Electrician advice needed

[Handloader109]

It took 51 posts to tell the guy at least some of what he needs. good advice in some posts, but it varied a lot.

if you are serious about using shed to make money to make and sells stuff, then work to do more than get by.
forget any extension cords.
forget laying wire on ground. (you will run over it, or if trying to roll it up, break the wire.l
Run a 220v circuit to the shed.

bury it.

10 gauge is minimum, 8 gauge would be great.
This gives you way less voltage drop and way more amperage available in the shed.
yes you need 220 volt breaker at house, and a subpanel in shop. but subpanel can be small (even though the smaller ones can cost as much as large box)

I would check with an local salvage or re stores as mine local sometimes has good new stuff or good new for cheap.

but get some help from an electrician not just from us here.


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[lightman]

It took 51 posts to tell the guy at least some of what he needs. good advice in some posts, but it varied a lot.

if you are serious about using shed to make money to make and sells stuff, then work to do more than get by.
forget any extension cords.
forget laying wire on ground. (you will run over it, or if trying to roll it up, break the wire.l
Run a 220v circuit to the shed.

bury it.

10 gauge is minimum, 8 gauge would be great.
This gives you way less voltage drop and way more amperage available in the shed.
yes you need 220 volt breaker at house, and a subpanel in shop. but subpanel can be small (even though the smaller ones can cost as much as large box)

I would check with an local salvage or re stores as mine local sometimes has good new stuff or good new for cheap.

but get some help from an electrician not just from us here.


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

This is mostly good advice except for the suggestion for wire size. My calculations show that #10 is not big enough. I don't mean to argue or anything but I've done a lot of this type work. I am a retired Lineman and I was also a Licensed Master Electrician and ran a sideline business.

My calculations show that 15 amps at 250 feet needs #6 copper to stay under 3% voltage drop. 3% is whats recommended. Adding 5 amps bumps it up to #4. It sounds like overkill but numbers seldom lie.

If it was mine I would put a sub panel in the shop and run some 1/0-3 Underground Service Entrance cable to it. Depending on the soil type I might or might not put it in conduit.

This is more expensive that the OP wants but motors fail prematurely when run on low voltage.

Good Luck with whatever you do.

[Iron369]

I’m an electrician. There’s a lot of misguided information in this post. May people that aren’t electricians talking about what they have or would do. Just like asking a reloading question on here, I’d say read the book. NEC. Puts out a code book to tell you the minimum requirements for your installation. Code books are not how-to books, but they are how-not-to-die books. After getting the minimum requirements, call the inspectors office and utilities to make sure you meet their requirements. Pull a homeowners permit. Get the inspections. There’s a reason electricians are not cheap.

[Petrol & Powder]

Around here if you get a permit for a job, you can bet your last dollar that "improvement" will be reflected in EVERY future real estate tax bill for that property, forever.

The job can be done correctly and safety without a licensed electrician being involved.
When I install new brakes on a vehicle, I don't worry about the resale value of the car because a non-licensed mechanic worked on it.
When I repair plumbing in my house I don't fret about an insurance company failing to pay a potential future claim.
When I perform electrical work I don't hire an electrician to perform work I can safety perform myself.

If I lack the skills and knowledge needed I will hire someone with those skills and knowledge. If you don't know your limitations, then you probably should hire someone that can do the job. If you are within your skills and knowledge - you'll be fine.

And BTW, this is a forum in which people play with molten lead, smokeless powder, black powder, pressures over 50K psi, projectiles moving at thousands of feet per second and a few other things that terrify some folks.

[frkelly74]

I am chuckling over that last post there /\ /\ /\. We as a group are nothing if not DO IT YOURSELFERS! Molten metal and high explosives. What is a few hundred volts to us?

[Bazoo]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have the ability to wire in boxes and such. I just don't know about wire size and loads for a run like this.

I had a former electrician acquaintance look at it once and give me a list of what was needed to do it the right way. Folks like that don't want to offer advice on rigging stuff. He did say the building will not pass code if they choose to push it as it's too close to an overhead power line. We didn't build it, but I would rather not have it inspected for fear they would make us tear it down. He said they probably wouldn't because it's been here for so long. Most likely it wasn't permitted when they built it. We've owned it over 20 years. It's a 20X22 approx shed.

I am reluctant to sink any money into it as we might not keep the property when mom passes away. One reason I'm thinking of replacing my gen with a bigger one. Got to wait till taxes come in though before I do anything.

The building is my only income. Making furniture for a guy in town.