Electrical advice needed.

[chathamf]

Yep you have 240 in the garage.

[spikerS]

WOOT!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Yeah that's 240 for sure. You may be set up like mine, they ran the 240 to the garage but just used each leg to power some 120V circuits instead of installing a 240V outlet.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
Yeah that's 240 for sure. You may be set up like mine, they ran the 240 to the garage but just used each leg to power some 120V circuits instead of installing a 240V outlet.

Probably, because there is 2 x 15a breakers in the garage, and they are not bridged like the ones on the main panel in the house.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Take a picture of the garage subpanel with the cover on and off, should be able to determine if you can just slap a 240V breaker in there for the welder.

[mobius]

Originally posted by spikerS


Probably, because there is 2 x 15a breakers in the garage, and they are not bridged like the ones on the main panel in the house.

A sub panel is exactly what it sounds like, an extension of your main panel. They are almost always installed with 240VAC. With a 2P 30A breaker feeding it, you have plenty of headroom to install additional plugs etc. in your garage.

I would have someone install a 120VAC 20A plug for your welder. If you decide to buy your own welder down the road, the wiring can be reused for a 240VAC 15A or 20A circuit. It would just be a matter of installing a 2 Pole (bridged) breaker and the proper receptacle.

[suntan]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
Take a picture of the garage subpanel with the cover on and off, should be able to determine if you can just slap a 240V breaker in there for the welder.

Protip: Electricians use their tongues to see if there's electricity in the panel.

[Disoblige]

This was in the electrical handbook in 1942:

Electricians often test circuits for the presence of voltage touching the conductors with the fingers. This method is safe where the voltage does not exceed 250 and is often very convenient for locating a blown-out fuse or for ascertaining whether or not a circuit is alive. Some men can endure the electric shock that results without discomfort whereas others cannot. Therefore, the method is not feasible in some cases. Which are the outside wires and which is the neutral wire of a 115/230 volt three wire system can be determined in this way by noting the intensity of the shock that results by touching different pairs of wires with the fingers. Use the method with caution and be certain that the voltage of the circuit does not exceed 250 before touching the conductors.

The presence of low voltages can be determined by testing. The method is feasible only where the pressure is but a few volts and hence is used only in bell and signal work. Where the voltage is very low, the bared ends of the conductors constituting the 2 sides of the circuit are held a short distance apart on the tongue. If voltage is present a peculiar mildly burning sensation result, which will never be forgotten after one has experienced it. The taste is due to the electrolytic decomposition of the liquids on the tongue which produces a salt having a taste. With voltages of 4 or 5 volts, due to as many cells of a battery, it is best to test for the presence of voltage by holding one of the bared conductors in the hand an touching the other to the tongue. Where a terminal of the battery is grounded, often a taste can be detected by standing on moist ground and touching a conductor from the other battery terminal to the tongue. Care should be exercised to prevent the 2 conductor ends from touching each other at the tongue, for it they do a spark can result that may burn.

[spikerS]

[speedog]

I wonder how people on here test a 9 volt battery?

[The_Penguin]

Originally posted by speedog
I wonder how people on here test a 9 volt battery?

Tongue, ever since I was a kid.

[danno]

Originally posted by chathamf


Haha pot lights and likely attic work costs more than easy garage wiring. Bet ya he won't do those so cheap. I wouldn't lol.

true that i dont do attic work anymore. Honestly i always forget guys are laid off so i'd try and help those guys out and give them some work, im not laid off and wont be so ill leave side jobs for to them.

[chathamf]

Originally posted by danno

true that i dont do attic work anymore. Honestly i always forget guys are laid off so i'd try and help those guys out and give them some work, im not laid off and wont be so ill leave side jobs for to them.

Haha I was just joking man! Makes no difference to me and your more qualified for the jobs anyways. Appreciate your help as well buddy. It is crazy these days though I see master electricians offering out their work for like 20 an hour on Kijiji. Year ago there was tons of side jobs on the go for pretty much anyone.

Attic work is the shits. I don't mind going up if I need to fish a wire or something but peopl that think I'll just go and throw in a bunch of pot lights and have em lined perfect are just crazy. Can pay me enough for that.

[suntan]

I was just looking for one in each bathroom actually, over the shower.

[spikerS]

Just wondering, do I need to apply for a new permit for this kind of work, or can i just get it inspected at the end? or can I just get an electrician to sign off on it?

[spikerS]

Beuller?

I tried calling 3-1-1 to find out if I needed a permit to add this circuit to the garage, but after the 8th transfer I just hung up, and all my google-fu skills only are finding results if I am building a NEW house, not adding a circuit...

Any one care to chime in?

[chathamf]

Technically you do need a permit pulled, and believe you can get away with a home owners permit since you are not doing anything to the service. Best to go this route. But no one will ever know if you just do the work yourself. Far as anyone's concerned it was already there.

[raceman6135]

Originally posted by spikerS
This is what the panel in my house looks like, and the breakers for the garage....

Just to clarify: you only have 30 amps going to the garage. What size subpanel is in the garage?

And yes, you need a homeowner's electrical permit to add a new circuit, or to extend an existing circuit.

My recommendation: unless you are 99 percent sure you'll only ever do light-duty welding (that is, sheetmetal and steel thinner than 1/8"), plan on a 240 volt circuit and welder. I've welded 1/8" steel with a 120 volt welder, but it was a much better job and was much easier with a 240 volt welder.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by chathamf
Technically you do need a permit pulled, and believe you can get away with a home owners permit since you are not doing anything to the service. Best to go this route. But no one will ever know if you just do the work yourself. Far as anyone's concerned it was already there.

well, i finally got through to the city electrical inspector guy. I described to him what was there, and what I wanted to do, and if i needed a permit for it.

his words were "for installing a 20 breaker and a bit of wire, no, you don't need a permit". I kinda got the vibe that following the letter of the law I did, but he was kinda saying just go fucking do it and don't waste my time for something so small....

I am going to install the plug and wiring, and buy the fuse, and just get an electrician to do the connection to the box.

[chathamf]

Originally posted by spikerS


well, i finally got through to the city electrical inspector guy. I described to him what was there, and what I wanted to do, and if i needed a permit for it.

his words were "for installing a 20 breaker and a bit of wire, no, you don't need a permit". I kinda got the vibe that following the letter of the law I did, but he was kinda saying just go fucking do it and don't waste my time for something so small....

I am going to install the plug and wiring, and buy the fuse, and just get an electrician to do the connection to the box.

Just do it all man. Turn the breaker off to the garage. Black to breaker, white to neutral bar, ground to ground. Done.