Electrician Help Needed $100 reward

[sneakyninja]

I will give a choice of any one of the following to the person that provides me with what I ask for below:
a) $100 USD money order
b) 3 year subscription to high times
c) 1 year subscription to Glass Aficionado E-Magazine
d) a pack of seeds from seedbay or seedboutique of your choice (under $120)
e) 1 year subscription to www.icmag.com for your username

I need a highly detailed picture by picture along with word description on how to install a 60 or 80 amp breaker and the necessary wires for a 60 or 80 amp sub panel (dont need any instructions on installing into the subpanel or anything just instructions that end once I have the wire running out of the main breaker panel) I want the instructions to assume im using a 4 wire (pos, neg, neutral, ground) conduit unless that is not the correct one to use for this application? It'll be running up through the wall to a room directly above the breaker by the way and will be needing both 120v and 240v, so you know the application.

The specific main breaker panel I want instructions for is:
Siemens G3040B1200 enclosure type 1

Please assume that I will need to remove a 40 amp 240v breaker (currently used for washer/dryer which will now be unused) and include this in the instructions, please also include the steps I need to take before beginning anything (do I need to call the power company and have them temporarily shut off power to the house or anything like that?)

Please post the instructions on this thread so that others can not only check them over and make sure you didn't miss anything, but so that others can use these to their benefit also. Please also bear in mind that while I obviously cant and wont hold you responsible if anything bad happens to me, I will be following these instructions down to every little detail and will probably not know if there is something missing so if there is ANYTHING that you think I even might need to know please include it, I can follow directions well but i can't adjust for bad directions.

For anything I need to buy please include a direct link to one of the following websites: www.lowes.com www.homedepot.com or any other electrical supply store inside the USA.

Thanks,
SN

 

[PharmaCan]

Sneakyninja - first of all, decide whether you want 60 amps or 80 amps. Installation will be the same but wire size may differ and it's a PITA and confusing to try to write two sets of instructions.

Secondly, take the front cover plate off of your main panel, take a couple pics and post them.

Finally, threads that encourage people to sacrifice their anonymity for small amounts of money are kinda frowned on around here. You might want to reconsider your offer.

PC

 

[sneakyninja]

Thanks for the quick reply PC

The first 2 things I'll get done in the next couple of hours

In terms of sacrificing anonymity I'll happily send it to a PO box or whatever anonymous location they need, if someone wants to do it for free or have me donate the money to some charity or organization in behalf of their username i'm fine with that too. I just feel that I'm asking for a lot, it could take a couple of hours to do the whole thing with writeup and I figure an electrician gets about $50/hour.

In retrospect my preference may even be to donate the money on behalf of your username, but of course my original offer also stands. I would also buy a 1 yr ICMAG subscription for someone which would of course be completely anonymous.

Thanks,
SN

 

[Lilly456]

Go out and buy the NEC 2007 Code Book and all your answers will lie right in your lap and you will both learn a great deal and be on your way to wiring anything.Save your money and invest it in your mind, you won't regret it.Every question you need answered is there and the book is available at any electrical supply store.If you are going to be throwing 60 or 80 amps around , you'll be needing #8 wire and a couple little odds and ends plus the breaker and outbox , a few recepticles, probably cost you $125 with the book.Thats my 2 cents and good luck to ya. Chaco.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Sneaky, this isnt that hard to do, but props for trying to get the best info you can.

The first issue you may have to consider is grounding. I connected my sub-panel's ground to the main panels ground. There was debate of whether I should have installed a new ground rod outside and connected to that.

Wiring in the main panel is pretty easy. You will need to remove the 40 amp breaker and install your 80 amp breaker. It should pop out, and the new one should pop right in. Your two hots will connect to that breaker, one hot on each side of the breaker. The neutral will connect to the neutral bar, and the ground will either connect to the ground bar or a new ground rod.

One issue I had was trying to connect this big fat cable to the neutral bar. The holes were nowhere near big enough. So I had to get a "add a lug" which basically is a piece of metal that goes into 2 holes and has a fitting for bigger wire.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, SHUT OFF THE MAIN POWER BEFORE DOING ANY OF THIS. In theory, this can all be done on a live panel but better to be safe than sorry

 

[sneakyninja]

Go out and buy the NEC 2007 Code Book and all your answers will lie right in your lap and you will both learn a great deal and be on your way to wiring anything.Save your money and invest it in your mind, you won't regret it.Every question you need answered is there and the book is available at any electrical supply store.If you are going to be throwing 60 or 80 amps around , you'll be needing #8 wire and a couple little odds and ends plus the breaker and outbox , a few recepticles, probably cost you $125 with the book.Thats my 2 cents and good luck to ya. Chaco.

