Installing new circuits at main circuit breaker panel - DIY? or hire electrician?

[Wakahisa Shinta]

I am no electrician, but I am pretty handy. I want to add two new 15-amp circuits to the existing main circuit breaker panel. These two circuits will feed two backyard outlets, meant to provide electricity for a transformer (probably 300 W max) for low voltage lights. I've already laid 10-3 UF wires (2 feet deep, in conduit), terminated outside, below where the main circuit breaker panel is located. This is a picture of the panel prior to sheet rock.

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There is a small square metal gang box below the main panel. It's empty. There isn't any wire terminating in it or come out of it. What is it for? Can it be used to get the external wires to inside the main panel?

BTW, this post is legit for the "shop" section because the main panel is in the wall of my one-car-garage shop. It is in the wall of my shop!

[Silas Smith]

It is super easy to install a couple of breakers. It might take 20-30 min. The first time is intimidating but once you do it you think "is that it?" The electrician might cost $200 or more, money better spent on tools.

[Ole Anderson]

Safety rule when working near hot wires: keep one hand in your pocket

[Steve Kinnaird]

Are you going to use GFCI Outlets?

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Steve, I plan on either using GFCI circuit breaker or GFCI outlet. The GFCI outlet in the backyard termination point would be simpler to install.

The challenge for me is how to neatly get the wires through the wall and into the panel. I would like to make it looks as neat as possible outside.

[Rick Moyer]

Your small square metal box below the panel, I believe, is called a courtesy box. The electrician probably put it there when they installed the panel to be used for whatever. No reason I see why you couldn't use it for your purposes.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Because you wall covering is sheet rock, why not open it up? It came in pieces and can be easily repaired after wiring is done.

[Tom Deutsch]

I second Ole's advice: Once you pull the front cover off the panel and start shoving wire ends into the box, work with one hand.
Also - if you ever have to do this again - you probably only need to bury the conduit 8" deep.

[Malcolm McLeod]

... work with one hand.

I always get conflicted about which hand I'd like to lose. So, I just kill the main breaker. Fewer sparks, and using both hands make the job go much faster.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I always get conflicted about which hand I'd like to lose. So, I just kill the main breaker. Fewer sparks, and using both hands make the job go much faster.

Yeah, my thought as well. I just put on a head lamp so that I can see and warn my wife that we'll need to be resetting our clocks/etc. I'm too much of a klutz to take such a risk.

Wiring a circuit is very easy. The most important part is making sure you're using the right sized wire and breaker.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Here's a somewhat related question : If I do my own electrical work and miss doing by code somewhere along the way, and my house burns down, is the insurance company relieved from paying my claim ?

[Ole Anderson]

I always get conflicted about which hand I'd like to lose. So, I just kill the main breaker. Fewer sparks, and using both hands make the job go much faster.

That works if you have a window nearby or a battery mounted headlamp in order to see in the dark.

[Jim Dwight]

Many people worry about insurance consequences of doing their own work on their house. I do not. I've seen the work of "professionals" and I know I can do as well or better. But if you cannot, do not do the work. The basic legal principal involved is you do not have the right to ask somebody else to cover the loss of doing something to yourself. But insurance does not always work that way. When you wreck you own car, they cover it even if it is your mistake. If you want to know if there is an exclusion in your homeowners for work you do you should look. But you only really need to if you are unsure you are capable of doing the work correctly.

You could terminate in the box shown if you like. One reason to do so would be to add a GFCI outlet. You could also just bring the wire straight to the breaker box. But in that case you would need a GFCI breaker which is more expensive. I get a little nervous working in the panel but that is probably a good thing. You have to pull the cover exposing the two bars which have 220V between them. Grabbing one with each hand would be a very bad thing to do. But the actual process of adding the circuit is not inherently very risky. You run the circuit and connect the wires to the breaker before snapping it into position. When you snap it onto the bar, you are touching only the outside of the case of the breaker which is thoroughly insulated. You do have to route the ground and neutral wire to those buses and make the terminations. By now, there may be a number of wires in the way but it still isn't very hard. Leave yourself plenty of wire and don't cut it until you have it routed. I did the finish electrical for an addition last year including making all the terminations at the breaker box including for the new heat pump. I fretted over the heat pump a little since I'd never done it before. But I put in the outside cutout, ran the flexible conduit and terminated the wires including at the air handler and compressor. Adding the lighting and outlet circuits was easier. Putting in ceiling fan lights and outlets takes time but is easy. Later I ran the wires in my shop. To me, that is harder work. I also paid the electrician to put in a larger breaker panel to give me more space. That was a lot of work in the panel and I liked their price for that. It's nice to pick and choose what you pay somebody to do. Putting in the circuits you describe would definitely go into my "do it yourself" list. But the first time for anything I get a little more nervous. Now that I've snapped breakers in a few times, I don't worry much. A new circuit is the same process as replacing a bad breaker. If you've done that, you should be fine.

[Tom Deutsch]

I always get conflicted about which hand I'd like to lose. So, I just kill the main breaker. Fewer sparks, and using both hands make the job go much faster.

The point of using one hand (at a time) isn't so that only one hand gets shocked. It's so that your two hands don't touch two somethings and complete a circuit through your one chest. It's also great technique that keeps you focused and methodical. Turning off the "main" circuit does decrease the risk slightly (depends on how much of your bus bars are explosed), but unless you've spent the time to set up a nice light source, it also tends to make darkness happen. That, and the attachment points of the service lines on the main breaker are still hot. Only way to make the box completely safe is to have the power company turn it off at the meter.

[Lee Schierer]

I always get conflicted about which hand I'd like to lose. So, I just kill the main breaker. Fewer sparks, and using both hands make the job go much faster.

I was going to suggest the same thing. Turn off the main breaker or pull the main fuses. If you are nervous or unsure how to do it properly to meet code, hire an electrician.