New unisaw - 220V do-it-myself?

>I have called 6 (six!) electricians around me, and they
>
>1) don't call me back after they say they will
>2) do not return my call

Welcome to the 21st century. Nobody wants to start their truck for less than
$500 these days and that would be robbery for running one branch circuit.
See if the local Borg is running an electrical class.
The first thing is to be sure you have 2 available slots in the panel for a
240v breaker.
If this is a fairly close shot, just buy a box of Type MC (armored cable with a
ground). This will cover the physical protection problem. Use the red
insulators at the ends of the cables where they go into the boxes and be sure
to get the right connectors for type MC. Trip the main before you open the
service panel and still be careful.

You might want to give some thought to the following approach and judge
whether it may be feasible for you. However, I wouldn't even consider it if
your local codes prohibit a homeowner doing his own electrical work.

Draw up a circuit plan (do it right, including amperage requirements) and
pull a homeowner's permit.

Make sure of all the contingencies, wire sizes, etc. (including the capacity
remaining in your main panel) ... in short, do your homework as if your life
depended upon it ... it may.

Once past the planning and permit stage, and BEFORE you hook up the sub
panel to the main panel, do all the wiring and installation work yourself,
including mounting the sub panel. You will be working on dead circuits with
no current during this process.

Leave the actual connection of the sub panel to the main panel to a licensed
electrician. Get one lined up beforehand and let him know what you are
doing.

You will be safer that way, learn a lot in the process, and may be able to
save yourself enough bucks it make it worthwhile.

I saved around $1300 on my current shop ... that'll buy a lot of wood. I did
pull a permit and had it inspected by the city.

This is very doable with care, caution and common sense.

It has been my experience that a conscientious shop owner will often do his
own electrical work to a higher standard than the average electrician I've
run across around these parts.

Whatever you decide to do, make damn sure you pull a permit and go though
the _whole_ inspection process... if for no other reason than to not
jeopardize your homeowner's insurance.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/21/03


"Pieter Ruiter" wrote in message
> Should I attempt to pull my own electrical? I'm fairly confident around
> electricity and running metal conduit/mounting metal outlet boxes is
> very easy for me. I have however NEVER opened up the breaker panel and
> would rather not risk it. Any thoughtsor epxeriences would be most
> appreciated.

It's easy, but you should probably get a book with pictures.
So much for our terrible economy with millions out of work.
Of course WORK is the troubling word. So many now have so few real skills
as to be unemployable except as file clerks or data entry operators.

Do you have space for a dual breaker in your main panel? If so, we can talk
you through it. Email me directly for more.

Wilson
"Pieter Ruiter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all,
> I have finally taken the plunge and bought the unisaw to get serious
> with my ww! I'm very excited of course, and building the unisaw was a
> lot of fun... Meanwhile, I treid to get an electrician (Central New
> Jersey) to come out to add a separate breaker panel for the garage and
> add a couple of 220v outlets (and some regular 110 as well).
> I have called 6 (six!) electricians around me, and they
>
> 1) don't call me back after they say they will
> 2) do not return my call
>
> It seems the service levels are sunken below measurable levels ;-(( and
> i even made sure to be very friendly on the phone. Cost is not even the
> issue.
>
> Should I attempt to pull my own electrical? I'm fairly confident around
> electricity and running metal conduit/mounting metal outlet boxes is
> very easy for me. I have however NEVER opened up the breaker panel and
> would rather not risk it. Any thoughtsor epxeriences would be most
> appreciated.
>
>
> Pieter
>

Pieter Ruiter wrote:
> Should I attempt to pull my own electrical? I'm fairly confident around
> electricity and running metal conduit/mounting metal outlet boxes is
> very easy for me. I have however NEVER opened up the breaker panel and
> would rather not risk it. Any thoughtsor epxeriences would be most
> appreciated.

I did. If you understand electricity and have done wiring before,
you should be fine. Get a good book.

If the box scares you, do all the wiring and
hire an electrician just to do the final hookup.

--
************************************
Chris Merrill
[email protected]
(remove the ZZZ to contact me)
************************************

I agree with you that you should not risk it.

