Crazy idea to get 220V to the garage?

[Silas Smith]

Tell me if this is stupid. I priced out what it would take to run 220V to my garage and it comes to about $1000. For the same money, I could get a generator that has a 220 outlet. Since I really only need it right now for my shaper and I'm not sure I will be in the house in two years, is this a good way to go? I figure that for the limited time I will use the shaper, this will do and I will also get a new generator out of the deal.

[Chris Padilla]

Silas,

Why will it cost you 1k to pipe in 240 V? What do you need to go through to get it? Mostly curious. It is hard to say if you will recoup your costs of 1k by adding in 240 V...depends on the buyer.

How about this silly idea: run a really long cord from your 240 V dryer or stove outlet (or wherever you have 240 V access)! :) Depending on the run length, #10 should be good enough but #8 might be warranted.

[Dan Cameron]

Why not get a 110/220 step up transformer?

[John Shuk]

That seems awfully expensive. It is pretty easy to run. You could even Place the wire if you wanted to an have the electrician do the hook up in the panel. This is a tough call. it just doesn't seem like a fair price. I'd ask around a bit more.

[Silas Smith]

Why will it cost you 1k to pipe in 240 V? What do you need to go through to get it? Mostly curious. It is hard to say if you will recoup your costs of 1k by adding in 240 V...depends on the buyer.

Chris, unfortunately, the breaker is on the other side of the house and it is a two story. There needs to be over 100 ft. run just to get to the garage. By the time the sub is put in and everything, I'm looking at about $700 in parts and I have an electrician friend who would charge $300 labor. I have considered the dryer extension cord, but then I wouldn't get a new generator :)

Dan, what is a step up transformer?

[Kevin Arceneaux]

Silas - get the generator. Florida got it last year, could be this year for us in the Western Gulf. Then you will be glad you have one. Plus, it is also a extra to use on SWMBO to get one.

[Rob Russell]

Silas,

You could run outside and direct bury 6/3 UF. At the local big box it's under $1.50/ft. Add schedule 80 pvc sleeves, LB for the 90 degree bends into the house, etc. and a panel and you're still under $500 in materials. You'd have to dig, though.

Another option is through your basement to the other side of the house, up and out.

A transformer takes an input voltage and either step-ups to a higher voltage or steps-down to a lower voltage. Unfortunately, nothing is for free. You'd need at least double the current capacity at 120v to feed your 240v shaper. I doubt you have a 120v circuit rated for that sort of current draw, because there are also losses to heat.

Rob

[Rob Blaustein]

Silas,
I'm putting a shop in my small basement (11 x 22) and discussed with my electrician the costs of just a running one or two 220V lines from my main panel vs putting in a 100 amp subpanel. He convinced me to put in a subpanel, saying it wouldn't be that much more in the long run. Unfortunately I didn't ask for a quote. It ended up costing, after parts and labor ($90/hr combined for him and an assistant) $1500 to install that subpanel along with two 220V NEMA twist style outlets and several 110 outlets! I almost, if you'll pardon the pun, blew a fuse. So I feel your pain. That said, I'm glad I have the flexibility there now.
Rob

[Chris Padilla]

Kevin has a good point about the generator. For the expected short term you expect to be in the house, I'd have to say that spending 1k to add this might not be worth it but it is tough to say.

Rob's subpanel addition is $500 more painful than your 240 V outlet. I think the subpanel is the way to go...you can more easily branch out from the sub-panel yourself (most likely) and perhaps save a bit there.

Interesting decision no matter how you look at it!

Best of luck

[Joe Mioux]

Hi Silas

I have thought about the generator option also. I have a 15K generator which mostly sets around collecting dust. The one thing that I do not like about the generator is that it is loud. I have a 25 hp Kohler engine. If you go that route try to find an engine that is quiet running.

JOe

[Jonathan Shaw]

I'm in the process of running a subpanel for my house right now. It sounds like it's similar to yours -- 2 story house with the garage on the opposite corner from the main panel. It is 85' away, including going up and through the patio roof to get to the garage.

