My garage/workshop is woefully under- electricized for my power tools.

I have essentially two 15A circuits to run all my tools.
This is just a normal 16x20 garage stuffed to the gills with little room but I digress).

I have some tools that keep popping the 15A breaker.
Table saw, portable AC, heater mostly that seem to take up the most juice.
I have to turn off the AC (an now in Aug in the garage it is needed the most) to make a cut on my chow saw.
The table saw will pop when pushed with a harder cut, etc.

I had an electrician give me a quote to: 1) run a 60A box near my garage and 2) install a couple of 20A circuits with outlets to the area. 3) a 220 circuit for a Compressor ~ don't remember the current

Does this seem like a reasonable plan?
I just want to be able to run a tool or two with the AC and not kick the breaker.


Thanks

That's exactly what I ran when I wired my outside garage. The garage is a 30x30 foot with a 220 volt compressor, a garage door opener and a couple of 20 amp circuits. I ran #12 wire throughout and hard wired my compressor into the breaker box. I've never tripped a breaker.

Sooo, all you really need is a dedicated circuit for your AC, no?

Or perhaps maybe also for the compressor?

So you have existing: 2-20A circuits. 1 of which should/will be dedicated to the AC unit.

You're going to run a 60A line to the garage and put in 2-20A 110v circuits and 1-xA 220v circuit.

First, if you're putting a dbl-pole breaker on that 220v line, it'll be a 30A breaker, won't it? That over-commits your 60A box. So then you limiting yourself to a single pole 20A breaker on the 220v line. Is 20A enough for your intended purpose?

I also suggest you put a 60A breaker on the box to the house.

Now depending on the capacity of the home, is that all you have available to you? The 60A? It seems to me that you're maxing yourself out from the git-go.

I installed a 200 amp sub panel in my shop, ran all my 115 and 220 circuits from there.

1 20amp circuit to run the portable AC when it's hot or portable heater when it's cold, 1 20amp circuit to run power tools, hard wiring the compressor on third circuit into a 60amp sub panel seems reasonable. It's not like you'll run the chop saw and table saw at the same time. You might run into trouble if the AC and compressor kick in at the same time you are using table saw, but what are the chances of that happening? You can turn the compressor off when running power tools easily enough if it is an issue.

Just for fun, I added up all of the breakers on my 200amp panel, panel and all breakers installed by a licensed electrician, permitted, inspected, and approved by the county. The panel has 545 amps worth of breakers. Number of times the 200amp main breaker has tripped in the 20 years I've owned the house? Zero.

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
Sooo, all you really need is a dedicated circuit for your AC, no?

Or perhaps maybe also for the compressor?

Like I said the table saw will pop it all on it's own, (on either of the existing 15A runs).
Running the portable AC with just about anything else ~ chop saw, etc.

My current compressor is just a 110v small pancake but I wouldn't mind a real compressor as I have run the shit out of this one but it can't keep up on a lot of things.

But you are right the AC pushes everything to the limit.

I had the exact same issue at my old house. Solved it by having the house upgraded to a 200 amp panel with sub panel in the garage.

I built a 18x24 metal shed in the backyard to function as storage and my work shop. I had my father (ex-electrician) help me install a separate electrical box in the shed to handle all my tool loads (I have no AC, and yes, it sucks). Sp far its handled everything nicely.

I have a 60a box in my garage, with 240v for a welder, 240 for compressor, and 4 20a runs for 110 (1 lights, 2 wall outlets, 1 for door openers).

You can run more breakers than the 60a total, you just can't run them all at the same time.