detached garage help

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

bc electric

Member
Location
Reno, NV
One of my jobs just failed inspection and I need some input from those of you more knowledgable in this area...

The inspector said that the line must be run from the main panel, not the sub-panel inside the home. The HO installed an access tube(pvc) in the foundation of the garage which is about 15 feet from the home and subpanel.

The main panel is about 60 feet away from this point on the opposite end of the home. Does anyone know if there is a way that I can wire this so that power can be run from the subpanel, and not the main?

I haven't done many garages yet(newby), and any help would be appreciated. :oops:

Thanks, BC.
 
I also agree with the others that a 'sub may come from a sub'

Look at any large building, no doubt that all the panels in that building are not directly supplied from the service panel.

The one thing that I can think would be the load, if the inspector knows the new calculated load exceed the sub panels capacity he could fail it.

Regardless he should have provided a code section so you know why he failed you.
 
Bob,
The one thing that I can think would be the load, if the inspector knows the new calculated load exceed the sub panels capacity he could fail it.
Click to expand...
What part of 220 covers the load calculations for a dwelling unit garage?
Don
 
Don. The Inspector can cite 220.16(A), and throw the burden of proof on the EC to show that the new loads do not exceed the rating of any existing equipment.
 
I agree with iwire.

I was plan checking a garage one time and I asked for a load calc. The gentelman called me all aggitated that he had never heard of such a thing. Well turns out he had a 200 amp service on a 3000 sq ft house and he was adding a 2500 sq ft garage with about 6 dedicated circuits over 50 amps each as well as lights and plugs.

Could be the sub is feeding most of the house and is not rated high enough to take the additional load, whatever it is.
 
No specific NEC Article was specified, so I will find that out. Unfortunately I am dealing with what seems to be a very difficult inspector. But I do know the subpanel of the house is 200amp, and feeds about a 2500 sq ft home. So, if the sub can't handle the load of the garage, what next? Am I left with no other option than running power from the main?

The only things in the garage are a single opener, 2 exterior lights, and 4 outlets.

Thanks for all the input,
BC.
 
Sorry for jumping in on this thread so late but I'm confused about a few things (actually, I'm confused about a lot of things but that's a whole other thread).

a) What manufacturer makes a residential, main breaker panel that has lugs on the bottom of the buss-bars to feed additional panels ?

b) If you have a detached garage, aren't you supposed to have a "local" disconnect means to shut down both phases if you have more than 6 circuits ?

c) If you have 2 circuits or more in a detached garage aren't you supposed to "re-establish" the ground by driving a ground rod ? NEC 0250.32(a)
 
bc electric said:
No specific NEC Article was specified, so I will find that out.
Click to expand...

The only area where I could see confusion would be if you ran a 3-wire feeder to that garage from an interior subpanel that was wired 4 wire (as it must be). Did you run a separate grounding wire in the garage feeder, or use a combination ground/neutral?

Even if only 3 wires was run to the garage, I don't see any prohibition on doing that when the source panel has separated grounds and neutrals.

Yes, the garage must have a ground electrode system since a feeder was run and it must have a main disconnect if there are more than 6 breakers in the garage panel.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top