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[Shop-talk] Running power to the shop

Subject: [Shop-talk] Running power to the shop
From: shop-talk2 at mcfetridge.org (Ian McFetridge)
Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2012 09:27:25 -0500
Hi gang,

I'm planning to run power to the shop (detached garage) and figured it
would behoove me to get some input from the Shop-talk list.  Our detached
garage is about 150 feet from the panel in the house and I would like to
make the run underground.  Here are the things I'm doing, if you can think
of something I'm missing please let me know!
-- One-call to flag/paint buried obstacles:  Done, no obstacles in path.
-- Pull permit.  Not done yet, but will do prior to digging.
-- Landscaper - will trench 18" down one day, then come back to fill,
top-dress and seed after inspections.
-- Electrician - 60A breaker on 200A panel in basement will feed through
basement wall above ground, then enter conduit down into trench, conduit
all the way to the garage, then electricity will enter garage above ground
into a 60A panel. There will be a second conduit containing low-voltage
cable (RG-6) and Ethernet (Cat-5 I already have, two runs of it).  I'm also
going to have him run a pull string in this conduit, just in case I need to
run something else in the future.
-- Generator:  I have an 8000/13500W steady/startup generator in the
garage.  My thought is to run it in the garage to power the house when
needed.  I like that this would let me run it away from the house (noise,
fumes), but also secure it (covered, locked, well ventilated).  The
electrician looked at it and said he could:  use an interlock (
interlockkit.com) at the house panel so power either comes from the street
or the generator via conductor #2, but not both.  Conductor #1 is the line
from the 60A breaker in the basement panel to the garage main breaker.  In
the garage, conductor #2 connects to a 4-prong 240V receptacle where I
would plug in the generator.  The electrician said he would use a transfer
switch the garage panel power source between the house (conductor #1) and
the generator (the 4-prong plug).  This method means there are two
conductor wires in the trench.  We looked at the cost of a 3-way switch at
the house panel using only one conductor line, but that proved to be about
3-times as much as just running a second conductor wire.
In the garage I plan to have a garage door opener, some over head lights on
the first and 2nd floor, some outdoor floods, a panel TV, and a 20A circuit
to run one power tool at a time (e.g., table saw).  I'm not going to run
compressed hour in this shop as I find I use the portable compressor only 3
or 4 times a year.

Any feedback on the wiring, other choices, or nice-to-have's that I might
be missing would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ian

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