Archived from the Tools In Action forum (In The Shop). This thread is read-only.
Good Day Crew!
I want to add an Sub-Panel in the WigWag Workshop, looking for advice on hiring an electrician. What do I need to know when seeking out a qualified professional? I know this is a weird request, but I am completely lost on the subject. Can a Sub-Panel even be installed in a residential property? Do I need to reach out to our local power company first? My goal would be to move all my equipment to this Sub-Panel, so I will be able to cut power to the entire workshop. Most of my equipment is 110, but I have been looking at 3 machines that are 220. Also, what can I expect this project will cost, generally speaking.
Thank You in advance for your input,
-Steven
Sub panels are pretty cheap. Yes you can use in resi.
Unless you can pull a homeowners permit, get a licensed sparky to do it. And pull the permit, don’t let them talk you out of it. The inspection will cover your ass.
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Is the workshop in the house or detached building?
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My Workshop is in the basement, located in the same area has the main electrical panel. I am definitely going to hire a sparky, to do the install. Should I obtain the permit first? Should I purchase all parts needed for the job? Or let them supply everything?
Some electricians get mad when they can’t supply the materials and mark them up.
If you hire an electrician, just get him to pull the permit.
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Should be pretty inexpensive
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Depending on your service, a little 60A sub is pretty good for shop tools etc. Unless you need heavy duty welding equipment.
Just make sure you get 2 circuits (minimum) for the bench. I like using a couple of double gang with 2x 20A T-slot receptacles. That way if you pop a breaker you can unplug, move it over and continue. It’s nice to have the ability to run two high amperage tools side by side.
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HiltiWpg wrote:
On 1/20/2018 at 7:22 PM, HiltiWpg said:Depending on your service, a little 60A sub is pretty good for shop tools etc. Unless you need heavy duty welding equipment.
Just make sure you get 2 circuits (minimum) for the bench. I like using a couple of double gang with 2x 20A T-slot receptacles. That way if you pop a breaker you can unplug, move it over and continue. It’s nice to have the ability to run two high amperage tools side by side.
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I ran 2 20 amp circuits in the basement shop I have, and spaced the plugs for each circuit a foot or two apart and then about eight feet to to the next pair and so on down the length of the shop. the other trick I did was use color coding for the plugs, one line had grey plugs in grey plates and the other white plugs in grey plates. makes it easy to tell the vacuum is on one circuit and the tablesaw is on the other. The other trick I went with was to label the plates as to the number in the box, to make resetting breakers and adding or moving outlets easy. Since I made those minor improvements, I haven’t had to reset a breaker.
I use a 4×4 or a double gang box.
I put circuit 1 on the left and circuit 2 on the right. I don’t usually put more than 3-4 receptacles per circuit, that way I know they will be less likely to overload. Sometimes we will change the color, but they are always labeled.
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I had one guy ask for a small sub panel right above the middle of his 16 foot long workbench. The only thing in the sub panel was the breakers for the workbench. Was actually a good idea!
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