Setting up for 220 in my basement...I have a few questions*long*

OK...I am FINALLY ready to bring 220 into my basement. Its a new house and I have allot of space on my box which is in the basement (and in the shop area).

I have 3 tools to bring 220 to and would like to be prepared for any future use if you think thats possible.I have a 2HP Bridgewood DC, 2HP PM60 jointer and my 1.5 HP Delta CS which I want to convert to 220v. I will use the DC with each tool, but never all 3 together. So can I share one CB with the 2 tools and a separate CB for the DC? Would it make sense to drop in a sub panel here? Finally if I do all the wiring fro from outlets back to the box...what is the rule regarding metal conduit? I have exposed rafters and concrete walls. I have 2 20-amp double gang CB's and all the 12/2 wire and outlets I will need...I just want to know what the next step is. I will get an electrician in to do the hook-up...but I want to move this forward this weekend so I can finally get going.CS is 8.6amps DC is 12amps and the jointer is 10amps.

Thanks for taking the time to read this (and for all the other help you guys give).

20 amp circuits for the machines are fine. You can run the 12/2 through all your joists with no problems. Sleeve the NM in conduit where you run it down a concrete wall. There is no problem sharing a circuit for more than 1 240v machine. Use twistlock plugs and receptacles - they are more expensive but give a better connection.

Tim,

Now I want to preface this by stating that I am not an electrician but I do play one on weekends;) That said , yes you can share a single circuit breaker for the jointer and delta. You would just wire two separate outlets, or if the units are movable just unplug one and plug the other in the same receptical. If you think about it it's the same thing.

I can't possibly answer your question about conduit. That's a county/city/state thing regarding use of metal conduit, pvc conduit or exposed romex. Where I am, I can run romex in the floor joists so long as it's not running down a wall, where it could be damaged. A common sence approach would be to emulate the type of wiring already in your home i.e. if you have conduit all over your home then I would match that type of installation. Personally I ran pvc conduit through my shop. No local codes demand metal conduit.

Jim

You might want to use 10 gauge wire instead of 12 gauge, good to 30 amps. You must remember that there is an initial surge current (which I forgot-personal experience) which can be 30% higher than steady state and could trip a breaker. Also putting a sub panel in the basement is a good idea. You can add whenever you need. If you go this route use 6-8 gauge wire.

You should have at least 2 separate 120 V circuits and one 220v circuit.

For romex, it can be used in my area as long it is not exposed, like behind drywall. If exposed you might be able to get by with armoured cable (BX) check your local building codes

Tim, the DC should defnitely be on its own circuit. How you handle the other two tools is up to you, but realistically speaking, the cost to have one circuit for them and to have separate, dedicated circuits is not all that much different...the cost of a breaker pretty much and maybe a little more wire. I do have some circuits with "shared" outlets in my shop for 240v, largely left over from when I was moving things around a lot, etc. Presently, the actual sharing has dropped to none, although there are open outlets on two of the circuits available for convenience.

Tim -

How many openings are left in the box? If 6 (or fewer), recommend put in a sub panel now. On advantage to having a sub panel is you can open the feeder breaker on the main box and power down all your tools. (Leave the light circuit on the main panel.)

Your plan for a dedicated DC circuit is good. The jointer and TS can be on a single circuit. But if you put them on dedicated circuits now, you can share the circuits with new tools that you will but in the future. :) :D :)

I have metal conduit running in my garage/shop. Not hard to run afte a couple of practice bends.

Ted

Tim,
I went thru some of your issues a year ago, and decided on a subpanel. Even though it seemed like there was plenty of space in my main panel, 2 or 3 220 breakers and a handful of singles eat it up fast. I put the subpanel right in the middle of one of the long walls in the shop. It's only 25 feet from the main panel, but it is a lot easier running circuits to the sub than running each circuit that extra 25 feet. How you set it up will depend on your layout. If your main is already right in the middle of the shop, that's good. If you really have lots of empty spaces (like 20 or more) in the main panel, and you don't foresee any major home additions or remodels, that's good. Otherwise, I'd suggest a subpanel. Note that you might need a permit for a subpanel. I did.