If I was growing for a living I might consider doing that. I just dont have the time to do so. This is just a small hobby for me. Time is also a concern, I HAVE to do this next week.

SN

 

[Lilly456]

If you don't have the time to do that then you definately have the time to be blown acrooss the room when you make a mistake, and potentially be killed. Thats a considerable amount of current for a closet grow.I'm not trying to be a dick, ther's just no sense in doing anything electrical wrong.Wiring is so easy, I just would not like to see you get hurt.Really, be carefull and feel free to tell me to go toss off.Anyway, good luck and all the best to ya!! Chaco.

 

[luciano28]

I suggest you call an electrician in to do the wiring in the main panel to the sub, after that you can do the rest, get a code book like Chaco said except there is no 2007 book, they come out every 3 years and 2008 is the newest version.

If you are willing to pay some joker on the internet $100 to take a bunch of photos and write out instructions, you should be able to pay a guy $200-$300 to do the actual work, tell him you are putting in a hot tub to bang the wife, or a game room or some shit. Call around, get the best price. This isnt some major installation. You can get a whole new service for $900-$1500 depending on the amps where I live, a sub panel run shouldnt be too expensive. Frank could probably give you a better answer on costs, he does residential work.

Good Luck to you.

 

[green_grow]

If I was growing for a living I might consider doing that. I just dont have the time to do so. This is just a small hobby for me. Time is also a concern, I HAVE to do this next week.

SN

doesnt add up ... if this is a "small-time hobby" why do you need all that power ? if it's just a hobby, why does it "have to be done this week" .

you will find people to be willing to help more when you yourself are giving the straight goods. if you are planning a 5000 watt grow why not just say so ? icmag has all kinds of grows, from micro computer cab. grows to "full-size" . good luck with your hobby.

 

[luciano28]

doesnt add up ... if this is a "small-time hobby" why do you need all that power ? if it's just a hobby, why does it "have to be done this week" .

you will find people to be willing to help more when you yourself are giving the straight goods. if you are planning a 5000 watt grow why not just say so ? icmag has all kinds of grows, from micro computer cab. grows to "full-size" . good luck with your hobby.

Good point, small time hobby is 4-10 amps like me. Not 60 or 80, thats multiple 1k ballasts. Lets keep it real, lol.

 

[PharmaCan]

Thanks for the quick reply PC

The first 2 things I'll get done in the next couple of hours

In terms of sacrificing anonymity I'll happily send it to a PO box or whatever anonymous location they need, if someone wants to do it for free or have me donate the money to some charity or organization in behalf of their username i'm fine with that too. I just feel that I'm asking for a lot, it could take a couple of hours to do the whole thing with writeup and I figure an electrician gets about $50/hour.

In retrospect my preference may even be to donate the money on behalf of your username, but of course my original offer also stands. I would also buy a 1 yr ICMAG subscription for someone which would of course be completely anonymous.

Thanks,
SN

SN - Sounds fair, although if this turns out to be a typical electrical thread you'll end up with a spattering of good advice mixed in with some outlandish bullshit and a few flame wars.

If you want to get started, you can remove the interior drywall that goes from the top of your panel up to the ceiling. There should be a stud on both sides of the panel. Cut the drywall down the center of those studs - this will give you something to nail the drywall patch to and cutting over the wood will avoid nicking any wires that may be attached (stapled) to the studs. Then go upstairs and use the same procedure to cut the drywall up from the floor about 1', directly over the panel below. Use a utility knife, not a saw, to make your cuts in the drywall and be very careful that you are only cutting where there is wood backing.

It's a good idea to put a dropcloth on the floor while working on the drywall and to clean up all the drywall debris really well before proceeding - that shit will spread thru your whole house if you just leave it lying around. Take a pic of your top plate above the panel where the wires pass through.

PC

 

[PharmaCan]

I suggest you call an electrician in to do the wiring in the main panel to the sub, after that you can do the rest, get a code book like Chaco said except there is no 2007 book, they come out every 3 years and 2008 is the newest version.

