electric in my barn.....need help

[Maxcustody]

Work is progressing nicely. Power in from main, across to the barn. 20 space box put up today. Continuing work on all the outlets. I ordered 2 LED floods, one for each end. Also 6 T8 LED 48 inch for inside lighting. Scheduled to be here next Thursday. I will take some pics tomorrow of the progress.

 

[Argonne]

Sounds like you are pretty far along, so this may be too late to be any help, but I just finished wiring my 30x72x12 shop a month ago. Two things worked out really well for me. First, my main area lighting consists of 18 common brood lamps hanging by their cords from furring strips screwed perpendicularly to the joists. They are powered by a single line of outlets mounted at the same height running down the center of the building. Those brood lamps were under $8 each, and the concept is working out great.

I got some 170w equivalent cfl bulbs off amazon for them which has turned out to be quite adequate.

The other cool thing is that I mounted Leviton occupancy sensor switches to power my 2 ceiling light circuits. I do not use them to turn the lights on, I optioned them as "vacancy sensors" to turn the lights OFF if they detect no motion for 30 minutes, and they work great. No more sitting bolt upright in bed wondering if I left the shop lights on.

Here's a pic from just after the concrete went down.

 

[Maxcustody]

Sounds like you are pretty far along, so this may be too late to be any help, but I just finished wiring my 30x72x12 shop a month ago. Two things worked out really well for me. First, my main area lighting consists of 18 common brood lamps hanging by their cords from furring strips screwed perpendicularly to the joists. They are powered by a single line of outlets mounted at the same height running down the center of the building. Those brood lamps were under $8 each, and the concept is working out great.

I got some 170w equivalent cfl bulbs off amazon for them which has turned out to be quite adequate.

The other cool thing is that I mounted Leviton occupancy sensor switches to power my 2 ceiling light circuits. I do not use them to turn the lights on, I optioned them as "vacancy sensors" to turn the lights OFF if they detect no motion for 30 minutes, and they work great. No more sitting bolt upright in bed wondering if I left the shop lights on.

Here's a pic from just after the concrete went down.

View attachment 483896

Looks great. I love the idea of turning off after no activity.....

 

[PAGUY]

I have a motion detector light on the outside of the back of my house that lights up the front of the garage and sides. Good for lighting up the way to the house when set at 4 minutes. I also have one on the inside of the garage that comes on when the garage door opens so it is easier to back into the garage and as a security light if someone were to be in the garage during the night. The only trouble I have with them both is that sometimes during lightning storms with thunder they have a tendency to turn on and stay lit. I have to turn them off manually at switch to reset them.

 

[Maxcustody]

Here are some pics of what has been done so far.....

 

[Maxcustody]

Some more...

 

[DieselBound]

When my shop/garage goes up I'm going to have a dusk-to-dawn security light on it (get rid of an existing one that's next to the house on a pole). There's one that also has a motion sensor on it such that the light output will bump up when detecting motion: wouldn't be as stark as something that's only a motion sensor light (darkness to bright light). You can maintain a lower light level as a security light and then get more light if you walk/drive up to the building. I'd never heard of such a thing until lately. Thought it worth mentioning in case it's of any use/interest to others.

Any need for backup power? Might want to have something wired in for that. Those with lower budgets might consider using "interlock kits" (that's what I'll be doing for my house and other buildings).

I wonder whether buckanddeere was meaning an external hookup for say an RV? I'll likely put in such a receptacle: had some folks visit this past summer and I had nothing for them:ashamed:

My electrician has me work with him. It's a great way to learn stuff! (since I last worked with him I've learned a lot on my own- have installed a fair amount of stuff in my out buildings).

ultrarunner, thanks for your comment on the pull-downs. I've really been thinking of going with those.

 

[buickanddeere]

[QUOTE

Any need for backup power? Might want to have something wired in for that. Those with lower budgets might consider using "interlock kits" (that's what I'll be doing for my house and other buildings).

I wonder whether buckanddeere was meaning an external hookup for say an RV? I'll likely put in such a receptacle: had some folks visit this past summer and I had nothing for them:ashamed:[/QUOTE]

That was exactly what I was thinking. You were the only person alert enough to pickup the topic.

 

[Maxcustody]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. You guys are a great resource. I saw on another topic a different option for a garage door opener I was not aware of....anyone have these or have used them. They look great.
It is a liftmaster side door jackshaft opener.
Elite Series 85 | Garage Door Openers | LiftMaster

 

[EddieWalker]

I think having five outlets on each sidewall is nice, but I would decide where you work bench is going to be and add a few extra outlets there. My workbench consists of a ten foot metal bench, a two foot lower bench for my chop saw so when I'm cutting wood, it's at the same height as the other benches, and then another 8 foot wood bench. I have an outlet behind my chop saw, two for the 8 foot table and three for the ten foot table. I also have my welder outlet just inside my roll up door, next to the metal table so I can weld on the metal table, or outside. I also have a dedicated outlet just for my air compressor under my metal table.

All my overhead lights are on their own breaker. I spaced them out evening, but plan on redoing it so that I have the ones closest to my work bench, actually over my work bench. Most of the time it's fine, but sometimes I just need more light and the shadow of my body standing there annoys me.

At least one outside outlet on every outside wall. From the look of your barn, it's just a matter of time until you add on with at least a lean to roof off of that tall wall side of the building. I would run a dedicated line to that wall and leave it in a junction box until you add on.

Another thing to consider is that you just never know what you will add in the future around the outside of your barn. For me, it's been a tack room/horse stall on one side about a hundred feet away, and then two chicken coops on the other side 30 and 100 feet away. I also added street lights to my driveway. Way back when I built my shop, I ran four dedicated 12/2 lines to a large junction box on the side of my building and just left them in there. I've now used them all up on projects I never anticipated or thought of. But now I know that I will eventually be building a green house out in the garden and will need another line for lights in there. Think of what you might need ten years from now, or even 20 years. It goes fast and it's easy to have the wire there to use and not need it, then to run it with everything in the way.