Wiring receptacles

[miltstrk]

Wow. If you know enough to bypass code requirements in your area to wire your metal building, you are brave (?) Depends on how much equipment you plan on plugging in and what type of equipment it is.....

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

I didn't know that since I have not opened the lights and looked at the specs. Thanks for the information!

Mdaddyrabbit> "2 circuits for 10 lights"

One circuit is more than enough....... the light fixtures draw about an amp each.

 

[Zeke]

There won't be much difference between a 12 circuit panel and a 20. Get the 20. Good luck rabbit. Don't get scared away.

A good reason to follow this advice is simply to have room in the panel. I'd rather have a half full panel over one that is nearly full any day. Don't scrimp on the feed to the building either. Some day you may upgrade the house panel and want more in the shop. I think your A/C design isn't gonna keep you happy too long.

I live in CA and you're in NC but I've been there.

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

I ran into that same thing in my last shop. I had forgot that. I put all my receptacles in and after I built my counters and added things around the walls I ended up covering some of them up and was unable to use them so I need to do very different this time.

I can tell you that you can never have too many. I just finished a 24x32' build, and ended up with over 40 total receptacles. My other shop is a 20x30', and I kept running into issues with plugs not being in the right place...that won't be a problem in my new shop.

If I were you, I would go ahead and wire in at least 1-2 50a 240v plugs, in case you ever get a larger piece of equipment (welder, plasma torch, etc). As far as the number of receptacles on a circuit, I over did mine. I ran no more than 5x plugs on a single 20a circuit, but could have easily gotten by with more.

 

[James-W]

I have a 30x48x12 all metal building. I will have one 120v 30amp for my small wire welder. Electric hand tools such as skill saw, bench drill etc... I bought 10-8ft fluorescent lights with 4-T8 bulbs per light. I may need more since I don't see as well as I use to. I would love to put a central unit A/C in it later on when I have the money. I am going to come off my main box from my residence which is 75 feet away on a 100 amp breaker to the building that I will have a 125 amp breaker box and another 100 amp breaker for my main throw. Most of the time I will be running a window A/C that is 120v 6 amp draw in summer and maybe a electric hand tools at the same time. I will be the only one using the building.

I am curious, what air conditioner only has a 6 amp draw?

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

I am going to split the building with a wall and use one end for my photography. I have a small portable window unit that uses a small hose that exhaust out the window. I use it now to cool my photo servers which will be in the building.

I am curious, what air conditioner only has a 6 amp draw?

 

[James-W]

I am going to split the building with a wall and use one end for my photography. I have a small portable window unit that uses a small hose that exhaust out the window. I use it now to cool my photo servers which will be in the building.

That's interesting, I had never heard of an air conditioner only drawing 6 amps. I would have thought with a compressor and a fan motor, between the two, the unit would draw more than 6 amps.

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

I will look at the tag on the unit and see what the exact specs are.

That's interesting, I had never heard of an air conditioner only drawing 6 amps. I would have thought with a compressor and a fan motor, between the two, the unit would draw more than 6 amps.

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

http://heatingandairwholesale.com/amana-ap077r-portable-ac-air-conditioner/

This is what I have identical except for mine is 5000 btu

That's interesting, I had never heard of an air conditioner only drawing 6 amps. I would have thought with a compressor and a fan motor, between the two, the unit would draw more than 6 amps.

 

[James-W]

WOW! That's great! I would have thought the current draw to be higher. Apparently the efficiency for air-conditioners has gotten much better in the past few years.

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

Right after I bought the air conditioner I was having some big power bills so I hired an electrician to come and check my house out. When he said that air conditioner was only pulling 6 amp I didn't believe him until he showed me. I am like you, I thought AC's pulled a lot of amperage.

WOW! That's great! I would have thought the current draw to be higher. Apparently the efficiency for air-conditioners has gotten much better in the past few years.

 

[D45]

People are too permit crazy and worried about inspections

Good for you for doing it yourself, its your property!

I couldn't imagine living somewhere that required a permit or inspection for every single plumbing, electrical, shed build, fence build, etc

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

I just had an instant demand water heater installed at my home. I had to buy a wiring permit so I could put an electrical outlet for the ignition; I had to buy a gas piping permit even though the line was already there; I had to buy a plumbing permit for the piping of the water which for the most part was already there. $150.00 in three permits.

I did buy the building permit for this building that was also $150.00

So to sum it up I have $300.00 in permits alone. Yes I will be wiring my building myself and not asking for any permits LOL!

