So far, there are two questions in this thread about adding subpanels.
The phrasing of the questions leads me to make the following points:

1) At this point in time, you are in over your head. If you are
willing to invest the time to learn about home wiring, the NEC, local
codes, and whatnot, you can accomplish the task of adding a subpanel
safely. All it takes is some time spent reading and learning, and you
can save quite a bit of money. Most libraries have a copy of the NEC
(1999 or 2002) and it's actually easy to read and understand.

2) GET A PERMIT! If you perform any substantial electrical
modifications to your home, and said modifications cause a fire, your
insurance company will absolutely look into whether or not the
modifications were done with the blessings of the local building code
people. If not, you can bet your sweet bippy the insurance company
will NOT honor your claim. Most jurisdictions allow you to perform
your own work as long as it is 'up to code'. This they determine by
inspecting your work. In my county, an electrical permit costs less
than $40.00. Cheap insurance.

3) I'm currently in the closing phase of adding two subpanels to my
house - one in a newly built wall that separates my three-car garage
into a two-car garage and a workshop. That panel is protected by a
60A breaker in the main panel. It is fed by three 6ga wires (two hots
and a neutral) and one 10ga equipment ground. This panel contains two
220VAC circuits (table saw and dust collector), one 15A lighting
circuit, and one 20A outlet circuit. The second subpanel (located on
the outside back wall of the house) is protected by a 100A breaker in
the main panel; it's fed by three 2ga wires (two hots and a neutral)
and one 8ga equipment ground. This subpanel currently contains one
50A circuit for a spa.

4) If you want to learn how to do this stuff right, I'd suggest you
obtain a copy of the following:

a. Black & Decker's "The Complete Guide to Home Wiring" - ISBN
086573429.

b. Practical Electrical Wiring, by Hartwell and Richter - ISBN
0960329498.

Lastly, seek out a retired electrician that you can hire to 'look over
your sholder'. I found a guy that charged me $25.00 per hour for his
advice. I only used three hours of his time, but it was invaluable in
answering questions that came up.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask away.

rob


On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 18:38:13 -0500, "Woodchuck"
wrote:

Getting ready to add electric to my new garage. I will require mostly 120v
outlets with maybe one 240v for and air compressor. The distance from house
panel to garage panel is about 60 feet. House was built in `84 and at that
time contractor said 100a would be fine but insisted a 150a due to doing
some hobby welding at times, well water pump, central AC. The guys at HD
suggested 8/3 with ground. My question is what size circuit breaker should I
have at the house panel, and is 8/3 enough for the shop. My collection of
tools are all 120v, TS, Ridgid BS, Ridgid TP1300 are the big consumers but
will not be running more than one at a time. My Sears 4hp compressor is
advertised as 4hp, but like anything today I bet it's only 2hp since it
draws about 7amps at 240volts.

Thanks



Rob Jones, Developer
Lightspeed Systems
www.lightspeedsystems.com