Power To the Shop
#11
Trenching for it this weekend. This is the first (and most unpleasant) step in getting a functional shop again. I'm planning on 60A/240V. That's a lot for a one-man shop but I expect to be on electric heat for the next while, and someday I may want a welder. I'll pull 2-2-2-4 aluminum, it's about half the cost of copper and I think it's just long enough of a run to have to derate 6 gauge copper and have to move to 4 gauge.
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#12
good luck with the trench. How long of a run is it?
When I ran power to a stand alone garage, part of the run was going to be covered by concrete- I buried an extra plastic conduit to past the cement work. I never used it, but felt it was a good investment
I realize there is code issues with putting different things in the same trench- would it make sense to dig a second trench and lay in a 2 inch conduit for future use? just a thought. I know, I'm not the one digging the trench or buying the conduit

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#13
When I did my planning, I figured 70A as my max draw. 20A on the table saw, 20A on the DC, 15 on lights, and 15 on an air compressor if it kicked in while I had the other stuff turned on.
Ray
(formerly "WxMan")
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#14
It's about 55' of trench. If I don't get it all done this weekend, that's not ideal but it's ok. Total run between the panels is just north of 60'.
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#15
Hand digging or renting a trencher? Depending on the soil that could be a lot of spade work

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#16
60' x 2' deep, I would be at the rental store so fast yer haid would spin......

Ed
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#17
Bag hand digging anything anymore. That's why they make backhoes. If I could afford to run power out to my separate garage, I'd have done it already.
Figure $750 a day for a man & tool to do it for you.

This place isn't worth that kind of investment to me.
I usually just run a cord from an outside outlet to the garage to get anything done.
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#18
When I ran power to the new shop I just spray painted the path on the ground and went to work. By the time I got home that evening the wife had most of the 60' plus run dug.
"...cuttin' your presidency off right now. Just quit. Because if this is you helpin' us, then stop helpin' us."
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#19
AlanBienlein said:


When I ran power to the new shop I just spray painted the path on the ground and went to work. By the time I got home that evening the wife had most of the 60' plus run dug, and drank all my beer.


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#20
I hope you are putting conduit in

If not I would highly recommend it. And make sure that you oversize it, and put a spare smaller pipe in just in case you want phone, Internet, tv, something out there. In the big scheme conduit is cheap.

My suggestion would be a 2" for the power and a 1" just because.

Why? Down the road something may change. Had I not put a 2" conduit in for power to my old shop the cost to dig it up and replace it might have been the one cost I couldn't justify when I built the new shop. I had also put a 3/4" in for the alarm and phone. When I built the new shop I wanted to put cable out there. At that point I wished I had put a 1" in.
Dave
"Amateur Putzing in Shop." Northern Wood on Norm 5/07

"Dave's shop is so small you have to go outside to turn around" Big Dave on my old shop
So I built a new shop.  (Picasa went away so did the link to the pictures)
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