We signed the papers yesterday!

yellow rose · Jun 24, 2020

chlngr1970 said:
Well, didn't get approved for the lift, but I did get approved for the rotisserie. Wife said after the credit cards are paid off, we can revisit the lift. I also picked up the lighting for the shop yesterday. 24 8' dual lamp LEDs at 8200 lumen per fixture, 4 4750 lumen fixtures for outside the shop corners, and a dual LED security light above the door, all associated romex and boxes. Are there any 01 electricians that would be willing to advise me on this? I'd like the outdoor lights to be on the same circuit, but have separate control over the door security light. I'm thinking, I run a power leg from the outdoor circuit to a separate switch, and we are good. Is that correct?

j

I’m nowhere near an electrician but there are two things I know for sure.

It’s hard to get too much light in any shop.

You’ll never have too many plug ins. I thought I put enough in when I put the shop up but I was wrong. I could have added 25% more sockets and been better off.

Just my .02.

BTW, hope you get the lift. I’d much rather not lay on my back. The older you get, the more important this becomes.

diymirage · Jun 24, 2020

as far as outside lights, what are they for?
so you can find your way at night, or to keep the place lit up to deter people from snooping around?

i have both at my house, and the first set is on a timer
the second set i flick on when it get dark and flick off at night

if i were to start from scratch, i'd put them all on timers and just adjust to what i need them for

chlngr1970 · Jun 25, 2020

Scamp Rohnda said:
Since you haven't gotten a response yet I'll try help. I'm not an electrician but I did wire my own house and passed inspections. But not on the first try, lol. Ok, need more info. Do you have your breaker box installed in the pole barn? 100 amp? What's the wattage of each light fixture your putting in. You gotta have plan for now and what you might need in the future. Steve

No box installed yet. I'm waiting till the meter base is installed and inspected. The overhead lighting fixtures are 76 watt IIRC We figured it at a load of like 10 amps for 12 of them. The outdoor fixtures are 46 watts, IIRC.

j

chlngr1970 · Jun 25, 2020

diymirage said:
as far as outside lights, what are they for?
so you can find your way at night, or to keep the place lit up to deter people from snooping around?

i have both at my house, and the first set is on a timer
the second set i flick on when it get dark and flick off at night

if i were to start from scratch, i'd put them all on timers and just adjust to what i need them for

Yes. It's dual purpose security and lighting. Im considering installing motion detectors on them as well.

j

diymirage · Jun 25, 2020

lights on motion sensors drive me crazy, too much wildlife out there

I'd put them all on a few timers, and let them run depending on what I want em for

security lights from dusk till dawn

Scamp Rhonda · Jun 25, 2020

chlngr1970 said:
No box installed yet. I'm waiting till the meter base is installed and inspected. The overhead lighting fixtures are 76 watt IIRC We figured it at a load of like 10 amps for 12 of them. The outdoor fixtures are 46 watts, IIRC.

j

I would run two 15 amp circuits for your indoor lighting. One for each set of 12 lights. And one 15 amp circuit for your out door lighting. I assume your going to have an inspection done on this work. It's ok to do your own wiring but it's not ok to have someone else do it unless they are a qualified electrician. I would buy an up to date do it yourself book on electrical wiring if you don't have one already. It's pretty easy if you have a book to follow. None of your wiring is going to be very complicated once your box is installed. But you do have to do it right to pass inspection.

barbee6043 · Jun 26, 2020

Out here in the Tx sticks we have no inspector. I use the handy dandy book from Home Depot " How to wire your shop in 3 easy steps" !!!! lol

JDMopar · Jun 26, 2020

I didn't see a pic of how far it is from your house to your shop. Distance between mine is 50' at most. I put a separate meter base on my shop, but if I had it to do over again, I would have changed the meter base on my house from the 200 amp base that it is now, to a 320 amp base. I could have then still had one run go from the bottom of the meter into my 200 amp house panel, and then added a 200 amp disconnect beside the 320 amp base, and ran from the bottom of that breaker to the top of a 200 amp panel in the shop. It would have cost more initially, but would have ended up costing less in the long run. I don't use a lot of electricity in the shop, but the service charge on the power bill is always there....and at a commercial rate since it is non residential. I was so excited to finally get a big garage behind the house that I didn't think that through well enough! :BangHead:

chlngr1970 · Jun 26, 2020

JDMopar said:
I didn't see a pic of how far it is from your house to your shop. Distance between mine is 50' at most. I put a separate meter base on my shop, but if I had it to do over again, I would have changed the meter base on my house from the 200 amp base that it is now, to a 320 amp base. I could have then still had one run go from the bottom of the meter into my 200 amp house panel, and then added a 200 amp disconnect beside the 320 amp base, and ran from the bottom of that breaker to the top of a 200 amp panel in the shop. It would have cost more initially, but would have ended up costing less in the long run. I don't use a lot of electricity in the shop, but the service charge on the power bill is always there....and at a commercial rate since it is non residential. I was so excited to finally get a big garage behind the house that I didn't think that through well enough!

