Quick question for any electricians out there:

I need about 60-ish feet of 6-3 wiring (220v) to run from the main breaker to a breaker I'm putting in the garage.

What is the price where you're located (per feet) ?
I saw some on Ebay and I just want to compare it with 'real world' prices.

I just went and pulled my files to findout how much i payed for 6-3 wire
I paid 1.50 per foot.

Used 47 feet to wire a 200 grill.

Thanks Burns!

Pricing is going to be based on what that wire is.. IE, is it NM type your looking for? (sheathed bundle, 6-3 means 3 conductors + ground)

Thanks TDavis -- wow I feel like an idiot now. I forgot there were 3 conductors + ground on a 6-3 and all I really needed to run a 220v is two conductors + ground. Unfortunately I already bought the wire from E-bay (from a local seller).

But oh well, I guess I can run another 110v from that extra conductor in the bundle since I sometimes trip the regular 110 breaker going to the garage. I dont even know if this idea is safe but unless there will be induction problems between the 220 and the 110 (hopefully not: same phase, frequency and voltage), it sounds like it'll work :(

Well, yea.. I'm going through it all at the moment.

Had to do my research, and boy, it can be confusing.

As for using the 3rd conductor - legally, you can't, and shouldn't. 6-3 is for a 4 prong plug (2 hots, one neutral, plus ground).

You could pull some 12-2 for a 20amp circuit at the same time..

Had to do my research, and boy, it can be confusing.Yeah it sure is!

I stopped by a local dedicated electrical store and picked up 60ft of 6-2 wire .. $1.4x something a foot -- not too bad. Man that thing is thick and heavy.

I'll probably put the 8-3 wire back up on E-bay and just suffer the loss .. darnit!

Now its onto drilling a hole through concrete (to snake the 6-2 wire through) and mounting the NEMA 6-50 receptacle to the garage wall.

Quick question for any electricians out there:

I need about 60-ish feet of 6-3 wiring (220v) to run from the main breaker to a breaker I'm putting in the garage.



just to be sure- are you running the wire from a 2pole breaker to a plug for something, b/c attaching the wire to the "main" breaker is not a good idea.
sorry but when i hear main breaker i think of the big one(100a or 200a) for the whole house. also some equipment requires 220v + a nuetral, if the plug you are trying to power is a 4 prong like tdavis said, 6-3 is what you need. if you are putting a sub panel in the garage it would be better to run bigger wire w/ a nuetral for adding stuff later. i like to only drill concrete once! just my 2 pennies. good luck

What I mean is that the main breaker box has maybe twenty breakers on it already. What I'm going to do is add another 2-pole 60 to 70 amp breaker and then run the 6-2 wiring from this -- which will feed another breaker box in the garage. The wire is two conductor + ground because NEMA 6-50 (common welder plug) consists of two prongs and one ground.

http://www.debmark.com/Kilns/Evenheat/images/650R.gif

wisekise -- since you said you've drilled through concrete: what is the best way to feed the wire through concrete? What I mean is should I house the wire with conduit tubing to protect it from the concrete?

well it depends if it is all inside-not subject to weather- any wire type is ok and as long as there is no sharp edges it will be fine by itself as long as its a multi-conductor with sheathing. if any of it will be outside it would be a good idea to have pvc as a sleeve and caulk to seal the penetration. if it is routed outside is the wire going underground?b/c that would require a diff. type of insulation on the wire. also in your main breaker box if your ground wires and neutral wires are terminated on the same "bars" then you dont need a seperate neutral wire in your feed to the garage, but i would tape up the bare wire b/c you would be using it as your neutral as well, but if the wires are on their own "bars" 6-3 would be needed. imo if you want to ever add stuff i would upsize the wire you could always get a bigger breaker later

Thanks much for the insight wisekise -- yeah all of it will be indoors.

no worries, glad i can help---

IZwack, just check on your wire gage for the breaker your connecting to.. I'm by no means an electrician but I believe 6-2 cable isn't good for 70 amps.. but if it is individual #6 wire in conduit it is.... someone correct me if I am wrong. I'd just hate to see your wire go up in smoke before your breaker trips.

Brenden

IZwack, just check on your wire gage for the breaker your connecting to.. I'm by no means an electrician but I believe 6-2 cable isn't good for 70 amps.. but if it is individual #6 wire in conduit it is.... someone correct me if I am wrong. I'd just hate to see your wire go up in smoke before your breaker trips.Thanks .. I decided to downsized a bit and tonight I bought two breakers (and a small box for the garage) -- one 60A and one 50A. The 50A will be in the garage as a sub-circuit feeding off of the 60A (which will be on the main breaker box).

