Question for the house electricians

[Havasutom]

I'd love to have 200A for the garage but the house only has a 100A service. I'll have to have West Penn come out & put another transformer up as we do share it with two other neighbors. If I had the money (or have the PA Lottery sell me the correct winning ticket) I'd be looking at going 3 phase & buying all the big boy tools to make fixing junk easier. I've seen so many nice things at the shops over the years that would be over kill for a hobbiest you have to have just because.

I see you are getting a lot of information for your electrical question. There are many ways to accomplish what you want and need. Since budget seems to be a factor I can try to help you with what you need. The best information so far is that you must run 110/220 to your garage if it is available at your house service. This will allow you to double the available power in the garage. The distance to your garage will not lower the amperage, it will lower the voltage. For future expansion and keeping a budget in mind this is my recommendation. It is about the same as recommended by Streetub. Run a 50 amp 120/240 circuit to the garage and install a small sub panel to divide your loads. If run underground it must be 18” deep to meet code unless you place concrete above the wiring. Then you can use a15 amp 120v circuit for your lighting. Use 20 amp GFCI protected circuits for your duplex 120v outlets . Run a 20 amp 220v outlet for your compressor. The welder outlet will be determined by the requirements of the welder. I suggest a minimum 30 amp 220 volt circuit for today’s small welders. This will give you a garage with a very functional electric service at a modest budget with room for future expansion. I used a system like this for 10 years without a problem. If you are putting in a refrigerator in the garage then put it in with a separate circuit non GFCI for the fridge only. By the way, I am a master electrician and retired residential & commercial contractor. Feel free to contact me at “ [email protected] “ if you need any advice or have any questions. I use 110/220, 115/230, or 120/240 volt interchangeable as the voltage is dependent upon the service voltage at your house. A simple explanation of available power is that 50 amps at 110 volts provides 5500 watts of power. 50 amps at 220 volts provides 11000 watts of power. It takes 746 watts of power to make one horsepower. A 15 amp 110 volt circuit will power all the fluorescent LED lights you need for the average 600 square foot garage. Hope this is helpful.

 

[pagrunt]

I see you are getting a lot of information for your electrical question. There are many ways to accomplish what you want and need. Since budget seems to be a factor I can try to help you with what you need. The best information so far is that you must run 110/220 to your garage if it is available at your house service. This will allow you to double the available power in the garage. The distance to your garage will not lower the amperage, it will lower the voltage. For future expansion and keeping a budget in mind this is my recommendation. It is about the same as recommended by Streetub. Run a 50 amp 120/240 circuit to the garage and install a small sub panel to divide your loads. If run underground it must be 18” deep to meet code unless you place concrete above the wiring. Then you can use a15 amp 120v circuit for your lighting. Use 20 amp GFCI protected circuits for your duplex 120v outlets . Run a 20 amp 220v outlet for your compressor. The welder outlet will be determined by the requirements of the welder. I suggest a minimum 30 amp 220 volt circuit for today’s small welders. This will give you a garage with a very functional electric service at a modest budget with room for future expansion. I used a system like this for 10 years without a problem. If you are putting in a refrigerator in the garage then put it in with a separate circuit non GFCI for the fridge only. By the way, I am a master electrician and retired residential & commercial contractor. Feel free to contact me at “ [email protected] “ if you need any advice or have any questions. I use 110/220, 115/230, or 120/240 volt interchangeable as the voltage is dependent upon the service voltage at your house. A simple explanation of available power is that 50 amps at 110 volts provides 5500 watts of power. 50 amps at 220 volts provides 11000 watts of power. It takes 746 watts of power to make one horsepower. A 15 amp 110 volt circuit will power all the fluorescent LED lights you need for the average 600 square foot garage. Hope this is helpful.

Thanks for the advice & the offer. I've put this project on pause since I didn't get as much done or needed before the cold season here. Come the spring I'll be back at it.

 

[Havasutom]

Thanks for the advice & the offer. I've put this project on pause since I didn't get as much done or needed before the cold season here. Come the spring I'll be back at it.

The offer is good, anytime. Merry Christmas

 

[Wageslave]

I'd love to have 200A for the garage but the house only has a 100A service. I'll have to have West Penn come out & put another transformer up as we do share it with two other neighbors. If I had the money (or have the PA Lottery sell me the correct winning ticket) I'd be looking at going 3 phase & buying all the big boy tools to make fixing junk easier. I've seen so many nice things at the shops over the years that would be over kill for a hobbiest you have to have just because.

If you have a reasonable 220 supply to the garage, a capacitive phase converter can make your 3 phase dreams come true reasonably cheap. A rotary phase converter is better still, but a lot bigger.