Finally got the shed panel wired and the inspection is Monday

My shop panel installation went through inspection last month, and I had a few takeaways that might help. I used a 60 amp main breaker becuase I didn'm planning on running huge loads in that specific area, and it seemed plenty for my tools. The biggest hurdle for me wasn't the wiring itself, but getting the main service connection routed properly through the concrete slab. I found that using 3/4 inch conduit gave me enough clearance to get the main cables to the enclosure without having to pull them through too many tight bends.

I followed a similar logic regarding the neutral and ground wires. Keeping the neutral bar isolated from the ground bar was critical. I noticed that the enclosure I chose came with seprate bus bars for each purpose, wich made the job much cleaner than trying to separate it myself. I spent a good hour just double checking the torque on every single lug connection once it was all wired up. Also, when I went to do the initial power up test, I made sure the main disconnect at the service entry was completely locked out and the meter was zeroed before I started touching the internal connections. It's a process that makes you paranoid, but it prevents serious headaches during testing.

When I was setting up my shop panel last year, I noticed the original poster running a 100 amp breaker, but I found myself struggling with that decision. My shed is primarily for woodworking, so I don't run the kind of high draw industrial equipment that necessitates a massive service. I ended up going with a 50 amp main, which felt much more appropriate for the actual usage in the space. I found that over-spec'ing the main breaker just complicates the labor and requires more expensive conduit and breakers than neccesary. When I finished the panel, I did a quick load calculation for my tools, factoring in the dust collection setup and the air compressor. It showed that 50 amps was plenty for my needs. If I had gone to 100, I worried about just having expensive empty capacity. For the overall enclosure itself, I used a metal box, like a Southwire, and made sure the bus bars were properly torqued to the terminals. It's not just about the amperage, either; the integrity of the connection points is crucial for the inspector to sign off on the work. Good luck with your inspection on Monday.

The 7 foot spacing on your rods is good, but heads up that some inspectors around here want to see the actual numbers on paper. Mine asked for a load breakdown of everything I planned to run in the garage before he'd sign off. Took me ten minutes to sketch it out, washer sized loads at 125% for anything that runs continuous, and he was happy.

Also did you photograph everything before you close it up? When mine got tagged I had to open a corner of the drywall back up and having those pics of the connections saved me from cutting a whole new access panel.