Exterior Gfi Problem

First off, I have read a majority of the posts concerning this subject and they have been very helpful and answered many questions, but I still have a few.



I am wanting to run power to a detached shed that is around 100 feet from the house. However, due to the location of my main panel and the easiest route to run the power, I am looking at running cable about 270 feet. I measured it out to exactly 263 feet, but figured it would be best to go longer. I am wanting to run at least 60 amps to the shed, as I won't be using it for nothing more then power outlets (basic power tools) and lights. Here are my questions:



1) What cable would be best for such a long distance run?



2) Would a 60 amp subpanel be sufficient for this job. I am looking at only 4 circuits: 1 for internal outlets, 1 for lighting, 1 for motion sensor light outside and 1 for external outlet. I am looking at the following panel:

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-...&storeId=10051



I have seen some marked 70 amp and wondering if they make a difference:

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-...&storeId=10051



3) Also, I will be installing a 30 amp RV connector circuit from my main panel  to the where I park my Camper Trailer, which is a run of about 75 feet. What would be the best cable for this sort of run under ground? Can I run both cable together in the same conduit until I junction if off to where I will be installing the plug for the camper?



4) Would the following be the circuit breakers to use:



60 amp - http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051



30 amp - http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051



I think that is it for now. Thanks in advance for all your help!!
      

I raised a shed and disconnected the wiring from the main building to the shed. Now it's a month later and it's time to hook the power back up. From the main building I have power into the shed with a white, black, red and copper wire. Originally the power went into the outside light fixture and then off of that it went to another light and two outlets. The original confiruation allowed of us to turn the shed's outside light on and off, from a switch inside the main building. With the power off to the light, we still had power to the outlets and internal light. The outside light fixture has black and white wires. The wire to the internal light and the outlets has a black, white, and copper wire. So how do I wire this so that the main building switch can control the outside light on the shed, while still having power to the internal light and outlets, regardless of the switch being on or off? (I wired the internal blacks and whites all together, which just ended up with the outside light always being on.)
      

I know this has been done to death but, just want to make sure that I headed in the right direction. O.K. I'm building a 12x16 shed and need to know what size wire to use. I plan on having lights, saws, mini fridge, deep freeze, air compressor and maybe a small a/c unit in the summer. I plan on having everything on different circuits like lights on 15A, fridge and freezer on 20A, have plugs on bench on 20A, air compressor on 20A, and mini a/c on 20A. I plan on using romex 14/2 for 15A and 12/2 for 20A. With sub panel http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-...&storeId=10051 or something like it. My shed is about 30' from the meter loop. So, what size wire do I use from the meter loop 6/2????? Do I need to use a ground rod at the shed? Thanks for looken!!!!!
      

Hi guys. I'm Dan, and I'm in Knoxville, TN. I know running power to a shed is a very common topic here. I've been doing tons of reading and feel pretty comfortable with the requirements, but I have two questions I haven't been able to find a clear answer to.



First, my situation: I'm having a 10x16 shed built in my backyard, to be used primarily as a woodshop. I need more than a single circuit, so I know I need a subpanel and two grounding rods at least 6' apart, bonded to the subpanel with #6 bare copper wire.



My house has 200 amp service, and the main panel is in the garage at the opposite corner of the house from where the shed will go, so it would be pretty inconvenient to run a feeder from, there. But there's an existing 100 amp subpanel in the basement, presumably installed when the previous owner finished the basement. I'll be running a 60 amp feeder from that subpanel to the shed.



My total run will be something like 75', so I'm running #6 THWN for the two hots and neutral, and #10 THWN for the ground. I plan to bury it in 1.25" schedule 40 PVC, buried 18" deep.



My first question relates to how I need to run the wire when it's not underground. The basement is finished with a drop ceiling, so I plan to run the feeder across the drop ceiling, out of the house, down to the ground (it's a walk-out basement), then underground the 26' to the shed. I assume it still needs to be in conduit for at least the part that runs up the wall of the house. But what about inside, when it runs through the drop ceiling to the panel? Does it need to be in conduit for the whole run? Or would I just staple the four wires to the joists or something?