I'm trying to do this work myself. In fact, I didn't even get any quotes. I'm wondering if I should have, as it turns out the parts are all pretty expensive. According to Quicken, I've spent about $590 so far. This includes ALL of the parts, including lesser expensive items like screws or bolts, track lights, outlets, breakers... So far, I've completed running EMT conduit from the main panel, back through the block wall, to the patio, up and over the patio, and into the garage. I've got two 4-gauge, a 6-gauge, and an 8-gauge wire in that conduit, with a 70A circuit breaker in the main panel. I've mounted the subpanel into the wall in the garage, and just need to drill a hole through the attic into the wall to run the wire down to the panel.

All of this labor has turned out to be much more difficult than I ever would have expected! First, I was trying to run all that wiring through a 3/4" EMT pipe. That's way too small... I gouged a lot of the insulation in the process. I used electrical tape to repair it -- hopefully that is ok. :) I got it to work with 1" EMT conduit, but it was still tough work, especially on the turns. It would have been much easier if I had begged for a friend to help. My current problem is getting through the attic ceiling into the wall. There are multiple layers of wood to drill through, and the attic is difficult to work in due to a very low incline for the roof.

By the way -- I just received my table saw through Amazon last week. It's a Powermatic 64. I used the saw to cut some plywood for mounting the load center into the wall in the garage... About the 5th time that I turned the saw on, the breaker tripped. So, I am definitely looking forward to getting my new subpanel and related wiring complete! I'd love to be able to run a dust collector and air filter when using the tools, for example. And to put in an air conditioner, so I can work in the garage when summer comes around. (I already bought insulation for the attic -- Home Depot is running a really good rebate promotion on that fiberglass insulation through 1/30/05.)

I don't have a basement or crawl space between the 1st and 2nd floor. And burying the wire outside instead of using EMT was not an option in my mind. My whole lot is full of "caliche," which seems like it is harder than concrete. I had to use a pick axe (over several weekends!) to dig the trenches for my irrigation system! Electrical wiring must be buried significantly farther than the irrigation lines, so there was no way I'd try that here in the Phoenix area.

[Brad Olson]

Wiring a sub-panel isn't that hard. Just make sure you spend A LOT of time reading up on codes and the proper way to do it. Hire an electricion for 1 hr to inspect it and you are set to go.

I am running a sub to my garage with 7 circuits with lighting and total materials are $400 (40 total receptacles and 10 light boxes). Most of the cost of the feeder cable (75' 6/3) to the sub panel.

What you save in money WILL BE SPENT READING AND LEARNING. I probably spent 30 hrs. versing my self on the 1999 NEC and asking questions and planning. The good thing is that the wiring quality in my garage surpases code requirements and uses the best possible practices that are often skipped by electricians.

If you are doing a much simpler install than I did you should easily be able to add a few outlets from a sub for around $250 or so. If you plan properly, you can easily add more circuits and receptacles as needed.

[Ray Moser]

In your situation, a generator might be a good temporary solution. We've had up to 45 hr outages with our Ohio Edison service and I'm grateful that I have a source of power for heat, lights and water (we're on a well). Be careful what brand of generator you get. I went to Sam's Club and bought a 5kw Coleman with a Tecunseh engine. Boy is it ever loud. I've stood within 20 ft of generators with Honda engines and they practically whisper. The Coleman does the job but if I had it to do over again, I would spend the money on something with a less noisy engine.

[Rob Russell]

Jonathan,

I would have run 1 1/4" EMT just to give more pull room. Did you use lots of pull lube? More importantly, did you include pull points at least every 360 degrees? That is a code requirement (358.62).

Also, why did you downsize the grounded (neutral) conductor to #6? I know of code sections that allow you to downsize the grounding (equipment grounding conductor) from the current-carrying conductors, but I'm not aware of a code section that would let you downsize the grounded (neutral) conductor in a feeder.

Rob

[Chris Padilla]

Jonathan,

I have the same questions as Mr. Russell. It doesn't sound "right" to have downsized your white wire (neutral); it should be the same size as your two hots (black and red). However, you can run a smaller EGC (green or bare) wire so that part sounds fine to me.

