Hello all. I am running power to detached shop on a hobby farm in rural Missouri. For the work, permits and inspecions are not required.
Power will come from 200 Amp meter box. Straight run to breaker box will be 130'. Trench will have to be moved over some to avoid corner of double wide. I am figuring 160' wire length from meter, through trench, and up to breaker box. Breaker box has 100 amp main that will accept 1/0 wire.
Will be using 230 volt 50amp lincoln 225 arc welder on occasion for equipment repairs. There will be a 3HP 110v air compressor there also. Other electric items will be drills or circular saws on occasion and in the winter we will have a block heater for the tractor plugged in sometimes.
To figure wire size, can I just add up the amps from all the items that I might be using at the same time, or is it supposed to be rated for the breaker size.
The guy at the local supply store suggested 2-2-4 bury grade cable. Can this be put in conduit?
Voltage at the meter box is 125v. If I have a voltage drop of 10 volts in the wire, does this mean I will have 115v at the shop? Is this enough to keep the motors in the tools happy?
On grounding, can I run a ground wire from the breaker box to a nearby freeze proof water hydrant, or should I still plan on puting in a grounding rod? Should the ground and neutral in the breaker box be bonded?
I know this is a lot of questions, but the more I try to read, the more confused I get.
Thank you for your time.
Kevin
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