It's about 35 feet from the meter location to the house feed. I'm assuming I'll need a 120 amp breaker for the shop. Or, should I put in another 200A to the shop from the 320A service?

j

yellow rose · Jun 26, 2020

chlngr1970 said:
It's about 35 feet from the meter location to the house feed. I'm assuming I'll need a 120 amp breaker for the shop. Or, should I put in another 200A to the shop from the 320A service?

j

View attachment 1715551541

200 amp minimum in the shop.

diymirage · Jun 26, 2020

heres a thought for you
run all the lights on a circuit that has zero outlets on it

nothing worse then plugging in the grinder while you forgot the welder is still on and trip a breaker, only to have the entire shop go dark because the lights are on the same circuit
and now you get to do your impression of pin the tail on the donkey, trying to get to the breaker box without tripping and falling face first in whatever it was you just welded (which is still hot) or impaling yourself on the welding cart

yellow rose · Jun 26, 2020

diymirage said:
heres a thought for you
run all the lights on a circuit that has zero outlets on it

nothing worse then plugging in the grinder while you forgot the welder is still on and trip a breaker, only to have the entire shop go dark because the lights are on the same circuit
and now you get to do your impression of pin the tail on the donkey, trying to get to the breaker box without tripping and falling face first in whatever it was you just welded (which is still hot) or impaling yourself on the welding cart

LOL. BTDT.

JDMopar · Jun 27, 2020

chlngr1970 said:
It's about 35 feet from the meter location to the house feed. I'm assuming I'll need a 120 amp breaker for the shop. Or, should I put in another 200A to the shop from the 320A service?

j

View attachment 1715551541

Talk to your electrician that will be installing your meter base, and get his input. If you put a 200 amp panel in the shop, you will have plenty of room for more breakers if you add more electrical load in the future. A 320 amp meter base is designed to support two 200 amp panels. The service wires from the power company go into the topside lugs of the base. On the load side of the meter, there are 3 double lugs....2 hot lugs and a neutral lug. The electrician puts 3 wires going to the 200 amp panel in your house in one side of each lug. Then he will put 3 wires going to a 200 amp disconnect mounted beside the meter base. Those wires can't run straight to the shop panel because they have to be protected by a breaker. At that point, you can get the inspection done on the house electrical. Then you can wire the shop separate, and run wire to the shop from the bottom of the 200 amp disconnect breaker mounted by the meter base. I hope this makes sense. Sometimes I don't explain things well....lol. I have worked for the power company for 42 years, and hooked up a lot of new services for people with the above scenario.

Scamp Rhonda · Jun 27, 2020

JDMopar said:
Talk to your electrician that will be installing your meter base, and get his input. If you put a 200 amp panel in the shop, you will have plenty of room for more breakers if you add more electrical load in the future. A 320 amp meter base is designed to support two 200 amp panels. The service wires from the power company go into the topside lugs of the base. On the load side of the meter, there are 3 double lugs....2 hot lugs and a neutral lug. The electrician puts 3 wires going to the 200 amp panel in your house in one side of each lug. Then he will put 3 wires going to a 200 amp disconnect mounted beside the meter base. Those wires can't run straight to the shop panel because they have to be protected by a breaker. At that point, you can get the inspection done on the house electrical. Then you can wire the shop separate, and run wire to the shop from the bottom of the 200 amp disconnect breaker mounted by the meter base. I hope this makes sense. Sometimes I don't explain things well....lol. I have worked for the power company for 42 years, and hooked up a lot of new services for people with the above scenario.

Now that's some great info there! Thanks

chlngr1970 · Jun 28, 2020

diymirage said:
heres a thought for you
run all the lights on a circuit that has zero outlets on it

nothing worse then plugging in the grinder while you forgot the welder is still on and trip a breaker, only to have the entire shop go dark because the lights are on the same circuit
and now you get to do your impression of pin the tail on the donkey, trying to get to the breaker box without tripping and falling face first in whatever it was you just welded (which is still hot) or impaling yourself on the welding cart

the plan is, 2 circuits for interior lighting, one for exterior. One for garage door opener, one for shop compressor, one for lift, and two for outlets for starters. Then, as needs arise, add more outlets.

j

Scamp Rhonda · Jun 28, 2020

chlngr1970 said:
the plan is, 2 circuits for interior lighting, one for exterior. One for garage door opener, one for shop compressor, one for lift, and two for outlets for starters. Then, as needs arise, add more outlets.

j

Don't forget the welder. Lol

chlngr1970 · Jul 4, 2020

Scamp Rohnda said:
Don't forget the welder. Lol

I'll repurpose the lift circuit for the welder, as it's going to be a couple years before the lift comes in.

Meter base is installed, and power wire run to the new house. They were even nice enough to install the breaker box I bought. They also got the gutters on the house. Inspection for the meter base is scheduled Monday. as long as it passes, I can start installing the lighting. Concrete is scheduled for the 17th. Gutters for the shop about the same time. Doors go in after concrete.

chlngr1970 · Jul 10, 2020

They filled in the trench today, after I dropped in a 2" conduit from the house to the shop. I got the interior light fixtures, and man door security lights installed. This weekend is wiring the interior lights, installing the outdoor lights, and finishing the balance of my wiring for my electrical inspection. They got the carpet laid out in the bedrooms, and plan on finishing the flooring after power is connected on Wednesday.

4spdragtop · Jul 10, 2020

Nice! Coming right along! I'm on week 4 on my fence lol

chlngr1970 · Jul 13, 2020

Backfill around the house. I started putting the lights up yesterday, but didn't have my phone to take pictures. The security light, garage door opener circuit, and three of the lights are up. More pictures when I get home.

j

chlngr1970 · Jul 19, 2020

Gravel in the shop for concrete, and gutters. I started putting up the lights, but decided to wait till the concrete is done, and rent a scissor lift. The janky ladder and uneven ground is just too much.

Also got the porches on the house done, and the floor guy is here working on the vinyl and carpet. Since the wife granaded the lawn tractor, I bout a new one.

j