If you are willing to pay some joker on the internet $100 to take a bunch of photos and write out instructions, you should be able to pay a guy $200-$300 to do the actual work, tell him you are putting in a hot tub to bang the wife, or a game room or some shit. Call around, get the best price. This isnt some major installation. You can get a whole new service for $900-$1500 depending on the amps where I live, a sub panel run shouldnt be too expensive. Frank could probably give you a better answer on costs, he does residential work.

Good Luck to you.

This is probably the best advice you are going to get. Parts cost what parts cost, so the only difference is labor and it would be well worth a couple hundred bucks more to have the work done professionally. ...unless you already have a grow going upstairs, which would make it kinda hard to have a stranger in the room.

PC

 

[Purple_trees]

Good info on the 2008 NEC book. I need to learn wiring so i will deffinately be picking that one up.. Thanks!

 

[gdawg]

another good book to have is "uglys" if i can find mine i'll take a pic its a little yellow book. i have to disagree on callin an electrician, what you're wanting is simple enough...but small hobby..take some pics of the panel youre workin with and we'll go from there. if its really a small hobby grow then you dont need to upgrade your existing breaker, just add subpanel. dude tell us what youre running(ballasts,ac,fans,dehuey?) and we'll tell you the actual power needs of your show.

 

[sneakyninja]

Full blown top of the line Sealed room w/ intellidose, growtronix, overkill water pumps etc. 3600w digital air cooled lights but want the room to expand up to 4800w if I desire. Basically a scientific style hobby room on a large budget that needs to get done in the next week or 2 because if I don't then it'll be months before I have time to get this setup. I don't want to use an electrician because I'm not comfortable with doing that, enough said, money isnt an issue but thats just not an option for me.

Im not going to get in an argument with someone, so if any of you guys are looking for that you're out of luck, I've got better things to do with my time. Thanks again to those that have been constructive.

Im going to go with 60 amps

and believe me, i'm not stupid, I know how to figure out things like just how much power I need, just need some help with this part.

I'll have those pictures up by the end of the night by the way.

and don't worry everything will be well catalogued and photographed and posted once this show gets on the road.

 

[PharmaCan]

I don't want to use an electrician because I'm not comfortable with doing that, enough said, money isnt an issue but thats just not an option for me.

Im going to go with 60 amps

I'll have those pictures up by the end of the night by the way.

and don't worry everything will be well catalogued and photographed and posted once this show gets on the road.

Totally understandable about not wanting anyone else to know about your upgrades. I assume this means you won't be getting a permit, so you should probably use a surface-mount sub-panel - it'll be easier to remove when you go to sell the house.

Look at your electric meter and see if it has a locking ring on it. If it does, call your power company and tell them that your electrician told you to call them to get the locking ring removed from the meter. That way you can completely shut down your main panel when you're working on it. The PowCo gets these kind of requests all the time and they've never said anything other than "Okay" whenever I requested it, so this shouldn't be a problem. (The PowCo won't turn off your power, they'll just make it possible for you to shut it down.)

Take a look at this wire size chart.

http://www.geocities.com/dtmcbride/home_garden/wire.html

It looks like you will need #4AWG wire for the main to sub run.

Have you got that drywall removed yet? LOL

PC

 

[gdawg]

60 amps is plenty you could run window ac too if necessary. im bout to head out to the park but i'll check back in tonight. bro no problems just alot threads that have to be weeded out ya know. i take it you're running 600s, i run the same. give us the pics of the panel and wall. the last two ops i built i just put a small hole in the floor under the panel for the wire. one panel was behind the fridge and the other is in an out of the way closet. made things alot simpler for tear down or what not. also how long of a run between breaker and sub? i believe you wanna go with the intermatic t104 i think it is ill have to check mine but im sure pharma or clown(where the fucks he at??)will correct me if wrong on that. holla at ya when i get back

 

[fumancu]

He doesnt need to have power co. come out

 

[gdawg]

no need to shut off power at meter for simple breaker change and new wire install but have someone friend or whatever help you pull the new wire in.

 

[Lilly456]

Too bad I wasn't your nieghbor, we'd have that thing wrapped up in a day.Sounds like you're getting some good advice and also like a sweet setup on the way.I learned all my electrical when I got my aircraft welding certs and it sure has helped over the years,might be that somebody around here lives near ya and can help out....Sounds like a fun grow time in your future anyway!!Good luck, Chaco.