Wiring my shed. 30 feet from my homes entrance panel. All I need is 5 outlets and 5 lights. No 240a ever. I have room for 2/30a breakers in entrance panel. My plan is to put a 30a breaker in the entrance panel, feeding a 10/3 conductor to a two place subpanel in my shed. Then put 2/15a breakers in that subpanel. One feeding my outlets, and one the light fixtures.
my question, is this Ok? Is it overkill? Is it Underkill?

 

Why not just go with a double pole 15 or 20 amp breaker in your service panel with 14/3 or 12/3 feeding the shed? Use a DPST switch as a disconnect and feed your two circuits. With a panel you will need GEC with grounding rods.

 

If doing the 30A feed to the shed using a subpanel, as Astuff said you'll need a grounding electrode (rods). If going that route make the outlet circuit 20A. Also the 30A feed using 10/3 will need to be buried 18" if in conduit or 24" if direct bury. By using 10/3 you will have 240V available. To make sure we are on the same sheet of music, 10/3 is 4 conductors, 2 phase conductors, 1 neutral and 1 ground.

 

Goid suggestions. Turns out I only have room in my entrance panel for 2 single pole breakers. One across from the other at the bottom of the panel.
is it possible to split a 10/3 conductor between two opposing breakers? I've never seen that done before so seems like a long shot. I also have 100 feet of 12/2 in a shelf. Any chance of using that to feed my shed?

 

In almost all cases circuit breakers installed "across" from each other are on the same "hot" bus and therefore cannot be used for a 240 volt (or multi-wire branch circuit) feed. What you MAY be able to do is to move the CB above one or the other of the spare slots to the other side of the panel and thereby have two spaces on different buses.

Unless that 12-2 cable you have is listed as type UF (underground feeder) you may NOT use it outside or underground, even if you place it in conduit.

 

A multiwire circuit requires a double pole breaker or two single pole breakers with a handle tie. So that eliminates the use of two single breakers across the panel from each other.

 

Looks like I need to run 2 separate conductors from 2 separate 20a breakers. 20a minimum is code here for outbuildings. I'd like to have my 5 lights and 5 outlets on separate circuits if possible without running 2 separate conductors from my main panel. I really don' want the problem of adding 2 20a breakers and running 2 separate 12/2 conductors.

 

If you move a single pole breaker you will have space for the two pole bresker. You could then run two hits and a neutral and ground.

 

NEC does not allow 2 separate circuits to feed a detached structure. So two 12/2 on two separate breakers is a no no.

 

A multiwire circuit is considered a single circuit and is allowed per NEC 225.30 (2014) The two hots need to be on opposite legs in the panel.

 

My entrance panel is a 200a Cutler-Hammer 0f 2002 vintage. The 2 available spaces are able to accept tandem breakers. Not sure if that's acceptable or not. I've already fixed 2 double taps with tandems the previous homeowner did.

 

I don't believe Eaton (Cutler Hammer) has a tandem double pole breaker, only single pole tandems.. Eaton does have quad double pole, but that uses two full spaces next to each other.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the quad pole. By removing a single pole, I'm able to have space for the quad. Feeding the existing circuit, and allowing for my feed to the shed. Sounds like my best bet.

 

Sure..... if you only want a single 120v 20A circuit out there.

 

If the 12-2 is yellow it is NM-B cable and it cannot be used underground or outside. If it is UF-B (normally gray) it can be used underground or outside.