Well the puzzle for me here James is if they used two 30 amp breakers from the house to the garage. 110 +110 is 220 no? How is it reduced back to 110 at the garage if indeed this is the case? Unless the two breakers were not bridged? Why put in two if they weren't going to be as there is no other separate circuit? its just the one wire going out.
stick welder question
- Thread starter arrow
- Start date
- Views: 11362
Well the puzzle for me here James is if they used two 30 amp breakers from the house to the garage. 110 +110 is 220 no? How is it reduced back to 110 at the garage if indeed this is the case? Unless the two breakers were not bridged? Why put in two if they weren't going to be as there is no other separate circuit? its just the one wire going out.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Well unless they are running current on the bare ground wire as if it was a Nuetral wire, I dunno.. Would need to see the installation. Why not spend some money, and have a trustworthy electrician come out and look over the install and advise you.? Your install is somewhat of a mystery. The only way to know for sure is open the boxes and take a look. If you have 220-240 out in the garage, then the only way to get the 110-120 is by using the bare ground wire to pull current as if it was a nuetral wire and that is a no no. So I guess I am puzzled as well. I guess I am also puzzled as to why the sub box leading that feeds the garage is mounted upside down?
:thumbsup:
Its fine not to understand everything but with the questions you are having I would find some help that understood electricity and could help you through it. Not someone to do it for you, if you're wanting to learn but to "learn ya".
I am always more satisfied by a job well done when I've done it and learned a thing or two in the process. A few quick explanations with a panel door open helps explain a good amount that is hard to convey through text. Once your questions are explained, in person with visuals of the panels, I bet you will say "ohh well that's easy to understand"Good luck
BE CAREFULL :2cents:
Willie B
Silver Member
At the utility company's transformer there are two windings. The primary connects to the high voltage power lines running from God knows where. The secondary winding reacts to the magnetic field produced in the primary, it produces a voltage of 240 when measured at both ends of the winding. Because someone famous 130 years ago decided a lower voltage might be useful, the utility transformer secondary is center tapped. As we now have 3 conductors available to run to the house, (two ends and center) from the transformer secondary, (120v from either end of winding to center, or 240v end to end). For a number of reasons it is important to keep all current flow within these three conductors, the center tap is connected to earth at the transformer, its conductor is connected to earth at the house. This center tap connector we call grounded or neutral, is usually identified with white, it only conducts the difference in current between the two "hot" conductors leading from the transformer secondary winding.
At the house you should have two heavy conductors connected to a service disconnect or breaker, this in turn feeds two bus bars like interlocking fingers upon which branch circuit breakers latch. It now sounds like you have 240/120 volts running to your garage. I sense there are code issues, but you may qualify for the "grandfather" exemption. Your two insulated conductors to the garage should connect at house end to a double pole breaker. Your uninsulated conductor (I would tape up each end with white electrical tape) connects to the neutral buss in the house and garage. Any conductors (water pipe etc.) between them disregard this. You need driven ground at garage. Bond this to neutral.
At the house you should have two heavy conductors connected to a service disconnect or breaker, this in turn feeds two bus bars like interlocking fingers upon which branch circuit breakers latch. It now sounds like you have 240/120 volts running to your garage. I sense there are code issues, but you may qualify for the "grandfather" exemption. Your two insulated conductors to the garage should connect at house end to a double pole breaker. Your uninsulated conductor (I would tape up each end with white electrical tape) connects to the neutral buss in the house and garage. Any conductors (water pipe etc.) between them disregard this. You need driven ground at garage. Bond this to neutral.
Willie B
Silver Member
Alternative B: good engine welders are available on Craigslist for less than $1000.00
Willie B
Silver Member
In a number of communication systems an effort is made to be more clear. If I ever make a suggestion to consider for new code it will be a change in the "grounded" and "grounding" terminology. It is confusing to those who don't speak electrician, and even electricians in a noisy environment.
Willie B
Silver Member
One thing that I've never understood is why 120v needs to return via a neutral, and 240v don't?
Does 240v just go off into infinity after being used? :dance1:
Always a complete circuit. 240 goes back to the transformer. As we have two branches able to supply 120, each coming to a neutral buss in a breaker panel, they balance to some degree, the neutral going back to the street carries only imbalance current. A load of 100 amps on one leg and a load of 90 amps on the other will load each neutral at 100 & 90 until they reach a common buss bar, then back to the transformer the neutral carries only 10 amps.
aczlan
Good Morning
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2008
- Messages
- 16,985
- Tractor
- Kubota L3830GST, B7500HST, BX2660. Formerly: Case 480F LL, David Brown 880UE
Can you take a picture with the lid off the box (and possibly a similar one in the garage)? Do both the breakers with green levers go out to the garage?
Aaron Z
muddstopper
Veteran Member
Looking at the panel pic, it would seem that the breaker at the bottom left is a 240v 15amp breaker, so you should have 240v in this breaker panel, unless someone is only using one side of the breaker as a 120v circuit. Are both of 2 green breakers supplying power to your shop?? If so, and you are sure your buried wire has only 2 insulated wires and a bare wire, something is really screwy. Typically, to the best of my knowledge, breakers mounted side by side in a panel are usually on seperate hot legs. If this is the case in your panel then it would seem that whoever wired it is supplying 240v to your shop panel already. I have seen single breakers for 240v before, but they are usually pinned together at the switches so that if one breaker trips, it trips the other breaker as well. Maybe I am looking at this all wrong, but I think it is time you bring in a electrician to actually look at what has been done. Your pics dont jive with what I have seen even jackleg electricians doing.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
yep, time to call in for some help.
