Underground power to the shop

[bremen68]

Howdy all. Looking for some info on running a power tap from my house to the shop and garage.

I'm planning on running a 220 drop from the house box to the shop and then on to the garage underground. Probably 25 feet between the house and the shop, and then 40 or so to the garage.

What advise, hints, shortcuts, gauge wire, conduit suggestions do you have?

I realize I'll probably have to run anything through my local inspector before completing it. I'm in Pennsylvania.

If you happened to catch an earlier post of mine I have a 20" planner and several other items that are gonna be needin power moving to my place soon.

Thanks....

[Modat22]

How many amps feed do you plan to use?

After you get your trench dug, I recommend pulling the wire in the conduit before you put it in the ground, #3 aluminum and # 6 copper is kinda hard to pull when its in the ground. If you don't do this at least put the largest pull string in the conduit before burial.

Find out what your grounding requirements are for your area. Chances are you will be needing to install a ground rod at your building. This actually is nice since you won't have to pull a separate ground from your house so 1 less wire to buy. Oversize your electrical feeder to your shop and size the breaker in your outside box for the over sized wire.

[DJ Delorie]

The breaker in the *house* should be sized for the feeder wire. The breaker in the *shop* should be sized for the *shop* wiring.

I.e.:

100 amp breaker in house, feeds...

wire capable of carrying 100 amps, connected to...

60 amp breaker in (or outside depending on code) shop, which protects...

circuit breaker panel box rated for 60 amps, which contains...

20 amp breaker, connected to...

wire/receptacle rated for 20 amps.

Breakers are always sized for the things they can disconnect power from, not the things between them and the power company.

(All the more reason why *my* advice is to visit the inspector

*before* starting anything)

[mike hide]

I ran 3 electrical wires in one conduit and a cable [for TV]and phonelines in another conduit a water line in a separate conduit and a soft copper line for natural gas . All were buried 18" below ground and the total length was upward of 100yards. as the previous poster mentioned it is hard to pull wires just use plenty of electrical " soap" in the conduits. I got the wire from HD they are not susceptical to water damage so even if the conduit gets moisture in it it still should be ok..Mine have been in the ground for nearly 10 years with out any problems .

I installed a 100 watt panel in the shop and did most of the electrcs which were approved by the local qualified electrician.. Just remember you will need some dedicated circuits. Mine were the DC system and the AC units .these systems might well be operational when other machines are working . If you leave you compressor on all the time then this unit might also need to be on a dedicated circuit as it can kick in at any time . most other machines will be operated alone even if you are using two machines in conjunction with each other as an individual operator one will always be unloaded. being a bad individual I have included a list of machines I use with their power reqirements and circuit breaker selections .you will notice there are also breakers for wall outlets [every 4 feet] and overhead 220 and 110 volt out lets which are never used .......mjh.

List shown on alt binaries pictures woodworking

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[Upscale]

You mean 100 amp I presume.

[Upscale]

You mean 100 amp I presume.

[mike hide]

[BigT]

I built a new shop out back last summer and ran the electrical underground.

I used "0" size direct burial copper cable. That size is good for over 100 amps. I put a 100 amp breaker in the house panel. I put a breaker panel in the shop that had space for 10 or 12 breakers (from HD). I did not use conduit. Code here required 24" deep in the ground for direct burial. I rented a ditcher from the local rental place, worked great. I put each wall on a different circuit with a 20 amp gfci and added two 220 circuits for table saw and dust collector. Lights were on a seperate circuit also. So far everyting is working well. The "0" size cable cost almost $400.

Tom