wiring a C24(6'x4'x20") in a 10'x12' shed outdoors

[the undertaker]

I'm wondering how I would go about running power to a C24 I would keep in a shed outdoors. I know I need to have a seperate breaker in there, but the side of the house the shed is on is no where near to the panel inside. Is this a big problem? How big of a breaker (??? electrical noob) and about how much would it cost for an electrician to do this job? "wiring my new workshop"

 

[the undertaker]

Does anybody have any ideas?

 

[the undertaker]

please help

 

[PharmaCan]

There's not enough info here to give you much help. The most expensive part of bringing power to your shed will be getting the wire from the panel to the shed, and the cost of that depends on the length of the run and what route you have take.

...and what the heck is a C24?

PC

 

[the undertaker]

what kinda info do you need? what i will be running?

a c24 is a cabinet created by mills pride with the dimensions given.
planning on having a 600whps, 6 or 8 inch vortex inline fan, carbon scrubber, few shoplights or t5's (gonna have some bonsai mum's in the top part of the cabinet) timers, fan speed controller, small a.c unit.

im an all organic type of guy so i'm also going to have my composted and ammended soil in there in a giant rubbermaid, a 5gallon bucket to brew organic teas in (i have an airpump for this that also needs to be plugged in)

if you need more info, let me know!

 

[PharmaCan]

The electrical work could cost you anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand. It depends on how far you have to go and what route you have to take. Without seeing your job it's almost impossible to guess at a realistic cost. That being said, it costs little more to put in a small sub-panel than it does to put in a single receptacle. As long as you are paying for the labor, you might as well put in bigger wire, etc and have room to expand.

PC

 

[the undertaker]

i would say that the main panel is about 75-80 feet away in the basement of the house. what kind of wire and how big is needed? if i had a sub panel in there, what would that mean?


ps: would having a subpanel in there for a "workshop" raise suspicion?

 

[PharmaCan]

i would say that the main panel is about 75-80 feet away in the basement of the house. what kind of wire and how big is needed? if i had a sub panel in there, what would that mean?


ps: would having a subpanel in there for a "workshop" raise suspicion?

The wire size depends on the load (amps) that you are going to put on the wires. Then you have to accommodate the run, which is a little on the long side.

The sub-panel shouldn't raise any suspicions, it's a perfectly logical thing to have in a work-shop. Here's the thing - if you put in one circuit, the labor is going to be just about the same as installing a sub-panel and the materials will be a little less. (Maybe a couple hundred dollars difference in the whole job.) However, if/when the time comes that you need more power, you'll have to pay that entire initial cost all over again to get another receptacle. If you have a sub-panel, adding another receptacle is a cheap and easy job.

What I do when I need temporary help is I go to a construction site, find someone in the trade I need and ask if they want some side work. That bypasses having to pay a contractor for their overhead, profit, etc. Considering today's economy, it should be pretty easy to find an electrician willing to do the work for a reasonable price.

I wish I could give you more specific information on cost, wire size, etc., but that's a fool's errand. You need to get a local electrician who knows your local codes to get valid information.

PC

 

[the undertaker]

can you give me a ballpark on what to ask, what size wire etc? or how would i figure out what size wire i need?

my cousin is an electrician so thats a plus

 

[PharmaCan]

can you give me a ballpark on what to ask, what size wire etc? or how would i figure out what size wire i need?

my cousin is an electrician so thats a plus

You're kinda putting the cart before the horse - I can't tell you what you need until you tell me what you want. What you should do is take a few minutes to think about what is your dream use for your shed. Do you want to maybe make it into a workshop one day? Will you need a/c to keep it cool in the summer? Will you want to expand your grow? Once you think about this, make a list of all of the equipment you might someday use and how many watts or amps they use. Then you'll know what size sub-panel to put in and then the wire size can be determined.

PC

 

[the undertaker]

the shed is metal, so im just wondering if its going to be a sauna in the summer and a deepfreeze in the winter? will a 8" vortex with speed controller be an advantage in a situation like that? turn it on low in the winter so the light heats up the cabinet within the shed a little more, and in the summer have it going on near full blast?

how do i get the number of watts/amps for each piece of equipment?

600w hps, lumatek digital ballast (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/customkititems.asp?kc=HLHPS06SS2&eq=)

6" vortex (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=AEFV06&eq=&Tp=)

fan speed controller (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=AFAGS&eq=&Tp=)

bonsai mothers' light (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/customkititems.asp?kc=HLIFT5NW28&eq=)

air pump (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemMatrix.asp?ic=HPAEP01&eq=&Tp=&MatrixType=2&sGroupCode=HPAEP0)

clone box (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HLIFELT5D&eq=&Tp=)

digital timer (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=TIBDD&eq=&Tp=)


thats what i plan on using.

 

[PharmaCan]

how do i get the number of watts/amps for each piece of equipment?

Go to the websites and check the specs. It will tell you either watts, amps or both. You don't need both, just one or the other.

How hot does it get there in the summer?

PC

 

[the undertaker]

it gets to be about 93 degrees or 34 celsius max.

