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Thread: Looking for advice on new shop electrical

  1. #1

    Looking for advice on new shop electrical

    New member to the forum. I recently moved out of my parents house and purchased a 1940's house on a 1/2 acre lot. The house has a single car attached garage and a double car deattached garage. Woodworking has been a interest of mine for years. During high school I lived in the wood shop and I remember building lots of things with my father while growing up. I already had a small collection of my own tools that I used when living at my parents house so when I bought this house I knew right away I needed my own wood shop. When I bought this house the previos owner was in the process of finishing the single car attached garage. When I looked at the house he had wiring in the garage for lights and plugs but nothing was finished. The garage was fully insulated. Just needed vapor barrier and wall covering. I assumed I would just continue from where he left off and turn this area into a small wood shop for myself. After looking at the previos owners work more closely though I realized he had 12/2 wire ran from the main panel into a sub panel in the attached garage. The black and white wire of the 12/2 wire were both attached to their own 20A breaker and he was using the bare ground wire as the neutral! There was no ground at all in the shop. After seeing that and knowing 12 gauge wire wasnt going to cut it for the power I wanted I gutted everything he had done and ran 8/3 tied to a 40A breaker from the main to a brand new square d sub panel in the shop. He also had seven pot lights installed in the shop. I removed those and installed three 8' T8 lights. I am now in the process of trying to plan my plugs around the shop. I originally was going to wire all my 110V plugs with 12 gauge and have all 20A plugs. But I have tons of 14/2 wire that I pulled out from the shop and would like to use it since I have it. So I am fighting with the idea of doing all 20A plugs or 15A plugs with a few 20A plugs. Right now the only tool I have that requires 20A is my Ridgid table saw. I do plan on adding a dust collector when funds permit and realize that will most likely need a 20A circuit also. I have drawn up a rough idea of how I was going to wire my plugs and would like some advice and input from you guys who have shops already and know what works and what doesnt. Thanks alot.

    Edit- In the picture I planned on spacing outlets approx every 4' around the shop. The majority of my plugs would be 15A seperated onto two circuits. I was going to have four 20A plugs separated over two circuits. I have no need for 220V and am not sure if I ever will.
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    Aaron, welcome to the Creek! I too got started WW watching my dad when I was in my early teens. Actually it was earlier than that when I took apart his table saw when I was only 3 or 4 years old. My first project was a plywood lockable ammo case that I still have in my closet. Don't let that stash of 14 gauge wire rule your design. Over the years you will find plenty of uses for it in areas where a 15 amp circuit is appropriate. Buy a 250' roll of 12-2 and be done with it. The shop, except for lights and maybe a garage door opener really needs 20 amp circuits. A shop your size can probably get by with two 20 amp receptacle circuits. Locate the plugs high enough so a 4 foot sheet of ply resting against the wall won't cover them up. Don't be surprised if you someday end up with some equipment that has a 2 or 3 hp motor requiring a 240 volt circuit, but you can always add that later, the problem being where will you need to locate that 240 volt plug?
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 02-03-2014 at 10:41 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    North-central Minnesota
    Posts
    318
    Aaron, Ole has given you great advice, save the #14 wire for the lights and later projects.

    In a addition to this, the only times you need to install a 20 amp rated receptacle(s) on a 20 amp circuit are (a), if it is a single (not duplex) receptacle installed by itself on the circuit, or (b), if you have a tool or tools that have and require 20 amp rated plugs on them, e.g. neutral blade perpendicular to the hot blade (not common). 15 amp rated receptacles are allowed to be installed on a 20 amp circuit, and are also rated for 20 amp feed-through. Also be sure to install GFCI type receptacles at the first receptacle locations of each circuit, and protect all of the standard downstream receptacles by feeding through those GFCIs.

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