Amp question

allen levine

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new york city burbs
Im getting an electrician down tomorrow to see if its easy enough(cost wise) to run another line, a dedicated line for a dust collector into the garage.
I dont understand one thing. I looked at every breaker in my house.
The largest one is 15 amps.
I run the ts which is over 15 amps, and the Genie shop vac together every day, the Genie is 9 amp.
I have lights hooked up to that, a radio, and the only time the fuse blows, is when its warm and the AC is on in the back room.(on same circuit I guess)
But how can I run 24+ amps all the time, and never trip a 20 amp fuse?

Is it possible I have a 220 line out to the garage? Would that make the difference?
 
some tools will run on either 220 or 110 but the wiring MUST be changed inside the motor....for tools that are used hard such as a tablesaw in my hands:eek:....the higher voltage is imperative if the motor is undersized because it will allow the motor to create its power with less heat generated.

soooo, yes it`s possible to have 220 to the garage but it will depend on the motors on your tools if you can use it. you might be smart to look into a sub panel with a few 120v circuits and a couple 220v that you can dedicate to the garage/shop.
 
Motors only pull the rated amperage under load. So while you TS may be rated at 15 amps, it is only going to pull that when you stall it out or close to it. So that is how you can run 24 amps on a 20 amp circuit, because your not pulling 30 amps.

I should be just about as easy to pull 220V to the garage as 110. No difference except maybe the wire size.

A suggestion, you might ask him about pulling more than one wire from the panel into the attic or crawlspace while he is at it. The biggest part of the that job will be getting the wire out from the panel. If you have spares put in now, you will have them latter on if you need them. And I doubt it going to cost much more to have it do that while he is there. He doesn't have to connect these inside the panel. They are just there for latter on.
 
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Allen, Like Jeff mentioned those ratings are under load. Also, if you turned all of them on at the same time they would probably throw the breaker as the startup surge usually comes close to the tool's rating.

Good suggestion to run more than one wire and sounds like you could use them. More than likely though it will be a per curcuit charge, just depends on the company/person your working with.
 
the electrician told me he would just run another line with a 20 amp fuse from the circuit box, that would be the least expensive way for me.
Ofcourse, theres underground rated wire and someone has to dig a 30 foot trench 15-18 inches deep, and Im not about to do that with all the roots back there.
If I run the TS and vac, in the summer, I blow the fuse every time.
The lights flicker when I turn on the vac now, but it runs ok, I dont usually run the vac all that much since the TS isnt turned on continuously.
Im not looking to spend a fortune, since I may not be here that many more years, and to put a new panel and all that jazz, thats big bucks.
Adding a line, if I do the trench, it wont be expensive.
 
Ofcourse, theres underground rated wire and someone has to dig a 30 foot trench 15-18 inches deep, and Im not about to do that with all the roots back there.
Allen,

Check out your local tool rental and see if they have a trencher of the type used to do lawn sprinkler lines. This should give you a trench just a few inches wide and should also meet your depth requirements. And, it should be a lot easier on your back.

DON'T FORGET - call the local dig line before you trench!
 
soooo said:
Allen, I agree with Todd suggestion of a sub panel just for your garage/shop. It would cost a little more up front but you would have all the power you need. If your main panel in you house would handle a 100 amp breaker then you could run a 100 amp 220 volt service to a panel in your garage/shop and feed off that to you equipment/lights. You have to dig the trench anyway so spend a some more $$ and have it were you can not the job/s like you want.

You can have your electrician give the details. FYI: Copper wire is better for the feed from your house but cost $$$$$$ than aluminum wire. Aluminum wire will do the job but you will have to have a large gauge wire than cooper wire. (I use aluminum for the feed and cooper for all other runs) Make sure your electrician figures the distants for your house to your garage because the longer the run the larger the gauge wire due to line voltage lost due to the length in the run.


Hope this helps some and have fun.

Mark
 
Allen,

I agree with the others about running 220V service to a sub-panel in your garage. Also, put in a good sized sub-panel. In my case, I have a 30-position sub and I've used all of them -- 14 110V circuits and 8 220V circuits. Some are provisional circuits, but I have the panel full of breakers.

I ended up having an electrician do the run from the main disconnect outside my house to the panel in my shop, then I did all of the shop wiring. I was going to do all of the work myself, but the quote from the electrician was a bit less than it would have cost me to buy the materials and rent a trencher.
 
I'm going against the grain on this one.

1. You might be at the location temporarily
2. You have a limited budget
3. You saw a licensed electrician on site who made a recommendation

In my opinion, I would go with the electricians advice and your original plan. Everyone is well meaning I know, but it seems when you build there are all these extras that I call "whileyouarethere's." These WYAT's can really add up. Its not much, but soon a job cost gets spiraled out of control.

Trust me I know. I got phones lines and coaxial cable all through this house for systems that are now replaced but internet wireless modems and cordless phones. I got wires for 220 outlets that will never be used in that capacity, and wires going to lights that are never used. (In the attic and under sinks so in case I ever need a light under there :huh: )

No stick with the plan, keep it simple and keep it within budget. Enough stuff side tracks a budget as is without over-thinking stuff.
 
For my needs, since there really isnt much more equipment Ill ever be running at one time, and Im not looking to stay here more than a few more years, he suggested hell put in another small panel in the garage, with its own lines(2) and that will be more than enough to handle the Vacuum/dust collector and any of the tools I run in there. He looked at all the amps, but he knows all of these tools, and he says I dont need to go through any more expense.

I got someone to dig the trench for me, my back would never handle that, and I dont feel like being down any more this year or next year.
(my son would do it if I asked, but he works full time and does his side jobs, so I dont want to obligate him to do this time consuming back breaking stuff)
 
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