New garage time!

dragoneggs · Dec 1, 2021

Kyle_in_Tex said:
I ran my barn on 2 or more extension cords for about a year. Boy was I glad to get power.

My shop (two car detached garage) ran that way for a decade plus. Now she has a sub panel, 220v, 110v, propane ceiling hung sealed combustion heat. "I'm somebody now"
watch

fatjay · Dec 5, 2021

Finally got around to cutting the plates for the hurricane ties. Drilled them out on my new fancy milling machine. Went through 3/8" no problem with a raggety ass bit i found in the bottom of the drawer. Cut them up and headed up stairs. I really pulled something trying to tighten them down, but got them done on the second floor bottom. Next is measure the distance to the top plate to cut the all-thread. I also need 18 more stainless 1/2" nuts. Kerosene heater had the first floor at 70f and the second at 60f with 40 degree outside temps and whipping wind.

Time for some boozing.

fatjay · Apr 23, 2022

Work got a bit out of hand for a while, then covid, then more work, time for garage.

Picked up a 100a panel, 250' of 12-2, bunch of outlets and switches. The pre-drilled holes in the joists are sharp, so I needed something to protect wire. Ended up getting 1" PVC couplers, male and female, that were perfect. Got my scissor lift in place, drilled the headers, and started running line. Now I need a lot more of the couplers.

Popgadget · Apr 24, 2022

How about something like these?

Greenlee - Bushing (Bag/100) (712A100), Hole Making (712A100), 1-11/32 in - Tool Bags - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

EddieWalker · Apr 24, 2022

Appreciate the update!!!!

randyjs · Apr 24, 2022

Whenever I've seen metal studs all wiring was done with armored cable. I don't know what code would be.

fatjay · Apr 24, 2022

The hole is 1¼" in diameter, the 1" male/female conduit couplings fit perfect. Went to home depot and picked up 40 sets for about $60. They feel good, i can pull cable and they're secure and strong. The female bit I put on the inside so it extends a bit further into the cavity to prevent the cable from dropping on the inside of the joist. A 1½" box wrench fits perfectly so I can tighten them down real good. For now it's going to be simple, insight lights and outside lights on one 20a circuit, 2 sets of 4 outlets on 2 breakers.

I need some sort of exhaust fan, working in there today it got pretty warm. The scissor lift is a life saver, wiring that stuff up would have sucked on a ladder. I swear the tools I've acquired for this project have paid for themselves multiple times.

wolc123 · Apr 25, 2022

fatjay said:
Work got a bit out of hand for a while, then covid, then more work, time for garage.

Picked up a 100a panel, 250' of 12-2, bunch of outlets and switches. The pre-drilled holes in the joists are sharp, so I needed something to protect wire. Ended up getting 1" PVC couplers, male and female, that were perfect. Got my scissor lift in place, drilled the headers, and started running line. Now I need a lot more of the couplers.

I did a similar wiring job in my new pole barn. I ran 10-3 ufb cable from an unused 30 amp circuit in the house, thru a 2” pvc conduit I had burried during the build, to a 100 amp sub panel in the barn. I put in (2) 20 amp circuits for outlets, (2) 15 amp circuits for lighting, and (1) 30 amp outlet for a small welder.

I ran all the wiring in the barn thru 1” and 1/2” PVC. It sure beats running everything out there from extension cords like I did for a few years. I like having all the wire in conduit. I installed (2) 8 ft ground rods to the sub panel and grounded the buildings siding to those as well. I should be good for a lightning strike out there now.
View attachment 743258 View attachment 743259

fatjay · Apr 29, 2022

The panel now sort of has power. One leg at least. The strange thing about this panel is the neutral and ground bus are the same. Each breaker has a screw for neutral and ground. Last I checked you had to have two distinct. It wasn't a cheap panel either. It has a dedicated 100a main breaker, it's supposed to be used in a house. There's no spot even for a ground.

buckeyefarmer · Apr 29, 2022

They sell separate ground bars that fit in the panel.