The other question relates to the trench. I've got a rain gutter downspout that discharges right at where the shed will soon be, so I'm running a 40' length of 4" PVC to pipe that water past the shed. It will be buried just about 6-12", just enough to run under the shed. Can I run the power conduit in the same trench (obviously, deeper)? Presumably I'd dig the 18" trench to the shed, lay the schedule 40, then add a few inches of dirt to bring it up to about 12" deep, and extend the trench past the shed at that depth, then lay the 4" drain pipe and backfill. Or do I need to dig two separate trenches? Is there a rule about how far apart they need to be if so?



If anyone sees any other flaws or concerns with my plan, please do speak up, I want to do this right. Thanks!



Dan
      

I'm trying to fix a problem with a track light installment over the a bar I've just put in. I've done it before. never had issues. but this particular problem is driving me nuts. It just defies logic.  The electrician who actually installed the associated dimmer switches with this dining room area was called as it seems it may be a flaw with his wiring, but he's blown us off and I have to try and solve this myself.



This is how it's all set up. I've been rehabbing our home from top to bottom, and converted our old kitchen into a dining area. Within this dining area are four sets of lights, all controlled from one box containing four dimmer switches. I set up all the new wiring and installation of the lights in the ceiling, and we paid an electrician to come in, check everything out, set up the multiple switches, and connect it all to the board. It's all new copper wiring from beginning to end, as I didn't want to connect or splice in to the old aluminum wiring that was in place. All the new wiring and lights are on a dedicated 15 amp breaker. Three of the sets of lights were set up to be available from the day the electrician came around. The fourth, for the track light over the bar, was left hanging from the ceiling capped off and with the switch off, as I still had work to do installing an overhead wine rack, under which the track was going to be set.



Two days ago I finally got around to putting the track up, but after setting it in place and connecting the power up the lights wouldn't work. I took the lights out to our kitchen, where I installed another track light system some time ago, plugged one of the lights in, and it worked just fine. I then went back to the bar area and used a spare track, then a spare connector, to see if I could isolate the fault, yet neither of the items provided a solution. Now here's the weird bit - every time I tried checking the system out, I'd get 120 volts showing from the wiring and from the track when I'd test with the multimeter. But the second I'd put a light into the track, the multimeter would drop to zero on the voltage reading on either the wiring or the track. Take the light fixture back out, and the voltage would pop back up. Inserting the light was thus completing some kind of odd loop. It wasn't just one light - I double checked by grabbing working lights from the kitchen track and inserting them into the other track - the same problem would pop up. Finally, having come to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the track at all, I took the whole assembly over to a nearby wall outlet, used some spare electric cable to connect up to the appropriate slots - presto, the light came on! I even double checked all this by grabbing another light fixture destined for our bathroom, and tried connecting it to the wiring over the bar. Nothing. Yet as with the track light, the minute I took it over to the wall outlet and connected it, the light worked.



So everything logically points to the fact it has to be something to do with this individual circuit, right, because a) the light fixtures work when plugged into another circuit and b) the other three dimmers and lights hooked up in the same box work fine and draw power from the same wire cable/breaker combination. The only things left that I can think of is that the electrician has either wired the dimmer switch up incorrectly or that there's some kind of flaw inside the switch itself. Does this make sense?



A friend also told me to double-check to make sure that the black wire feeding power to the light was indeed the hot wire, and it is.  If I touch it with the black test lead from the multimeter and put the red one to the neutral I show 120 volts. If I keep the black test lead on the black wire and put the red test lead to the ground - I also show 120 volts.



A final point. I know I'm not overloading the circuit - not even close. With all four dimmers maxed and every light on - including the test light on the track - I'd only be drawing 8 amps on a 15 amp breaker, besides which I'm only using one set of lights while I'm working on this problem anyway. This is a dedicated circuit, so there's no additional power being drawn away by something else.