FWIW, the feeder from my main panel to the house sub-panel is Aluminum #4 and it is protected by a 100 A breaker. This must have met code back in 1974 when my house was built but I dunno. In my garage rehab, I offloaded a few circuits from the house sub just to ease my mind a bit. I might even replace that 100 A breaker with something smaller if I find a good deal one of these days....

[Rob Russell]

FWIW, the feeder from my main panel to the house sub-panel is Aluminum #4 and it is protected by a 100 A breaker. This must have met code back in 1974 when my house was built but I dunno. In my garage rehab, I offloaded a few circuits from the house sub just to ease my mind a bit. I might even replace that 100 A breaker with something smaller if I find a good deal one of these days....

Wow - #4 AL and 100 amps? According to table 310.16, #4 AL is rated for 65 amps (75 degree connections). Table 310.15(B)(6), which allows for use of a smaller conductor on "single-phase dwelling services and feeders" because of load diversity, doesn't start until #2 AL and that's allowed to carry 100 amps. Extrapolating, I'd guess that the #4 AL would be allowed to carry 75-80 amps.

[Chris Padilla]

Yeah, I know...that is what bothered me when I found out its size, Rob!! I think I'll be changing that breaker real soon....

[Jonathan Shaw]

Jonathan,

I would have run 1 1/4" EMT just to give more pull room. Did you use lots of pull lube? More importantly, did you include pull points at least every 360 degrees? That is a code requirement (358.62).

Also, why did you downsize the grounded (neutral) conductor to #6? I know of code sections that allow you to downsize the grounding (equipment grounding conductor) from the current-carrying conductors, but I'm not aware of a code section that would let you downsize the grounded (neutral) conductor in a feeder.

Rob
I was going to go for the 1 1/4" EMT when I returned the 3/4", but the guys at the big orange store thought it was way overkill. Of course, they thought 3/4" would be fine, but it obviously was not. Also, the 1 1/4" was about 3 times the cost of 3/4". I went with 1", which was twice the cost... It worked out ok, I think -- but you are most definitely right that 1 1/4" would have been the way to go.

I did not use any pull lube. I considered it, but I guess I didn't see how it could have made such a big difference. From what I've heard (later), it would have helped a lot.

I had read that access to the wires at every four turns or fewer is required, which is most likely an interpretation of the 360 degrees requirement. From the main panel, I make 2 turns (from down to east then up) using soft elbows. Then there is a third turn (from up to north) using a large box elbow (with an access cover). There are no other turns inside of the EMT. The wires are visible once inside the attic, and will be run down the wall to the subpanel. I will replace the drywall that I've removed once I finish wiring.

I was not aware that the neutral wire must be the same gauge as the hot wires. I asked multiple people at Home Depot, Lowes, and Evergreen Electric, and none of them thought there would be any issue with code on that. They each thought it is permissible to go up 2 gauges for neutral. I wish I had asked here... My guess is that there is more resistance in the 6-gauge wire than the 4-gauge, resulting in more voltage loss -- but it is the neutral wire, so why would that matter? (This may be a stupid question? I am still naive in this area.)

Must I staple the wiring that I run inside the garage to the nearby studs? I think I read that somewhere, but I do not know if it is a requirement (and why it would be a requirement).

[Jim Becker]

Johnathan, the neutral carries current when the 120v circuit is active...the same current as the hot leg.

[Arnie Grammon]

...since I really only need it right now for my shaper and I'm not sure I will be in the house in two years, is this a good way to go? I figure that for the limited time I will use the shaper...
Put this in the stupid question catagory......

Do you really need a shaper, i.e., can you do what you want to do with a 3 1/4 hp router w/ table? If I were you, I'd take this as an excuse to get set up with a decent router table, router, and decent router bits. For $600 to $800, you could do most of what a shaper is capable of, and actually spend much less on your bits so you would be saving $ that way as well. I wouldn't be too crazy upgrading something I plan on leaving in 2 yrs.

All of the above assuming you do not have a good router/table setup.

Just a thought.

