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Thread: Wiring a Master Shut-Off Switch for a Garage Workshop

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Wiring a Master Shut-Off Switch for a Garage Workshop

    Hi All.

    My brother has recently been acquiring some new woodworking tools and is setting up his shop in his 3-car garage. He has small children and wants to be able to turn off the power to all outlets in the shop when he isn't around.

    I am pretty sure I saw Norm do a NYW episode where he built a garage workshop with a master turn-off switch that was locked inside of a small locked metal box. I am assuming that you can turn the power off with the master switch and then lock the metal box and remove the key to keep everything safe.

    I have the NYW link to the garage workshop episodes, so he will probably order the video and drawings from Norm's Web Site.

    I am sure there are quite a few of you who have wired some kind of similar master switch to control power to the entire shop......

    Can anyone give me more details on this? I would like to see some pictures or a brief description of how you have done this. Any good explanation or pictures would be very much appreciated.

    Thanks Alot

    Nate

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Southern MD
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    Since I am currently building a playroom for my kids right outside my shop door, I rewired the entire shop into its own subpanel. Now I can use the breaker to shutoff the power. There are larger lever type switches that can also be put in-line to do the job. Now it's just a matter of remembering to shut down when I'm done ...
    Jay St. Peter

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Welcome.

    While I don't have pictures, I can explain how I accomplished this...

    I have a sub-panel running from a 60 AMP breaker located in the house's main panel. The sub-panel has a 100 AMP breaker in it that I can de-energize, which de-energizes the whole workshop. While the sub-panel is only 60 AMP service, the 100 AMP breaker acts as a main cutoff for the sub-panel allowing me to work inside the panel without having to go into the main panel to shut off the 60 AMP breaker. The 60 AMP breaker is the one that actually protects the sub-panel, while the 100 AMP breaker simply acts as a single point to de-energize everything in the shop from within the shop.

    I have the ability to lock the sub-panel, but I choose not to since I always keep the shop powered.

    I hopefully will be posting pictures of my shop in the near future and I will include one of the sub panel.

  4. #4
    Run everything off a sub panel and use a mechanical arm throw switch to isolate the subpanel.

  5. #5
    Seems to me that one that Norm used had a key to kill or activate the circuit. If young children see daddy flip a breaker to power the tools, they will figure that out very quickly.
    A friend of mine has twin sons, too short to reach the light switches. So when the lights were left on, the older siblings got the blame. However the twins got caught turning on a light switch. One would get on his hands and knees, the other would climb on his back to reach "forbidden" places
    Hello, My name is John and I am a toolaholic

  6. #6
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    Using the breaker to kill the subpanel is fine for occasional electrical work, but a cut-off switch like Cliff mentions is more appropriate for regular use. It should be between the breaker in the main panel and the sub-panel. Obviously, only the machine circuits should be on the sub so you don't kill your lights and utility circuits for non-woodworking use. (Like cleanup, etc.) You can see an example of a cut-off switch if you look near your HVAC system's outdoor unit. The basic versions can be locked with a padlock. There are fancier versions that feature a key-lock as indicated in a post above. Visit your local electrical supply house to take a look at the differences and costs.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
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    My plan (not yet executed) includes powering off the garage door opener. It may be a west coast thing but it's not urban myth that folks steal you opener and then waltz right into your garage while your out looking for where you left it. Just a small item you may want to factor in. In general, I will have a master kill switch. I'll just feel better when I'm away knowing that the shop and all it's contents are blacked out.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 01-11-2007 at 2:11 PM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  8. #8
    Well I took a little different approach. I have 200 amp service in the garage. I ran all the tool circuits comming out of that panel through a relay switch or what they call contactors in a seperate box. The contactors are activated or de activated by a single ordinary light switch mounted six feet up on a wall. The switch has a light to tell me when it's activated so I can tell in a glance if the power tool circuits are activated or off before I leave the shop. Lights and plugs in the desk area are not run through the contactor box.

    Mac
    Mac

  9. #9
    Back in HS woodshop there was a few "Emergency Paddle Switches" through out the shop. 5 min before the bell rang the teacher would hit that (Checking that no one was using anthing where they could be hurt with the power being shut off) and tell everyone "Clean Up" and all the machines would have the power killed. The power needed to be turned back on with a Key inserted into the paddle.

    Check with some local Electrical Suppliers and see what they have.

  10. #10
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    Mac, that's also a good solution, although a little more involved to install than a physical cutoff in the line to the sub.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. This may be slightly out of place in this thread but it is somewhat related. I have a lack of outlets in my garage and need to add more. I have 150 AMP service (yes...kind of lacking) to my main breaker panel, which is completely full. What are my steps to add more outlets to my garage and incorporate the master shutoff switch concept? Do I need to have my service upgraded to 200 AMPs before I can add a sub-panel for re-wiring the garage? I would just talk to an electrician but since this topic came up....maybe someone here would know?

    Thanks
    Last edited by Carson Saunders; 01-11-2007 at 2:52 PM.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carson Saunders
    This may be slightly out of place in this thread but it is somewhat related. I have a lack of outlets in my garage and need to add more. I have 150 AMP service (yes...kind of lacking) to my main breaker panel, which is completely full. What are my steps to add more outlets to my garage and incorporate the master shutoff switch concept? Do I have have my service upgraded to 200 AMPs before I can add a sub-panel for re-wiring the garage? I would just talk to an electrician but since this topic came up....maybe someone here would know?

    Thanks
    I actually only have 100 AMP service to our house, yet have 60 amp service to my sub-panel out in the shop. We do not have any room to expand in the main panel also.

    The first thing you need to do is a load calculation to determine whether or not you need to upgrade the service. In our case, since the majority of our major appliances are gas and our house is small, 100 AMP service was adequate to support a 60 AMP sub-panel.

    Factor in all your current loads and any future loads that may take place. I personally used a spreadsheet provided by a black and decker DIY book I had laying around that was based on 1999 NEC Electrical Code standards.

    Remember that even though you may be out of room to add more breakers, you won't be using every single outlet in the house at the same time, so 150 AMP service may be more than adequate.

    If you are unfamiliar with the NEC or electrical wiring in general, I would advise you to study up before even beginning to attempt to take on the task. I'm stating the obvious, but faulty wiring can lead to a lot of problems including fires and fatalities.

    If you do a google search, you should be able to find all sorts of good information on Sub-panels. That's how I came up to speed and was able to come up with a good enough plan to pull the permits myself and get everything approved by our local municipality and pass both the rough and final inspection the first time with me doing all the work.


    Good Luck.

  13. #13
    Rob Will Guest

    A Word Of Caution>>>>>

    If you wire any sort of remote switch to your power tool circuits, keep in mind that if the kids (or yourself) turn on a tool with a mechanical switch when the power is OFF, the tool will COME ALIVE when the circuit goes hot!

    Magnetic starters are much safer.

    Rob

  14. #14
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    I am going to say that the safest way would be to utiliz relay's in place of the breakers. a master switch can operate the relays under a standard voltage, while the relays carry the working load. this way you don't have to run 100 amps through a single breaker or switch, and you will be able to use a key lock switch insted.

    just think of those add on fog lamps for cars. the kits come with a switch that operates a relay, so as not to burn up the little switch with megga amounts of currant.

    HTH

  15. #15
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    Tim, that's essentially what Mac was referring to....they are called contactors, but many folks refer to them as relays. (I use one to control my cyclone, for example) They can all be sized to handle the correct load to the machine when operational, yet are controlled by lower voltage; typically 120v but even with LV DC, such as 12v supplied via a transformer. A keyed switch can be implemented to control the contactors as a gang.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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