So how am I getting 120 volts from this wiring, according to my multimeter, yet it won't light up ANYTHING and keeps giving off the indication that some kind of loop or short is being created every time I actually plug a light into the track? It's got me totally stumped.



Anyone have any ideas?
      

HI all,



I have a rain barrel system with a pump (110v) and I ran a 3way switch to my patio and one by the pump (in a shed).  My wife now wants the pump on a timer (to water the garden).



So...I could just add a timer to the switched outlet, but I want to be able to override the timer with the switch (at the patio or shed), without interfering with the pump timer operation.



I've drawn up a diagram showing my proposed setup.



Question: can I rig up the pump with two power cords and plug one into the timed outlet and one into the switched outlet and not burn down my shed in the process?




      

I built a shed and wired it.

I used #8 direct burial from the house to the shed.

I have a breaker in the house 15 amp for just my compressor.

When i run the compressor i seems to drain power from everything else,

ex: all light in the hose fad, my filter on the fish tank stops.

Could some one help me figure this out and put a stop to it.



Thanks Dak
      

My house has 240v outlet from the previous owner for a kiln of some sort. Im putting a tanning bed in its place. The plug on the tanning bed is a L6-30. I checked specs on the tanning bed and it requires a L6-30 recepticle and a 30amp circuit breaker. I went to the local home fixit store and found the correct recepticle and bought a 2-pole Siemens 30a circuit breaker. After shutting off the main breaker and using testing equipment I pulled out the 50a breaker and replaced it with the 30a..no problem. Heres where Im not sure....The L6-30 recepticle that goes in the wall has a X and a Y and a G marking on it. The G is grounding per instructions, w is white or grey, and X,Y,Z are black, red, blue or etc etc.The wires that come out of the house are red, black and a bare aluminum bradied type wire. Looking at the back from the top counterclockwise  I hooked up the red, then black, then the bare nraided to the G (has green screw) Is the black and red correct? And why doesnt it say red, black and gound?  Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks!!!
      

Today I was fixing the water valve to the washing machine, and to get access to the water line, I had to disassemble an outlet. To my shock (no pun intended), I discovered that some moron bootlegged the outlet by connecting neutral and ground together.



Now I'm concerned that I may have this elsewhere in the house. What is the best way to test for this? Obviously I will see 120 V from hot to ground in any case, so that doesn't work. Continuity between neutral and ground is normal, because they are connected at the main panel; I measured the resistance between neutral and ground at an outlet close to the main panel, and it was virtually zero. But that doesn't meat it's bootlegged.



I don't really want to take each outlet apart. And even if I do that, how would I know that the moron didn't connect ground to neutral somewhere inside a wall?



Thanks,
      

hello

I am dealing with what seems like a strange issue with a single pole switch, and I am royally baffled even after reaching out to someone a little more knowledgeable than me.



Yesterday: Replaced with a single pole switch with an identical one that I painted (for decor reasons). Two wires were going into the old, and the same 2 wires are attached to the new one. However, the light it controls fails to come on despite light bulb being good, and outlet located 4 feet below the switch fails to operate. With voltmeter in hand I tested voltages.

At the switch: 3 wires feed into it, all whites capped together, and 2 of the 3 blacks (A,B,C) are hot with 110. A is hot and was/is connected to one of the terminals of the single pole switch. B and C (hot) are capped together with a jumper that goes to the other terminal of the single pole switch. So I am royally baffled as to why a switch would be wired with 2 hot wires going into it. I swear it has been like that since we bought the house a year ago, and the light worked fine. I simply replaced the switch with the same wiring, and now it doesnt work. I even touched both hots (A and C) independently to wire B which (using common sense) should be the load wire to the lamp, but the lamp did not come one.



Other outlets in that circuit do not work either. They get 110 to line and ground, but not across the outlet.



I hope I was clear in explaining, and I hope someone can possibly shed some light so I can resolve this.



Thank you