I have an unattached garage that I'm am planning to wire and I'd like some
advice...

Run from the house to the garage is about 80 feet. I'm looking at installing
a 60 amp or 100 amp service to the garage.

In the garage is an 8 breaker (16 half breaker) panel. I plan on using 15
amp breakers and 14gauge wiring for lighting and some outlets, 20 amp
breakers with 12gauge wiring for several outlets, and installing one or two
220v outlets.

So, here are my questions...

- In my home, do I use a pair of 30 amp or 60 amp breakers?
- I know that I need two hots, a neutral and a ground to the garage. Would
this be considered two 30 amp circuits?
- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the panel to
the garage?
- Is a 220v outlet as simple as wiring two hots (each on it's own breaker,
on opposite phases) and a ground, and no neutral?
- Although I'll have a small shop in my garage, are 20 amp outlets overkill?

"Noozer" wrote in message
news:BtPzi.90871$fJ5.38454@pd7urf1no...
I have an unattached garage that I'm am planning to wire and I'd like some
advice...

Run from the house to the garage is about 80 feet. I'm looking at
installing a 60 amp or 100 amp service to the garage.

In the garage is an 8 breaker (16 half breaker) panel. I plan on using 15
amp breakers and 14gauge wiring for lighting and some outlets, 20 amp
breakers with 12gauge wiring for several outlets, and installing one or
two 220v outlets.

So, here are my questions...

- In my home, do I use a pair of 30 amp or 60 amp breakers?
- I know that I need two hots, a neutral and a ground to the garage.
Would this be considered two 30 amp circuits?
- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the panel
to


#6 copper is good for 60 amps, you may want to up it a size to #4 for the
distance, and you'd use a double pole 60 amp breaker


the garage?
- Is a 220v outlet as simple as wiring two hots (each on it's own breaker,
on opposite phases) and a ground, and no neutral?
- Although I'll have a small shop in my garage, are 20 amp outlets
overkill?

Again, use a double pole breaker
20 amp outlets are fine

Also, keep in mind, you'll need GFCI protection for the outlets, and NEC
requires you to drive ground rods at the garage and attach them to the
separated ground bar in the panel


"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...

"Noozer" wrote in message
news:BtPzi.90871$fJ5.38454@pd7urf1no...
I have an unattached garage that I'm am planning to wire and I'd like some
advice...

Run from the house to the garage is about 80 feet. I'm looking at
installing a 60 amp or 100 amp service to the garage.

In the garage is an 8 breaker (16 half breaker) panel. I plan on using 15
amp breakers and 14gauge wiring for lighting and some outlets, 20 amp
breakers with 12gauge wiring for several outlets, and installing one or
two 220v outlets.

So, here are my questions...

- In my home, do I use a pair of 30 amp or 60 amp breakers?
- I know that I need two hots, a neutral and a ground to the garage.
Would this be considered two 30 amp circuits?
- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the panel
to


#6 copper is good for 60 amps, you may want to up it a size to #4 for the
distance, and you'd use a double pole 60 amp breaker


the garage?
- Is a 220v outlet as simple as wiring two hots (each on it's own
breaker, on opposite phases) and a ground, and no neutral?
- Although I'll have a small shop in my garage, are 20 amp outlets
overkill?

Again, use a double pole breaker
20 amp outlets are fine

According to Noozer :
I have an unattached garage that I'm am planning to wire and I'd like some
advice...

Run from the house to the garage is about 80 feet. I'm looking at installing
a 60 amp or 100 amp service to the garage.

In the garage is an 8 breaker (16 half breaker) panel. I plan on using 15
amp breakers and 14gauge wiring for lighting and some outlets, 20 amp
breakers with 12gauge wiring for several outlets, and installing one or two
220v outlets.

So, here are my questions...

- In my home, do I use a pair of 30 amp or 60 amp breakers?

A tiebarred breaker pair of the same ampacity that you want to deliver
to the garage. If 60A, you need a dual 60A.

- I know that I need two hots, a neutral and a ground to the garage. Would
this be considered two 30 amp circuits?

When you run grounding electrodes at the garage, you don't need
to run a ground wire from the house.

- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the panel to
the garage?

Check with an inspector. The wire is expensive, and you may want to
consider using aluminum for the feeder - as long as it's done right
(proper greasing and fittings) it's perfectly safe and will save you
considerable $$.

[My 100A 120' feed is #3 Al. Which saved something like $350 over
#4 copper]

- Is a 220v outlet as simple as wiring two hots (each on it's own breaker,
on opposite phases) and a ground, and no neutral?

Yes.

- Although I'll have a small shop in my garage, are 20 amp outlets overkill?

