Shop wiring

dlane

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Hi all been a little while, I'm taking a break working on the house figured ied mess around with the shop.
The shop is a boat deep two car garage sheet rocked completely inside.
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There is one 220 50 amp welding outlet , and four 110 outlets, all on one side of shop.
Well that will never work , hate extension cords laying around on ground :cold:.
Pulled the panel cover and the 110 outlets are on a 20 amp breaker with 14ga single strand wired :eek 2:
There is a outside 110 30 amp rv plug that is Romex 12ga on a 20amp breaker that I can get to the wire in the attic , thinking of tying into that with a junction box and 12ga romex across shop attic and dropping a 4 outlet box on other side of shop outside the Sheetrock with metal Conduit also drop another one on back wall by the lathe and another one by the original outlets to have true 20 amp service on three sides of shop .
It has been my understanding that 14ga wire should have 15amp breaker, should I Change the original breaker to 15amp
Also put another 50 amp 220 outlet by the one that's there for the Doall band saw
Anyone know what it would take for drop cord from the ceiling in center of shop close to code.
Any advice much appreciated
Thanks
 
I believe the correct answer is yes on the breaker change due to wire gauge.
 
Sounds like someone went small on the wire size in that building. In general 15 amp can run on #14 wire, however, in practice #12 is usually run, especially in shops.

What you need to consider is how many 15 amp outlets are going to be in use at one time. In my shop I have multiple 15 amp outlets on 20 amp circuits and all are run on #12 wire.

I would not tie in to the RV plug circuit; it's also a bit under wired, #10 is recommended for runs up to 50 feet. The problem there is if that outlet gets put into use AND something is running on anything you add to that circuit that wire could be overloaded. Additions to circuits are best done in the panel so it is clear what the total load on the circuit is.

Are there any open slots in the panel that you could install new breakers for your outlets?

You should also investigate the rating of the beaker supplying the buildings sub panel and also determine if it is properly grounded as well. Many sub panels in separate out buildings do not have their own ground system. When in doubt it's worth checking with a qualified electrician to be sure.


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Ceiling outlets are the bomb for this application.

Before shop we used the finished garage but it only had one or 2 outlets on one wall.

Added sub panel and an attic access drop ladder so we could store things upstairs as well as get in there.

Added lights and outlets then tools plug into ceiling.

Add a hook next to outlet with a loop on the cord or replace cords with twist lock contractor cords.

Rv breaker needs to be 20 amp.

Swap all breakers to match wire size as insurance gets funny if there is a fire.

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Thanks, the RV plug is getting changed to a exterior 2 plug wet box , getting rid of the RV plug.
Have no way to run new wire to panel it's flush mount to Sheetrock, didn't want to break rock and drill top plate. There will only be one or two outlets in use at once , the ground is good coming from the main panel to the sub.
Tq: how high were your ceiling outlets off the floor and what type , gage wire did you use ?.
One in the center Sounds good. Think I have some 12ga extension cord somewhere, should work.
 
How large is your service at the panel? Conduit is nice as you can put your outlets where you need them. Local code may require GFI on your outlets in a garage. I wouldn't be afraid to cut around the panel to access. You could put a surface mount sub-panel right above it and run your extra 50amp circuit and what ever else you wanted in conduit from there, provided you have the capacity you need. Mike
 
8 ft standard height.

We have a workbench island that has cord that goes up to ceiling then outlets in bench.

Box store sell heavy extension cords that make great replacement power cords.

Get one twice or 3 times length needed and cut into lengths.

One plug already attached and most have supply of plugs.

15 amp twist lock are common and not expensive so that is another option and one also could make short drop cord with twist lock into ceiling and cord long enough to reach general area and a bell box or hd female on other end for normal cord to connect.

It is simple and clean for a finished garage.

Lots of storage too.

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Thanks , the shop service is100amp , the 14ga circuit is getting a 15 breaker
Tq , I was thinking you dropped a cord thru the ceiling hanging down a couple feet with outlet on end the ceiling is 8ft kinda hard to plug things into up there
There is probably a gfi code here for a garage , me and them newfangled things don't get along
we'll see.
Mike , I was thinking of putting a 50amp 220 next to the other one tying into that circuit, only one used at a time.
 
Nope...we installed outlet boxes on their own breakers.

Looks like they came that way.

You could use gfi breaker or outlets.

If using twist locks then breaker or first outlet in string is normal.

To get to attic get one of the long drill bits for doing this at the store.

They have long flexible shaft with hole in Web of bit.

Remove something in wall like an opening for switch or your panel then drill through the header.

Climb in attic and tie string or wire to drill bit via hole and pull it back.

If multiple wires going in leave a long messager cable in place to telegraph the wires.

Use one wire to pull next ones in then pull it back to pull next one.

Tie off in place for next time.

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I'm a big fan of overhead retractable cord reels. I have 2 in my shop and one in the garage where our car and truck live. The ones I have have 4 outlets with an LED indicator to see if it has power. They are available at Lowes, Home Depot, Northern Tool and Amazon. Mine are Bayco brand #SL-8904 but there are other brands. Mine are wired to a GFI circuit breaker at the panel. Personally I like GFI breakers rather than the outlets, they seem to be more reliable in the long run.

RetractCord.jpg
 
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