Replies

1. 
   DelDollens | Jul 10, 2002 04:37am | #1

   Are you wanting to do this yourself? Or are you wanting to know how much a contractor would charge?

   If you are doing it yourself, then firstly, I am concerned for your safety due to the nature of the question.  The cost of the components will vary greatly depending upon your needs and the state of the garage.

   1) Open studs or do you have drywall/paneling/etc.?

   2) What size circuit do you need (What horsepower motor will you be running)?

   3) Following the wall, how far from the panel to where you want your outlet?

   4) does your breaker panel have the physical space available for a new double pole breaker?

   5) Does your breaker panel have spare capacity (amperage) available?

   6) What kind of outlet do you want? Locking/standard/etc.?

   7) Do you live in the Chicago area?  (The codes there are EXTREME!)  For example, you would need to run this in conduit regardless of open/covered stud arrangement.  Running it in conduit is not all that bad of an idea regardles of code.

   As you can see, I think we need more info from you in order to help you out. If a contractor is going to do this, the minimum charge will probably be between $100 and $150.  It not that it costs that much, but most contractors have a minimum.  They will spend at least an hour calling in the parts, pincking them up, and travelling to your house.  The overal job would take them less then three hours, depending on the questions above.

   -Del

1. 
   STAR67870 | Jul 10, 2002 06:09am | #2

   Walls are drywall.

   3hp motor,    from panel to outlet 10ft.

   Breaker panel has spare capacity.

   standard outlet to run a unisaw.

   I will contract the work out.

2. 
   BG | Jul 10, 2002 03:51pm | #3

   Amperage?  Is there any way to tell how much I have and if I have spare power?  The line comming in is about 1.5 by 3/4 and appears to be two lines covered by a sheath.  I don't want to waste a contractors time and if I don't have the amperage I won't do the project.  I've got an electric stove and dryer so i may hve 200 amp service but don't know.  Does the town keep this info on file?  thanks

1. 
   sschefer | Jul 10, 2002 05:57pm | #4

   Call your electric company they should have the specs on the tap at your address.Steve - in Northern California

1. 
   BG | Jul 10, 2002 07:59pm | #5

   Great, thanks.

   By the way, re that discussion on handling sheet goods.  I've tried tables in front, on the side and rollers to help support the sheet while pushing through the table saw.  I'm thinking all those alternatives put you in a better position, however, still create a situation where you have less control than you should and many variables to control.  I've looked at gerry rigging a panel saw as one alternative if my needs grow.  For the time being I've decided an 8'x10" jig of 1/4" hardboard with a piece of 3" stock attached will work fine.  I can put the hardboard on the cut line and slide my skillsaw up against and along the 3"piece of stock.  I also made a project bench that has an opening in the middle to accomodate the saw blade.  what do you think?

   thanks, BG  

2. 
   DelDollens | Jul 10, 2002 08:18pm | #6

   I should have expounded a bit on the available ampacity.  The local utility company would have installed the proper feed when the panel was installed.  That is providing the service(the breaker panel) has not been upgraded since that time.  What I meant by available ampacity was internal to the breaker panel. 

   For the sake of argument, let's compare to scenarios:

   1)  Let's say you have a 125 amp panel that has a load of 70 amps.  Assuming you have spare apace available, which you said you do, then you should have no problems adding the circuit.

   2) Let's say you have a 200 Amp that has an average load of 190 amps. It is possible that while you or your wife are cooking while the electric heat is on, and the electric water heater is running, and blah-blah-blah, then you could trip the main breaker.  Chances of this are very slim, but it's something that the contractor should investigate.

   Somewhere, you have main overload protection for your service.  It could be in the form a a breaker or fuses.  Furthermore, it could be in your panel, or at the meter.  The most common configuration would be a main breaker in your panel.  It will be either at the very top or very bottom (most likely).  The breaker will have a number stamped on it, normally on the breaker lever itself.  The number you are looking for is going to be something like 60, 100, 125, or 200.  When was the service installed?  If it is a fused main, then you probably will not be able to check available ampacity without pulling the main fuses (usually in a holder) and reseting every clock in the house.  If you have a 60 Amp main, which was common in the 50's for homes with gas heat, gas range, and gas water heating, then you may want to consider an upgrade.  This is especially true since your home may have been upgraded to an electric stove and dryer after the home was built.  If such is the case, you may already be over-extended on your capacity.

   I know this is a long explanation for something you will have a contractor do, but it never hurts to know enough about something to ask questions and verify your contractor's work.

   Hope this helps.

   -Del