Popgadget · Apr 29, 2022

Yes
You need to put in a ground bus bar, and remove the bonding screw that connects the neutral bus to the case. All panels after the one with the service disconnect have to have the grounds separate by code.
Good to catch it now rather than at an inspection down the road after everything is installed. You might want to check if your locale requires arc fault breakers before you get too far as well.

fatjay · Apr 29, 2022

Wonder if I can just disconnect the 2 sides of the neutral buses and use one for neutral and one for ground. I'm really shocked they didn't have one. The neutral bus screws to the case so I would need a way to isolate the ground bus from the metal case. Previous panels I've bought have had dedicated ground bus, I'm not sure why this doesn't.

wolc123 · Apr 30, 2022

mo1 said:
Wonder if I can just disconnect the 2 sides of the neutral buses and use one for neutral and one for ground. I'm really shocked they didn't have one. The neutral bus screws to the case so I would need a way to isolate the ground bus from the metal case. Previous panels I've bought have had dedicated ground bus, I'm not sure why this doesn't.

I used an old 1980 100 amp CH box that had originally been installed in our house, out in our new pole barn. We had added an addition to the house many years ago, and upgraded to a 200 amp service and panel at that time.

That old box had the neutral and ground bus bars linked and grounded to the box. I found an insulated neutral bar on Amazon for about $20, and I mounted that separately inside the old box, to bring it “up to code” as a sub-panel out in the barn. I also drove (2) 8 ft ground rods, about 8 ft apart out there for that sub-panel, to which I also grounded the steel barn siding and roofing.

buckeyefarmer · Apr 30, 2022

fatjay said:
Wonder if I can just disconnect the 2 sides of the neutral buses and use one for neutral and one for ground. I'm really shocked they didn't have one. The neutral bus screws to the case so I would need a way to isolate the ground bus from the metal case. Previous panels I've bought have had dedicated ground bus, I'm not sure why this doesn't.

The neutral bus should be isolated from the case when you remove the bonding screw. It should be marked or apparent. The ground bus should be screwed into the case, not the other way around. Believe I had to buy separate ground bar for last Sq D panel I installed.

The panel should come with neutral and ground bonded. Being a sub panel you have to separate them by removing the bonding screw.

fatjay · May 1, 2022

Got it sorted. They skimped on ground bus, so I bought 2 and put them in. Problem solved. Now it's just pulling wire and installing outlets. I'm going to do 4 outlets in a gang every 8' with 8 outlets at the workbench, and 2 outlets on switches in the ceiling for the lights plus an extra outlet in the ceiling for the projector. I absolutely HATE running extension cords all over and never having enough outlets, so I'm going completely overboard.

pmsmechanic · May 2, 2022

Don't be chintzy on the outside outlets either. Don't install outside lights right by your doors. Keep them far enough away so that bugs don't come in when you open and close doors at night. A switched outlet under the eves doesn't cost much but sure is nice for Christmas lights if you ever so desire.

JPRambo · May 2, 2022

But why are you feeding a 100 amp 240 volt panel with 12/2?

EddieWalker · May 2, 2022

Are wire nuts allowed inside a panel?

How many amps are you running into that panel? What size wire are you using?

Why didn't you strip the black coating off of your ground wires?

All of the yellow covering of your romex needs to be removed once it's inside the panel.

You need grommets where the wire goes through the panel

airbiscuit · May 2, 2022

Isn't the current "feed" a temporary extension cord?

fatjay · May 2, 2022

EddieWalker said:
Are wire nuts allowed inside a panel?

How many amps are you running into that panel? What size wire are you using?

Why didn't you strip the black coating off of your ground wires?

All of the yellow covering of your romex needs to be removed once it's inside the panel.

You need grommets where the wire goes through the panel

I'm just feeding it with an extension cord for now, I haven't trenched and pulled the line yet, just want it to be ready for the line when I eventually do it. I'm going to be running 2-3 wire for 100 amps from the house.

The black wires are placeholders until I get the proper heavy wire from the house. The weather has finally broke and I'm going to be pulling the trencher in the garage for repair shortly, the front axle fell off, mounting point broke.

Also, does the yellow really need to be stripped off? Why?