The biggest thing that I'm thinking of right now is how to drill through concrete cauz that 6-2 wire is not small -- I'm guessing maybe just a bit under 1" across (its flat).

Thanks .. I decided to downsized a bit and tonight I bought two breakers -- one 60A and one 50A. The 50A will be in the garage as a sub-circuit feeding off of the 60A (which will be on the main breaker box).

good call... I think 6-2 cable is only good for 55A.. why are you going with a larger breaker from the main panel? are you putting more than the 50A recepticle on it?

This is one of the links in # 48 of my list of useful threads: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showpost.php?p=1739757&postcount=11

So let me get this straight. You are putting a 60 amp breaker in the main panel of your house. Then you are hooking up a 6-2 wire to it to run to a sub panel that you are planning to put in the garage. In the sub panel you will install a 50 amp breaker then wire it to the outlet for the welder. The reason you are putting in in the sub panel is so that you can run extra 110 outlet or outlets on a seperate breaker located in the sub panel.

If all the above is true then you will be missing a neutral wire (white) that you will need for the 110v outlets you plan to add. You need 6-3 wire. You might also need a ground rod for the subpanel.

As for drilling through concrete I use a rotohammer. You can rent one from home depot or buy a decent one for a few hundred bucks. You will need probably atleast a 3/4" bit if not a 1" bit.

No I'm dropping the separate 110 from that wire. I may just run another maybe 10 gauge for the 110.

I'm putting the 50A in the garage just so its easier to reset the circuit in case it does trip -- cauz even though the basement and the garage are separated by just one concrete wall, you have to go through the house or go around in order to get to the main breaker.

If you are blowing a 60 amp breaker that often you have a problem. I run my lincoln 175 welder and my 40 amp Parker plasma cutter on a 30 amp breaker and never blow it. Before I bought my house my old place had a 30 amp breaker feeding a sub panel with 30 amp 220 for my welder/plasma then two 20 amp breakers for 110V. Even with the plsma and air compressor running at the same time I never blew a breaker.

Yeah I dont think it'll trip very often - I'll be running basically the same setup as you, 175-ish range welder and a 40 plasma.

If you are blowing a 60 amp breaker that often you have a problem. I run my lincoln 175 welder and my 40 amp Parker plasma cutter on a 30 amp breaker and never blow it. Before I bought my house my old place had a 30 amp breaker feeding a sub panel with 30 amp 220 for my welder/plasma then two 20 amp breakers for 110V. Even with the plsma and air compressor running at the same time I never blew a breaker.

It depends what he's using. A Lincoln stick welder ( tombstone ) pulls 50A at its rated output...

whoops..... didnt see IZ's last post :eek:

I love those tombstone welders.. Someday, I'll get one so I can paint on it "Here lies a bad weld.."..

Personally, I'd pull the 6/3, setup the sub-panel with 60amp feed, and breakers.

Is the garage detached? If so, then yes, you'll need a ground rod driven.

If not, you do not. Also, you need to separate the ground from the neutral in a subpanel.

One of the reasons I pulled all the old, 1959 wiring out of my house was the temperature it started to smolder was so low - only 50 degrees Celcius!

Also, I'd use this for current ratings: http://www.cerrowire.com/default.aspx?id=46 it includes temperature and wire type ratings.

The garage is not detached.

I did some poking around and I found a small section at the top of the (concrete) wall between the basement and the garage that isn't concrete -- so I broke out the drill (and a small bit) and punched through it to see where in the garage it would come out and it looks like that location will work. So no more ridiculous hammer drill needed :thumbsup:

Thanks all who have replied! I'm going to finally wire this SOB in the next few days!

Yeah it sure is!

I stopped by a local dedicated electrical store and picked up 60ft of 6-2 wire .. $1.4x something a foot -- not too bad. Man that thing is thick and heavy.

I'll probably put the 8-3 wire back up on E-bay and just suffer the loss .. darnit!

Now its onto drilling a hole through concrete (to snake the 6-2 wire through) and mounting the NEMA 6-50 receptacle to the garage wall.

IZ, did you sell that other wire yet? I'm renting a garage and I may be installing a 220 outlet for my welder. Lets make a deal????

I have it right here, haven't even opened the box it came in.