About conduit.... Well, you said it's a new house, so this is a good time to get acquainted with your local code enforcement folks. If yours are anything like mine, they will be happy to tell you what you need to do. I think NM thru joists in an unfinished basement space is fine -- usually. Whether it's in the code or not, my code enforcement guy wanted conduit when I told him it was going to be a woodworking shop space.

The other responses are good ideas. But with all due respect, I've always understood that the general rule is that NM shouldn't be run thru conduit. I doubt that a short run from the ceiling down to a wall-mounted box would cause any problem, but might be something to sound out the inspector about.
Lewis

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Originally Posted by Lewis Mills

About conduit.... Well, you said it's a new house, so this is a good time to get acquainted with your local code enforcement folks. If yours are anything like mine, they will be happy to tell you what you need to do. I think NM thru joists in an unfinished basement space is fine -- usually. Whether it's in the code or not, my code enforcement guy wanted conduit when I told him it was going to be a woodworking shop space.

The other responses are good ideas. But with all due respect, I've always understood that the general rule is that NM shouldn't be run thru conduit. I doubt that a short run from the ceiling down to a wall-mounted box would cause any problem, but might be something to sound out the inspector about.
Lewis

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Lewis is correct, the code is very unclear about when NM can and can't be placed in conduit. It say that NM can placed in conduit for protection over "short" runs (no definition of short though), other than that it is really up to the inspector's leanings. I'd call and ask the inspector first.

Put in a subpanel; 50 or 60A should do. I run conduit to my 220V tools and find it fairly easy to reconfigure when I need to; THHN is fairly easy to handle when you get use to it.

[QUOTE]Put in a subpanel; 50 or 60A should do. I run conduit to my 220V tools and find it fairly easy to reconfigure when I need to; THHN is fairly easy to handle when you get use to it.


Ff I put in a sub panel, which is kind of where i am leaning...then I can do all the wiring to the sub panel, and then the electrician just comes into check everything and run one wire to connect the two? Sounds like the easiest way to tackle this project.

Tim,

Is there some reason you wouldn't install the subpanel yourself? It's basically the same as running circuit, just that there are 4 wires not 3.

If you're going to run a sub, run a 60 amp sub. Use NM 6/3, up in the floor joists to feed the panel. You need a "main lug" (sub)panel with isolated ground (neutral) and grounding bars.

You could rough in the wiring to the sub, connect at the sub, do all the branch circuit wiring to the subpanel and then connect the sub to the main if you felt more comfortable doing that. Pull a permit and have it inspected.

FYI, the NEC code section on conduit and NM says that NM must be run in condut when needed for protection. There is no statement that says "short lengths". That's one of the reasons that there are debates about running NM in conduit for longer runs.

Rob

I have an agreement with the wife, anything electrical must be done by a pro. Something to do with the quality of her sleep at night and her not needing anything "else" to worry about( her words :D ) So I will pick up a 60 amp sub panel and it will be mounted about 15' feet or less from the main panel, and all wires will be run to that. I am not sure if I need any permits here in rural vermont. My niece's boyfriend owns his own elctrical company, so i will check with him.

Ask your wife if she'll let you do all the rough-in work. That means hanging the panel, mounting boxes, running wire from the subpanel to the boxes, stapling wire to the wood, etc. You can leave the installation with no wires hooked up and go from there. It's worth a shot.

Oh, I will do all that....its just the last connection that she wants done by a pro. Its a peace of mind thing for her, and who am I to argue. it would be one heck of an "I told you so" if we were out on the street watching the fireman putting out the fire. :eek:

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Originally Posted by Rob Russell

Tim,

FYI, the NEC code section on conduit and NM says that NM must be run in condut when needed for protection. There is no statement that says "short lengths". That's one of the reasons that there are debates about running NM in conduit for longer runs.

Rob

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Technically you are correct, Section 336-6(b) says it must be protected and it doesn't limit the length. One of the problems that sometimes comes into play, is how inspectors like to apply Section 310-15(a)(2) which applies to derating the ampacities of the circuit. The exception to this section says it doesn't apply to conduit that is 10ft long or 10% of the total circuit length, whichever is less. I've seen some inspectors that won't allow NM in conduits over 10 feet long because of this.

Inspectors can seem to be quite irrational at times and I have even had them completely ignore sections of the NEC just because they felt like it. The question then becomes, how long and hard do you want to fight with the inspector? The usual answer is it is best to do it his way and move on.