People are too permit crazy and worried about inspections

Good for you for doing it yourself, its your property!

I couldn't imagine living somewhere that required a permit or inspection for every single plumbing, electrical, shed build, fence build, etc

 

[checkthisout]

I just had an instant demand water heater installed at my home. I had to buy a wiring permit so I could put an electrical outlet for the ignition; I had to buy a gas piping permit even though the line was already there; I had to buy a plumbing permit for the piping of the water which for the most part was already there. $150.00 in three permits.

I did buy the building permit for this building that was also $150.00

So to sum it up I have $300.00 in permits alone. Yes I will be wiring my building myself and not asking for any permits LOL!

I've got $3200.00 in permits and I got off easy.

 

[James-W]

Personally, I don't think permits are so much to protect the homeowner as it is to protect everyone around the homeowner. A permit means the job will need to be inspected. What if my neighbor does some natural gas piping without a permit and an inspection and does it wrong and there is a leak and his house blows up and takes part of my house with it? What if my neighbor does some wiring and screws it up and burns his house down and my house starts on fire because the wind blew some sparks over here?

Also, I think insurance companies want you to have any work done on your house to be inspected by qualified people. Getting a permit does not mean you can't do the work yourself, all it means is that it needs to be inspected to be sure it was done correctly.

 

[Zeke]

I just had an instant demand water heater installed at my home. I had to buy a wiring permit so I could put an electrical outlet for the ignition; I had to buy a gas piping permit even though the line was already there; I had to buy a plumbing permit for the piping of the water which for the most part was already there. $150.00 in three permits.

I did buy the building permit for this building that was also $150.00

So to sum it up I have $300.00 in permits alone. Yes I will be wiring my building myself and not asking for any permits LOL!

This thread is still going? So it's about permits now, is it? 300 bucks may see, like a lot to you but it costs me basic permit fees and surcharges about $150 just to begin the discussion. The rest is based on value. If you low ball the value they pull out the book and charge you by the device. Last time IIRC it was $2.50 per electrical device, so much for a panel and one free re-inspection. The next one is like 90 bucks. Typical permits here to build a new home in the city run about 25 grand.

Chew on that.

 

[checkthisout]

This thread is still going? So it's about permits now, is it? 300 bucks may see, like a lot to you but it costs me basic permit fees and surcharges about $150 just to begin the discussion. The rest is based on value. If you low ball the value they pull out the book and charge you by the device. Last time IIRC it was $2.50 per electrical device, so much for a panel and one free re-inspection. The next one is like 90 bucks. Typical permits here to build a new home in the city run about 25 grand.

Chew on that.

We're at $10.00 per device

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

i've been redoing my garage since I moved in. I stand around staring at things alot. Thinking of what should go where. What I might want and how to get what I need where I want it.

Draw up where you think you want your tables, equipment, desks, whatever. Then go from there. If you think you might want a tv someday then add an outlet.

Right now I have 2 outlets over each bench and a few spare ones scattered around. Parts washer, grinder, tv, tool box... You get the point. I'm limiting it to about 5 outlets to one circuit. That way if i'm getting funky there's no problem. Draw it out, take your time. If the buildings unfinished, Half *** start some outlets onto the studs and step back and see how you like it. Then just send the nails home and tie it in.

Just always know where you want to start and end. If you think you're going to change things around then make sure the wiring is easy to get to. Do conduit runs as opposed to romex. Once you get conduit up and in place, it rules.

 

[James-W]

If it were me, I would put certain things on a circuit all by itself. For example, items like a refrigerator, a freezer, or a furnace, should really be on a circuit of their own. I guess the same thinking applies to any item that has a relatively heavy current draw, put it on a circuit of its own. The cost for extra wiring is very minimal when compared to the cost of the building, so why try to pinch a few pennies on the wiring?

 

[PelicanPines]

I wouldn't do any uninspected wiring... Kill one person by accident without the permit will leave you homeless and broke after prison.

 

[machsnell]

As Wylie said alternate circuits and use 12/3 wire so it's one wire to fish and they will be 20 amp and two curcuits

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[ruffryder]

The cost for extra wiring is very minimal when compared to the cost of the building

I don't understand this comment. Why are you worried about the cost of the building?

 

[600SL]

What is the rule of thumb for receptacles? How far apart? How many circuits? I want to do this myself without having to pay for a high dollar permit. Its just a metal building not a home.