1) Assuming you have room in your box for a double breaker, it is very easy
to put the breaker and cable in, as well as to wire the new outlet.
However, getting the cable from the box to the outlet can be a real bear.
Unless you have a straight run with no obstacles, you might well regret
starting the project. (And if you can't get an electrician to do the work,
good luck getting one to finish it)
2) While it is easy enough to do, there are dozens of requirements as to how
the cable must be grounded, supported, attached, etc. I wouldn't want to
try to get it out of a book.
3) Most towns require an inspection. While you might not bother on
something this simple, if you ever had a problem and screwed up something in
#2 above, your insurance might not cover it.

I am sure other people will tell you it is easy and you should not hesitate.
9 out of 10 times they will be right. The 10th time, well...

Wilson Lamb wrote:

> It's easy, but you should probably get a book with pictures.
> So much for our terrible economy with millions out of work.
> Of course WORK is the troubling word. So many now have so few real skills
> as to be unemployable except as file clerks or data entry operators.

That's mildly amusing. When did such jobs become available to unskilled
people? When I got my BA in basket weaving (foreign languages) and got
taught a hard lesson about how education != training, I couldn't get a file
clerk or data entry job to save my life. It would have been a step above
Wal-Mart, which is where I served my sentence the first few years of my
life in the workforce.

(I subsequently went to trade school in order to get my CDL and become a
truck driver. I'll just bet I *still* couldn't get a file clerk or data
entry job, because I have "no experience.")

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 17900 Approximate word count: 537000
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/

"Gfretwell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >I have called 6 (six!) electricians around me, and they
> >
> >1) don't call me back after they say they will
> >2) do not return my call
>
> <SNIP> Trip the main before you open the
> service panel and still be careful.
>

Just think of it as playing operation - except it's *your* nose that
will light up red if you touch anything.

Scared?

Good.

Now you'll be a little more careful.

It's not difficult - just be careful and go slow.

"Gfretwell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >I have called 6 (six!) electricians around me, and they
> >
> >1) don't call me back after they say they will
> >2) do not return my call
>
> Welcome to the 21st century. Nobody wants to start their truck for less
than
> $500 these days and that would be robbery for running one branch circuit.

BTDT. When I had got my Unisawer I called at least 3 electricians and even
a friend(I thought) electrician that worked for UE but finally got one that
came out and charged $500 for two 220 circuits and 2 110 circuits. Had to
redo the whole box because it has only 60 amp service installed originally
in 1959. Did get a halogen drop light out of this project that the man left
in the attic. I bought the book at Borg to do this but I have trouble enough
sleeping at night so I opted for skilled labor.
Larry

--
Lawrence L'Hote
Columbia, MO
http://home.mchsi.com/~larrylhote
http://home.mchsi.com/~llhote

you answered your own question, dude! You said you'd rather not risk
opening up the breaker panel. THEN DON'T! You can't have it both ways:
you can't be "comfortable" around electricity, but AFRAID to open the
panel. HIRE a pro, instead. You want someone here to cure your fear of
getting into the panel???

dave

Pieter Ruiter wrote:

> Hi all,
> I have finally taken the plunge and bought the unisaw to get serious
> with my ww! I'm very excited of course, and building the unisaw was a
> lot of fun... Meanwhile, I treid to get an electrician (Central New
> Jersey) to come out to add a separate breaker panel for the garage and
> add a couple of 220v outlets (and some regular 110 as well).
> I have called 6 (six!) electricians around me, and they
>
> 1) don't call me back after they say they will
> 2) do not return my call
>
> It seems the service levels are sunken below measurable levels ;-(( and
> i even made sure to be very friendly on the phone. Cost is not even the
> issue.
>
> Should I attempt to pull my own electrical? I'm fairly confident around
> electricity and running metal conduit/mounting metal outlet boxes is
> very easy for me. I have however NEVER opened up the breaker panel and
> would rather not risk it. Any thoughtsor epxeriences would be most
> appreciated.
>
>
> Pieter
>