Wiring

While working in the shop it has seemed to me that it could use additional lighting and outlets including 220 volt outlets for my new welder and the planer. The main breaker in the breaker box is 200 amps so we have plenty of power to work with and the wiring to the 20 amp breakers is Essex 12-2 6 wire. This new outlet for the welder could utilize existing wiring (Essex 8-3 6 wire) to an outlet that is not currently hooked up at the breaker box. We have plenty of available breaker slots in the breaker box but I have also been thinking that perhaps we could tap into the wiring from an existing breaker to reduce the amount of wire that is needed. To best reflect upon this I map out all of the wiring for each of the existing breakers in this sketchup file: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZqVrXlrqWotsUNbRLmmKD4QlcCteQBQu. However note that not everything is quite to scale especially the studs but rather serves as a conceptual model of the existing wiring.

Breaker Box in the Shop

Outlet for the Lincoln Arc Welder

This Outlet is Not Wired into the Breaker Box

Planer Outlet

This plug looks like a predecessor to the NEMA 14-30 outlet. I believe the straight side blades are the hot blades, the top bent blade is neutral, and it does not have the ground terminal. To convert this to a NEMA 14-30 we would need to replace the plug and the cable since the cable probably only has 3 wires. I'm guessing its 10-gage wire but I'll have to check the wire gage.

BREAKER BOX

Breaker 1

Breaker 2

Breaker 3

Breaker 4

I came up with this layout for the lighting. I bought 4 - 4' LEB lights so I need to buy an additional 8 of these for this layout in addition to some wiring work including 3 new switches. The wiring layout is shown in this file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PzotKSewk41Kcy4ES4PxHt1mbFVk_U9_/view?usp=sharing. The new wiring is shown in red with new/replacement of six 3-way switches. The second version of this layout is shown here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aKBoy917lPN32WmtO22ZZb2_iVNW-1sZ/view?usp=sharing.

Wiring of Switch One
- Breaker One: Bottom Right Switch
- Breaker Three: Top Left Switch & Top Right Switch
  - Black wire from breaker box connects to the black wire between the switches
  - White wire from breaker box connects to the white wire in the cable running to the lights
  - Black wire from the cable running to the lights connects to the common screw in the in the switch
  - Red wire in the cable between the switches connects to Traveler Terminal 1
  - White wire in the cable between the switches connects to Traveler Terminal 2 (put a piece of black tape on the white wire to indicate that it is hot)
Wiring of Switch Two
- Breaker One Switches: Bottom Left Switch Wiring
- Breaker Three Switch: Bottom Left Switch & Bottom Right Switch
  - Black wire connects to the common screw
  - White wire connects to Traveler Terminal 1 (put a piece of black tape on the white wire to indicate that it is hot)
  - Red wire connects to Traveler Terminal 2

Online Advise for Shop Wiring

Large pieces of equipment should be powered with a dedicated circuit
It's hard to have too many outlets
It may be beneficial to install workshop outlets higher than in a typical home setting:
- to keep them above work surfaces
- more convenient for plugging and unplugging small power tools
- keep overhead lights on a separate circuit from the wall outlets so if the breaker trips then the lights won't shut off
- label the circuits in the breaker box
- Consider retractable extension cords from the ceiling
- Alternate outlets along the wall on different circuits and use different outlet colors to distinguish the circuit

Online Advise for Shop Lighting

Place lighting such that they are directly over work surfaces such that you are not in bed light or shadow

Book advice for wiring

NM cable must be supported every 4.5' and within 8" of an outlet box (p. 31)
Use 3/4" or 1" PVC or EMT conduit since there is more room in those larger fixes but the boxes need to have prepunched holes in those sizes (p. 31)
Use only the vertical section of conduit to take the wire to the ceiling and put a bushing at the end of the conduit (p. 34)
Before taking on this project I should consider cleaning and building shelving in the basement so I can organize the wiring tools and materials
On some breakers, the neutral wire goes to the neutral bus but with GFCI and AFCI breakers the neutral wire is also attached to the breaker so consult with the side of the breaker for instructions (p. 104)
On 240-volt circuits, you need to put a piece of black tape on the white wire in the service panel to indicate that it is a hot wire (p. 104)
Two 5/8" x 8' grounding rods are needed at service panels but I am not sure about subpanels (p. 114)

Things to figure out before I start laying out the design:

Spacing between outlets
- I read a recommendation to space them no more than 4 feet apart on a workbench and about 6 to 10 feet apart along a wall
Height of outlets
How many outlets to put on a run
- If you google this for a 20 amp breaker it says a maximum of 10 receptacles for home wiring however I am thinking that we should go less because things in the shop generally take more power and if eventually there are more people working in the shop at one time than just me then we probably would want to have less receptacles on each branch.
- I read a couple guys online recommending putting a GFCI outlet on each branch and limiting it to 5 duplex receptacles.
  - If we stick with this guidance we should add some GFCI outlets at the upstream end of Breaker 2 and 3 and we can add more receptacles to these breakers. I could also add some more lights to Breaker 1.
What 220 volt outlets do we need apart from the welding receptive and where should we locate them?
How long should the wire be that extends into the electrical box and the length of sheath that should be cut
What is the subpanel brand in the shop so we can get compatible breakers?

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