Newbie question?What is needed for?

[DetroitMuscle]

I want o run 220 to my garage. The reason being I want to run a large compressor and a welder. Not at the same time. So if you guys could direct me on a path to this install it would be much appreciated. What do I need for this and any literature would be helpful also.

[phila.renewal]

What ratings for the compressor and welder you want to run (how much current does each draw?)?

The typical home garage setup is a 220V, 30A outlet for a small welder. At least the same for a good size compressor.

[Doolittle]

Your better off running 2 circuits, one for each. But, if you have to, go by your highest current draw. Your power panel should have a couple of open slots. A 2 ganger (a double breaker) should just plug into most newer power panels and the hots will be 220v. Nuetural is being used different nowadays, so just make sure that when you wre it, you tie the ground to ground (if nuetural is tied to ground, its ok to ground to it, if not, dont do it).

Remember, whenever you mess around in the panel, kick off your main breaker unless your just measuring voltage to be sure of connections. As Phila stated, you need to find out what your looking for. I wouldnt do anything except verify what amperage service you have (typ 100A~200A for residential), and that you have at least 2 single or 1 double breaker slot, preferably 2 double slots open.

Ask more after youve made your decision.

[MAC702]

Get the book Wiring Simplified at your Home Depot. Then you can make an informed decision whether you want to do this yourself.

And tell us which welder you have.

[CPSS]

If you have a sub panel in your garage, fed off a main panel in the house, the neutrals and grounds must be seperate, (Per the National Electrical Code), so don't connect a neutral wire to the ground as someone mentioned above.

Most 220V welders don't need the neutral. Use the 2 hots from a properly sized 2 pole breaker, and a GROUND, connected to the GROUND buss in the panel.

If you are connecting to the main panel, ( the panel just downstream from the meter), the neutrals (white wires) and the grounds, (bare copper or green wires) are on a common buss. This is the only place the neutrals and grounds may be connected together.

All sub panels MUST have a seperate neutral buss for all the white wires, and a ground buss, connected to the metal case of the panel, for all the ground wires. There must be a seperate ground wire running to the main panel. ( there are some exceptions allowing a seperate building to have a seperate driven ground rod for a sub panel)

If you are not comfortable, hire someone to at least give you advice, or even to inspect your work when you're done.

[MAC702]

...there are some exceptions allowing a seperate building to have a seperate driven ground rod for a sub panel)...
Just to clarify, whether the service entrance "subpanel" at a detached building has a 3-wire or 4-wire service, the ground rod is required.

[wlbrown]

SIR,
how far away is the garage located from the house?
try this.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/wiresizecalc.html
just plug in the numbers, and it will tell you what size
wire to use.
good luck.
wlbrown

[awright]

wlbrown, that is a very handy wire size calculator and I have plugged it into my favorites. However, it is premature for DetroitMuscle's consideration, as his loading and goals have not yet been defined (here, anyway). Additionally, the calculator doea not take into consideration the wire size duty cycle adjustment available for circuits DEDICATED to welders.

So, one of his considerations is whether it is appropriate for him to provide separate circuits dedicated to his welder and to his compressor and other known loads or whether he would be better off just putting in a single circuit capable of handling whatever comes along. Both are viable options, but one may be better after he considera all issues.

A little more input from DetroitMuscle and consideration of his possible future requirements and current budgetary limitations would be in order before getting down to wire size recommendations.

Actually, it appears that we have scared DetroitMuscle off or bored him to death with all our discussion.

awright

[Dave Smith]

How many clamps does a welder need?



(wait for it! )




Just two more!

(grin)



Buy ViceGrip (tm) pliers for yourself, buy 'locking pliers' to loan out.

Start collecting old bedframes for cheap angle iron stock.

A soadstone pen is nice. It will get lost in 30 seconds, so get backups.

Autodark helmets are ADDICTING! Use one just once and you're hooked!

No matter what what helmet you use, add a 'chinshield' of leather. This keeps out welding fumes and light.

A 4 inch angle grinder will pay for itself on the first use.

YOU DO HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER ON HAND, RIGHT?

[WillieB]

Doolittle has the right idea. Run two circuits. You'd be amazed how easy it is to forget to turn off the compressor before you start to weld.

[WolfmanJack13]

Option I usualy suggest is to run #6/ 3 conductor out to a subpanel in the garage. Lets you install a 60 amp panel capable of running almost any welder and compressor you want at the same time. Leaves room for future plans. Cheaper to go a this size now than run out of capacity later. No one I have done this for has needed more.