600w Lumatek (120v)
Watts: 610w - 620w
Amps: 5.1A - 5.15A
Light Output: 12.26
Efficiency: 50.6 (Watts/Light output)*
Time until full luminance: 2 minutes
Bulb: 600w HPS Hortilux @ 29"


Vortex CFN-800 High Power 747 CFM 8 inch Inline Fan
* Specifications: 747 CFM - 2550 RPM - 2.2 Amps - 185 watts


couldnt find anything about if the fan speed controller actually uses electricity

couldnt find anything about the New Wave T5 System - 2', 8 Bulb

couldnt find anything about the Eco Air 1 air pump

couldnt find anything about the T-5 Clone & Seedling System

couldnt find anything about the Dual Outlet Digital Timer

couldnt find the # of amps for a 10000-12000btu ac

 

[the undertaker]

bump.....

 

[PharmaCan]

Undertaker - If you have a metal shed then you really, really need an electrician to do this for you. One little screw-up and you could have a charged shed that's just waiting for someone to touch it and shock themself. If that someone happened to be a child, the results could be fatal.

The fan speed controller doesn't use any power.

Here's how I look at your power needs... One 15amp or 20amp circuit is probably not going to be enough for your needs, but, on the other hand, you don't need to go all hog wild with the electrical either. If you install a small 30 amp sub-panel, you should have everything you need with a little room to spare. From the sub-panel, run two 15amp circuits and you should be good to go. Tell your electrician what size sub-panel you want and then s/he can tell you the wire size and all that.

But get someone who knows what they're doing to do the wiring. A metal shed can be a real hazard if not wired & grounded properly.

PC

 

[the undertaker]

ok, thanks for all the advice pc. sorry for the long time in between responses.

 

[mixin]

i am an electrician. you really shouldn't need more than three 20 amp circuits. putting a 50-60amp sub panel would cover you down the road too. if you want to see what size wire you would need you can use this voltage drop calculator

http://www.southwire.com/voltagedropcalculator.jsp

 

[the undertaker]

thanks mixin. would the electricity bill drastically be affected by installing between a 45-60 amp subpanel with a few 15-20 amp circuits?

i took a look at that link you gave me and was dumbfounded

 

[senseless]

the biggest problem you have is the distance from the main panel in your basement to the shed in your backyard. if the shed is up against your house it will be less off a hassle, if its away from your house youll probably have to dig a trench to run some conduit to the shed to bring the power in. i dont think youll have any problem with the shed being metal as long as who ever does the wiring knows what they are doing.

Personally i like PharmaCan's idea of running a small 40 amp sub-panel (30a seems kind of small in case u plan on adding lights), and then adding two 20 amp breakers in the shed. One 240v breaker for the lights and another 120v breaker for equipment. i say run 240v for the lights because it cuts your load in half so you can run more lights. Its also a good idea to place the sub panel close to your entrance to the shed so you can easily turn equipment off.

Diagram

Main panel-40amp double pole breaker------------8 gauge 3wire-----------40 amp sub panel

Sub panel ---20amp 240v breaker----12 gauge wire----lights
----20amp 120v breaker--12 gauge wire--equipment

 

[nekoloving]

i am an electrician. you really shouldn't need more than three 20 amp circuits. putting a 50-60amp sub panel would cover you down the road too. if you want to see what size wire you would need you can use this voltage drop calculator

http://www.southwire.com/voltagedropcalculator.jsp

Solution: A 14 AWG Copper conductor can not carry 30 amps.
A 10 AWG is the smallest Copper conductor that can carry 30 amps.
--- NICE

thanks mixin. would the electricity bill drastically be affected by installing between a 45-60 amp subpanel with a few 15-20 amp circuits?

i took a look at that link you gave me and was dumbfounded

installing it does nothing... its when you put a load [equipment] it that uses power....

the biggest problem you have is the distance from the main panel in your basement to the shed in your backyard. if the shed is up against your house it will be less off a hassle, if its away from your house youll probably have to dig a trench to run some conduit to the shed to bring the power in. i dont think youll have any problem with the shed being metal as long as who ever does the wiring knows what they are doing.

Personally i like PharmaCan's idea of running a small 40 amp sub-panel (30a seems kind of small in case u plan on adding lights), and then adding two 20 amp breakers in the shed. One 240v breaker for the lights and another 120v breaker for equipment. i say run 240v for the lights because it cuts your load in half so you can run more lights. Its also a good idea to place the sub panel close to your entrance to the shed so you can easily turn equipment off.

Diagram

Main panel-40amp double pole breaker------------8 gauge 3wire-----------40 amp sub panel

Sub panel ---20amp 240v breaker----12 gauge wire----lights
----20amp 120v breaker--12 gauge wire--equipment

now thats what i call proper... though i would really take a look at the hookup from the street, as those are only rated for a couple hundred amps total IME; just make sure you don't use more total power than the main breaker can take either! the LAST thing you want is a breaker/wires hot enough to burn =[

[my experience is limited!]