My new home - electrical questions


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Old 03-11-17, 10:19 AM
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My new home - electrical questions

Hi everyone I bought a house last year and we have seen slowly fixing I think up. I have a 100amp service panel and next to it is a sub panel that powers the finished basement. The sub panel is being fed by a 60 amp breaker. In the garage I have a second sub panel that is being fed of the same 60amp for the basement. I have checked the wire size going to the basement and it's a12g so I know it kind of small. I will be running 8 or 6g depending on what I hear from you guys here. The panel in the garage has two breakers one 15amp and one 20amp. What I need is a 220v 30amp to run my welders. Would I be able to run the 220v off of the 60amp or would I need to run it off the 100amp that is in the main panel. The sub panel in the garage only has room for the two breakers it has now so I would need to buy a new panel. Would running off the 100amp be safer then running off the 60amp. I worry that the 60amp would be over loaded. I plan on in the future to have a 200amp service being put in I just can't afford to have a electrician come in and do that now

Thanks for the help in advance.
Paul Wong
 
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Old 03-11-17, 10:29 AM
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The sub panel is being fed by a 60 amp breaker.... size going to the basement and it's a12g
As you surmised a fire waiting to happen. It needs to be #6 and by current code four wires with an isolated neutral and bonded ground.
What I need is a 220v 30amp to run my welders. Would I be able to run the 220v off of the 60amp or would I need to run it off the 100amp that is in the main panel.
Nominal voltage is 240 not 220. You would need a 4-wire feed to the garage. Your other questions depends on a what the loads are in the basement and how many amps the welder and any other equipment such as compressor requires. Depending on these answers you may need to replace your 100 amp service with a 200 amp service especially if you use electric for heat, hot water, and cooking.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 10:39 AM
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Welcome to the forums!

If the sub panel is fed with a 60 amp breaker in the main panel, the wire feeding it should be #6 copper. It should be fed with two hots, one neutral, and a grounding path. This could be a wire or a metallic raceway. If any of this is not correct this should be fixed first.

The feeder going to the garage could be fed off the sub panel, or the main panel. It should not be fed off the same breaker by connecting two wires (the sub panel feeder and the garage feeder) to the same lug on the 60 amp breaker. This is called double lugging and is not allowed. The way to do it properly is to install a separate breaker for the garage feeder (ideal) , or to splice the sub panel and garage wires together and then connect another short piece of wire to the breaker. (pigtail) You should NEVER connect any wires to the main feeders coming into the main panel.

The garage feeder wires needs to be sized to the size breaker protecting the wires. Again, if it is 60 amps it will need to be #6 copper. What you have in the garage now for a feed will determine if you you can do. If you only have 2 wires (hot and neutral) you can only have 120 volts or 240 volts, not both. You would need 120 volts to run lights and smaller power tools and 240 volts for your welders, so really you need 4 wires, hot, hot, neutral, ground.

I highly doubt you will need more power then 60 amps to either the basement, or garage, unless your house is quite large or have a lot of electric appliances. Let us know what you have in wiring, and we can go from there.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 11:07 AM
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The 60amp runs the cooktop and stove. I have a gas furnace and a gas water heater. The 60amp that goes to the sub in the basement has a 6g wire then the wire is 12 going to the garage sub.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 11:52 AM
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The 60amp that goes to the sub in the basement has a 6g wire then the wire is 12 going to the garage sub.
A lot better than what you originally wrote.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 11:55 AM
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I have a black a red and a blue neutral going to the garage. When I run the new wires do I need 3 or 4 wires. The sub in the garage has a neutral and a ground. The ground goes to a copper grounding rod.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 12:21 PM
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I have a black a red and a blue neutral going to the garage.
Wrong. Neutral must be white or gray if #6 or smaller.
When I run the new wires do I need 3 or 4 wires.
As I previously wrote you must have four wires. The neutral bar is isolated and the ground bar bonded. Is this an attached or detached garage? If detached are the current wires in PVC conduit? If so what size conduit?
 
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Old 03-11-17, 12:35 PM
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It is detached and yes it's in pvc. The pvc looks to be 1.5 inch pvc.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 01:04 PM
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The pvc looks to be 1.5 inch pvc
Then you should be able to easily pull two black, one white #6 THWN (copper) and one #10 green THWN.
 
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Old 03-11-17, 01:53 PM
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easily pull two black
Small side note: Hots can be any color other then white (with or without stripes), gray, green (with or without stripes) or bare.
 
 

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