house, so I was able to get my THHN off the scrap pile at work

 

[Zogman]

Thanks Patrick. I have a 150 amp service and you are right, I don't ever think I'll be running more than 1 220V tool at once. This is a stick built garage and I'm drilling in the studs to feed the wire so I am not going to run conduit. Basic Romex and the walls will be sheet rocked in.

 

[patrickoneal]

Thanks Patrick. I have a 150 amp service and you are right, I don't ever think I'll be running more than 1 220V tool at once. This is a stick built garage and I'm drilling in the studs to feed the wire so I am not going to run conduit. Basic Romex and the walls will be sheet rocked in.

This is a detached garage? I meant to pull your conductors from the house panel to the garage subpanel in conduit underground, up to the exterior wall of the garage. Then, if you find down the road the feeder isn't big enough, you can easily upgrade it.

 

[James-W]

I have a 200 amp service in my garage. I seriously doubt I will ever actually need that much power, but it is there in case I ever do need it. Normally I am working alone, or with my wife and/or oldest daughter. They like to do little projects in the garage and we have a good time working together.

But the thing is, there are times when I am working on something and some buddies show up with projects of their own that they want to work on. While I am using my table saw, they are using my stick welder, angle grinder, and maybe even the lathe or the mill. The lights are on, the air-conditioning may be running, and who knows what else is running. Obviously, this is a rare occurrence, but situations like this do happen on occasion, especially in the Summer months.

My point is, having more power than you need is not necessarily a bad thing. I firmly believe that having more power than you need for the shop is infinitely better than not having enough power. You only pay for the power you use so after the initial install of the service the cost is the same regardless of how much power is available.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I have a 200 amp service in my garage. I seriously doubt I will ever actually need that much power, but it is there in case I ever do need it. Normally I am working alone, or with my wife and/or oldest daughter. They like to do little projects in the garage and we have a good time working together.

But the thing is, there are times when I am working on something and some buddies show up with projects of their own that they want to work on. While I am using my table saw, they are using my stick welder, angle grinder, and maybe even the lathe or the mill. The lights are on, the air-conditioning may be running, and who knows what else is running. Obviously, this is a rare occurrence, but situations like this do happen on occasion, especially in the Summer months.

My point is, having more power than you need is not necessarily a bad thing. I firmly believe that having more power than you need for the shop is infinitely better than not having enough power. You only pay for the power you use so after the initial install of the service the cost is the same regardless of how much power is available.

 

[Zogman]

Yes Patrick, detached garage that is about 150' away from the house. I have 1/0 wire underground to the sub-panel in the garage. That chit was not cheap. I could only pull 150 amps from the house. Just trying to figure out the best wire to plumb the garage with. Are there any tools out there that draw 50 amps aside from a stick welder??

 

[patrickoneal]

Yes Patrick, detached garage that is about 150' away from the house. I have 1/0 wire underground to the sub-panel in the garage. That chit was not cheap. I could only pull 150 amps from the house. Just trying to figure out the best wire to plumb the garage with. Are there any tools out there that draw 50 amps aside from a stick welder??

I see, I misunderstood you. I thought the house panel was 150A and you hadn't pulled anything to the garage yet.

I'd just put in plenty of separate 20A circuits for standard receptacles, and put the big stuff where you'll need it, especially if you're drywalling it. I don't know of anything else I might use in a garage that would require a 50A circuit besides a welder. I would run a 240V circuit for an air compressor, and maybe add an A/C disconnect outdoors if you plan to add a mini-split or split system later.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Yes Patrick, detached garage that is about 150' away from the house. I have 1/0 wire underground to the sub-panel in the garage. That chit was not cheap. I could only pull 150 amps from the house. Just trying to figure out the best wire to plumb the garage with. Are there any tools out there that draw 50 amps aside from a stick welder??

I hope thats CU wire and not AL...

Also, a compressor over 3HP needs to be hardwired(no receptacles)...

If it were my shop, i would put in conduit that way if i ever wanted to change things around, i could just pull new wire!

 

[Zogman]

After reading the replies. I think I'll wait until the drywall is up and then lay some conduit and run the 220V in conduit at the top of the wall. This will give me some flexibility for that stuff.

Yes Wylie it is all Copper wire and the compressor and my lift will be hard wired.

Thanks all.

 

[sberry]

A number 8 cable will feed any factory cord 50A welder. In fact in a home garage a 10 will safely do it.