Installing 240V Service To Your Shop - Price Breakdowns...

[muddstopper]

Same here!

(sorry couldn't resist )

Get a life

 

[MossRoad]

Has anyone priced out running service to the shop as the original topic asks?

 

[Sodo]

I thought my project would cost $1300 and Rock Knocker said maybe half that ( $650 ). Usually when I assess a project at $1300 actual bids come in at $2600.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Turby, what size welder? I got by for years with a 60amp service to my shop. It wasnt until I upsized my welder that I started running into problems. 250amp DC and a couple of fluorescent lights and it will blow a 60amp fuse. I doubt I could run my welder at full capacity off your 50amp service. Kinda of funny, I thought I was upgradeing when I bought the big welder, heck all I did was create more problems. Who was it that told me i needed to learn to tig weld aluminum anyways.

All I am running is a Lincoln Tombstone...
I added a 180 Amp mig later...
I only run the welder or the compressor...
I plug up which ever one I need to run...
I wish dad would have put in a 100 Amp service to the garage but 50 was all he needed for his motor home...
The length of underground wire he ran from the service to the building was around 150 feet give or take...
I am not sure what gauge the electrician ran but I am sure that it was sized for a 50 Amp service...
When funds allow I am going to upgrade the shop...

 

[MossRoad]

I thought my project would cost $1300 and Rock Knocker said maybe half that ( $650 ). Usually when I assess a project at $1300 actual bids come in at $2600.

Kinda like measure once, pay twice! I hear you. There's an art to estimation.

 

[MossRoad]

I thought my project would cost $1300 and Rock Knocker said maybe half that ( $650 ). Usually when I assess a project at $1300 actual bids come in at $2600.

YIKES!!! I looked at the first picture in "your project"..... that's death waiting to happen. You can't tie neutral to ground in a sub-panel. Well, actually, you "can", but you shouldn't! And $1300 for that? Double Yikes! Didn't read past the first post. Hope it turned out for you.

 

[DarkBlack]

YIKES!!! I looked at the first picture in "your project"..... that's death waiting to happen. You can't tie neutral to ground in a sub-panel. Well, actually, you "can", but you shouldn't! And $1300 for that? Double Yikes! Didn't read past the first post. Hope it turned out for you.

While not code per se, how does tying neutral to ground in a sub-panel cause "death waiting to happen"???
Can you give a story situtaion where it would?

 

[MossRoad]

Everyone forgets that the white neutral wire carries just as much current as the black hot wire. And its the current that kills, not the voltage.

If you tie the neutral to ground, you just made that metal electric box a current carrying piece of metal. Now get one hand on that box, like, say, to turn off a breaker, and get another part of your body on something that has a grounded case, like say, the metal case of that 120v welder, and lets see which path the current takes to ground.... spin the wheel of death and take your chances.

 

[MossRoad]

And, if you tie that neutral to ground, not only have you made that box a current carrying conductor, you've just made every other piece of metal in the entire system a current carrying conductor, like metal outlet boxes, that little screw in the center of a duplex outlet, any piece of metal conduit in the system, and that GFCI may not work now, either, so don't count on it doing squat to save you.

By tying the neutral to ground, you have created two paths for current to go back to the main panel on.

Here's a good read on it, with a lot more tact than I have! :laughing: Not meaning to offend anyone. I just don't want someone to fry. That's all.

Why separate the ground bar from the neutral bar in a sub-panel? | ES Grounding Solutions | Electrical Grounding Questions and Answers Blog

 

[DarkBlack]

Everyone forgets that the white neutral wire carries just as much current as the black hot wire. And its the current that kills, not the voltage.

If you tie the neutral to ground, you just made that metal electric box a current carrying piece of metal. Now get one hand on that box, like, say, to turn off a breaker, and get another part of your body on something that has a grounded case, like say, the metal case of that 120v welder, and lets see which path the current takes to ground.... spin the wheel of death and take your chances.

I didn't forget anything.
If you didn't tie it at the sub, it's tied at the service. Either way, it's at the same voltage potential... regarding human danger currents....