Not really. Instead of doing 20A outlets (which are quite rare in
Canada, because until recently you weren't permitted to put 15A
outlets on 20A circuits), I used split-phase 15As. Which meant that
the benchtop outlets were two 15A circuits.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

When you run grounding electrodes at the garage, you don't need
to run a ground wire from the house.

Everyone keeps mentioning grounding electrodes, yet nobody I know of has had
to do this. Also, there is no mention of this in the city's wiring guide.

(I'm located in Calgary, AB)

- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the panel
to
the garage?

Check with an inspector. The wire is expensive, and you may want to
consider using aluminum for the feeder - as long as it's done right
(proper greasing and fittings) it's perfectly safe and will save you
considerable $$.

[My 100A 120' feed is #3 Al. Which saved something like $350 over
#4 copper]

I hadn't considered this. I'll need to contact the city to find out if there
are any special requirments.

Will this require special breakers in my main panel? Will I need to do
anything special on the panel in the garage?

Thanks for the info!

According to Noozer :
When you run grounding electrodes at the garage, you don't need
to run a ground wire from the house.

Everyone keeps mentioning grounding electrodes, yet nobody I know of has had
to do this. Also, there is no mention of this in the city's wiring guide.

(I'm located in Calgary, AB)

City wiring guides aren't going to cover things like this.

Get a copy of Knight's "Electrical Code Simplified", it's under $20 from
most hardware or big box DIY stores. The Ontario one is Orange. Yours
is Green:

http://www.psknight.com/

[I'm located in Ottawa ;-)]

You will most likely want to run three wire to the panel, and then install
your own grounding electrodes at the garage. That's what mine has.

Trying to use the main panel's grounding is somewhat problemmatic, and is
best avoided in separate outbuildings. Highly difficult with current codes
to pass muster.

- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the panel
to
the garage?

Check with an inspector. The wire is expensive, and you may want to
consider using aluminum for the feeder - as long as it's done right
(proper greasing and fittings) it's perfectly safe and will save you
considerable $$.

[My 100A 120' feed is #3 Al. Which saved something like $350 over
#4 copper]

I hadn't considered this. I'll need to contact the city to find out if there
are any special requirments.

Will this require special breakers in my main panel? Will I need to do
anything special on the panel in the garage?

If you use Al wire, you have to make sure that everything it connects
to is rated for Al, and grease the connections with the appropriate
gunk. In my case, the electrician ran a #4 copper stub into the main
panel (presumably the panel branch connectors weren't rated for Al),
brought it out to a 6x6 box a foot away, and spliced it there
with split bolts (properly rated for Al-Cu & grease & tape) to the
Al feeder. At the garage end, the panel main connectors were rated
for Al, and only need to be greased.

More fuss than straight copper, but at today's copper prices,
a huge cost saving.

[I'd never use Al for regular branch circuits. For stove/panel
feed circuits with proper care, yes.]

It was an ordinary 100A dual breaker in the main panel (20+ year old
Sylvania Commander). At the garage end, it was a brand new 100A
Siemens panel pack from HD I think.

Be aware that 60A and 100A dual branch breakers for older panels
have become somewhat rare and are often pricy beasties. I lucked out
with the 100A, the electrician gave it to me out of his junk box
for free. The last 30A Commander dual I had to buy was ~$80.
Once you see how much one costs new (if one is available at all),
you might consider visiting flea markets. They often have
whole panels you can cannibalize for their breakers.

Theoretically, you only need a breaker on one end of the subfeed, but,
I don't like omitting the breaker on the main, and a "panel pack" with
main breaker is cheaper than piecing it together without one.

[While I do/did almost all of this wiring myself, the panel feed
itself I had done by an electrician because a minor goofup can be
hugely expensive. He was a friend, and he did it cheap ;-)]
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Sorry, didn't realize your location. In the US if you run more than two 20
amp circuits to a detached garage, you're required to install ground rods.
By current code you're not required to run a ground with the feeder, however
if you don't, you can't run anything conductive between the garage and the
feed building, such as water line, telephone, etc.




"Noozer" wrote in message
news:QbDAi.97307$fJ5.43249@pd7urf1no...
When you run grounding electrodes at the garage, you don't need
to run a ground wire from the house.

Everyone keeps mentioning grounding electrodes, yet nobody I know of has
had to do this. Also, there is no mention of this in the city's wiring
guide.

(I'm located in Calgary, AB)

- What gauge wiring should I run, considering the distance from the
panel to
the garage?

Check with an inspector. The wire is expensive, and you may want to
consider using aluminum for the feeder - as long as it's done right
(proper greasing and fittings) it's perfectly safe and will save you
considerable $$.

[My 100A 120' feed is #3 Al. Which saved something like $350 over
#4 copper]

I hadn't considered this. I'll need to contact the city to find out if
there are any special requirments.

Will this require special breakers in my main panel? Will I need to do
anything special on the panel in the garage?

Thanks for the info!