30x48 metal building

My high dollar permit in NC was $30. for my 30 x 48 metal building.

I put my receptacles about 8ft apart on 2 120V circuits and 2 240V circuits.
1 dedicated circuit for my welder
1 dedicated circuit for my compressor
1 curcuite for outdoor lights and recepticals
2 circuits for lighting.

I did all the electrical work myself. You can see it in the link below.

 

[600SL]

I don't understand this comment. Why are you worried about the cost of the building?

My electrical cost ~ $7800. That's about 1/3rd the cost of the building and about 10% the cost of the whole project. It adds up quickly. That includes lights outlets, hardware, EMT, boxes and some tools I needed to by.

 

[600SL]

As Wylie said alternate circuits and use 12/3 wire so it's one wire to fish and they will be 20 amp and two curcuits

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Here in NC I was advised by my inspector that if I did that I would have to bridge the two circuit breakers effectively making them one circuit.

 

[sberry]

I wouldn't do any uninspected wiring... Kill one person by accident without the permit will leave you homeless and broke after prison.

Have you ever seen this happen?

 

[James-W]

I don't understand this comment. Why are you worried about the cost of the building?

My point was, let's say the building cost $30,000 for example. Let's say the cost is $100 more for extra wiring to only have 4 outlets per circuit versus having 8 outlets per circuit. When you are talking about a $30,000 building what's an extra $100 in the great scheme of things?

 

[ruffryder]

My point was, let's say the building cost $30,000 for example. Let's say the cost is $100 more for extra wiring to only have 4 outlets per circuit versus having 8 outlets per circuit. When you are talking about a $30,000 building what's an extra $100 in the great scheme of things?

Ok, sorry for the need for an explanation, that makes sense.

 

[checkthisout]

Code means 1 outlet per car space. Is it unsafe if I only put one outlet and violate code?

 

[machsnell]

Here in NC I was advised by my inspector that if I did that I would have to bridge the two circuit breakers effectively making them one circuit.

I was told it was allowed. Shared neutral and ground but two breakers. I learned about if after I ran two 12 2 wires and just alternated them but I would have loved to just run one. Probably not a huge deal but seemed easier.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Bigbandguy]

I just had an instant demand water heater installed at my home. I had to buy a wiring permit so I could put an electrical outlet for the ignition; I had to buy a gas piping permit even though the line was already there; I had to buy a plumbing permit for the piping of the water which for the most part was already there. $150.00 in three permits.

I did buy the building permit for this building that was also $150.00

So to sum it up I have $300.00 in permits alone. Yes I will be wiring my building myself and not asking for any permits LOL!

Cary or Raleigh inside city limits?

 

[log man]

I was told it was allowed. Shared neutral and ground but two breakers. I learned about if after I ran two 12 2 wires and just alternated them but I would have loved to just run one. Probably not a huge deal but seemed easier.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Shared neutral won't work with a GFI circuit though, they now have 12 ga romex with 2 neutrals for that reason.

 

[alfredeneuman]

Shared neutral won't work with a GFI circuit though, they now have 12 ga romex with 2 neutrals for that reason.

It will work if the GFI originates from a 2 pole GFI circuit breaker.

 

[bob_mp]

I have outlets every 3 feet on 8 circuits. I have it wired so that adjacent outlets are always on different circuits so that if I'm working in one area of the shop and have a lot of things plugged in, the load gets distributed across the circuits.

I'd consider getting a bigger panel - one with 40 spaces. It makes life easy when adding circuits later.

 

[Speedy Petey]

I wouldn't do any uninspected wiring... Kill one person by accident without the permit will leave you homeless and broke after prison.

More over-dramatic ********.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

More over-dramatic ********.

Careful,somebody on here will get mad for you using common sense!

 

[Speedy Petey]

Careful,somebody on here will get mad for you using common sense!

I expect it.

 

[Norcal]

I wouldn't do any uninspected wiring... Kill one person by accident without the permit will leave you homeless and broke after prison.

Have you ever seen this happen?

There was a case where a electrician installed a baseboard heater & failed to properly ground it, someone was either hurt or killed & he went to jail, such a situation is almost as rare as hens teeth though.

 

[Mdaddyrabbit]

The building is going to be done to code but not permitted.

 

[PelicanPines]

Have you ever seen this happen?

If it happened to me, I couldn't live with myself... which is why I permit every thing that requires a permit.