Hello, I am new here, so thanks in advance for any advice! I just moved to a new home which has a large garage about 300 feet away. It did not have electical or gas run to it, so I am in the midst of doing that. Gas is done, now its the electrical. I was able to have an underground construction company drop a 1.5 inch continuous PVC from my home, down to the garage which is just about 300 feet away. I am installing a 100amp subpanel but would be okay with 60 amp service for a few years. My primary use of the garage, is the basics (lights, outlets, window AC). I do plan on doing some woodworking and using chop saws, table saw, etc. I am on a budget and would like some advice on the wire to purchase to run through the conduit? Copper vs Aluminum? Menards has a #2 wire on sale this week and was going to get that, but need a second opinion. Let me know if you have any questions, otherwise I appreciate the advice! Todd

Hey everyone. Thanks for being a part of this forum. I really appreciate all the input from here, so... of course, I have more questions. :) I've tried searching the forum to find definitive answers on a few questions, but I've only come up with a few partials. I assumed that piggybacking on those old threads wasn't the best idea, so I'll cram a few together here. Situation: I'm currently doing a whole-house rewire of my 70yr old home. There are at least 4 generations of work here, and very little of it equates to modern necessity/code (limited service & almost no grounding). Admittedly, I've been over-engineering a bit, but eh... better than pinching pennies or not allowing for greater [future] capacity. I'm looking to sell my home in the next few years. #1- Sealed exterior conduit. Painted steel(cast iron?) w/ single receptacle circuit. Run is bsmt to 2nd fl. 15a breaker, #14 wire, no ground. Circuit intended for window ac unit that pulls about 11-12a. The pipe has exterior access plates, and one splice inside a jbox, as it enters the building. When the unit's compressor kicks on, the whole house dims, slightly. Questions: Is this conduit acceptable, or should I run pvc? Is BX necessary inside the exterior conduit? (bx is currently run from panel to jbox, but I haven't taken apart the piping yet.) I will be replacing with a homerun #12, but I'm not sure romex is acceptable in exterior conduit. Is there a potentially larger problem with the dimming? Or is this likely just due to poor wiring? --Still dims with minimal load on service. 100a Service, which leads me to my next question.... #2- Panel is a mess. (I'm sorting it out, slowly.) Should I upgrade the service panel to 200a? I'll be re-running nearly every circuit, so I'm considering having someone replace the beaker box to handle the potential load & "make it more appealing". With only 2 of us, no elec range, heat/central air, etc, it's fine. I'm just focused on the appeal for the consumer, with the potential usage of *all* bedrooms, appliance upgrades, etc. I've been [unnecessarily] running all new #12, to this same end. #3- Are arc-fault breakers now necessary for new construction? I've heard this is NEC now. --Really not interested in paying $40/breaker, if I don't have to.... #4- A few of the good runs/legs have a smaller gauge (#16?) ground wire. I've been told this is acceptable, although I don't know the limitations (or if it's true). I can save myself some fishing & frustration, if the smaller gauge ground is acceptable under NEC. Thanks again for reading. I know this is a long list of dumb **** here. I really appreciate all input/ideas/reference.