Arnie

[John Weber]

For my detached garage 100 amp panel I ran a 2" conduit for ease of pulling. Yes, lube makes a world of difference, also I prebundled the wires. For power I ran 3-#3 Copper, and 1-#4 for the equipment ground. I also have a couple other lighting circuits that share the conduit. I have one LB mid-way and pulled the wire through half the run at a time, about 80' total. Conduit is cheap compared to the work of pulling a tight fit. If you go with Aluminum I believe you need to use #2, so the copper is a little smaller as well. I have the subpanel in the shop, but it connects to a large junction panel in the attic for ease of running some of the circuits.

John

In the pic the feed is the center top conduit, the large conduit running off the upper left side runs to the attic junction box. Just keeps everything a bit cleaner since the box is surface mounted. The one wall is stucco, so everything on it is surface mounted, however for the other three walls and ceiling all the wiring is in the walls...

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/powerwall.jpg

[Hunter Wallace]

Silas, I recently added a 60 amp sub-panel into my garage workshop,
using #4-4 alum. wire out my rim joist with 2" pvc. Didn't need pull lube
or anything, just a good strong 1/2" nylon rope. I used a 12 breaker
sub-panel in the shop and just added a 60A breaker into my main
panel in the basement. I ran the wire about 75 feet, which the #4 is rated
for to about 65 amps at that distance. I got everything but the wire at
the orange store, and the wire was in-stock and a LOT cheaper at my
"local" electric supply company. All together it has cost me around $375
for all my outlets, wire, panels, breakers and 6 flourescent lights. I rewired
5 of my machines for 240 with new plugs and put my table saw and jointer
on the same circuit...I can't ever see using both simultaneously. The worst
part of the whole job was just digging the trench for the conduit. The rest
was kinda fun!!! Good luck...

[Rob Russell]

I had read that access to the wires at every four turns or fewer is required, which is most likely an interpretation of the 360 degrees requirement. From the main panel, I make 2 turns (from down to east then up) using soft elbows. Then there is a third turn (from up to north) using a large box elbow (with an access cover). There are no other turns inside of the EMT.

Sounds like you have the 360 degree requirement covered well.




The wires are visible once inside the attic, and will be run down the wall to the subpanel. I will replace the drywall that I've removed once I finish wiring.

If you ran individual conductors, they need to be in conduit the entire run. Individual conductors like THWN are not rated for installation like NM (Romex) is by just stapling it to studs or running it in a wall cavity.




I was not aware that the neutral wire must be the same gauge as the hot wires. I asked multiple people at Home Depot, Lowes, and Evergreen Electric, and none of them thought there would be any issue with code on that. They each thought it is permissible to go up 2 gauges for neutral. I wish I had asked here... My guess is that there is more resistance in the 6-gauge wire than the 4-gauge, resulting in more voltage loss -- but it is the neutral wire, so why would that matter? (This may be a stupid question? I am still naive in this area.)

The neutral is a current-carrying conductor. If you ran 70 amps on 120v load on just one bus, you'd have a full 70 amps flowing back through the neutral conductor that's only sized for 65 amps. Granted that scenario isn't not likely to happen, but that's not how the code is written. An inspector would most likely red tag the installation as not meeting code if they caught it.




Must I staple the wiring that I run inside the garage to the nearby studs? I think I read that somewhere, but I do not know if it is a requirement (and why it would be a requirement).
If you transitioned to NM ("Romex") in the garage, the cable must supported at least every 4 1/2'. If you're talking about individual conductors, as before they must be in conduit.

[Jonathan Shaw]

Thank you to everyone (Rob, Chris, Jim, John!) for the advice and feedback. It sounds like what I have done will be "ok," even though it may not pass inspection by someone in the know--don't tell the city! When I go to sell the house, I assume that if code errors are flagged then I can just remove or reduce the rating of the breaker from the main panel, or at worst also remove the conduit running to the garage.

I still have some fittings and a leftover piece of conduit that is long enough to cover the drop from the attic to the subpanel, and the rest of the wiring I'll be using will be romex (for outlets, switches, and lights). I should be receiving an air stapler via rebate on the porter cable compressor kit I recently got... So that will be a fun first use of the tool to staple wires to the studs. :)

[Rob Russell]

Thank you to everyone (Rob, Chris, Jim, John!) for the advice and feedback. It sounds like what I have done will be "ok," even though it may not pass inspection by someone in the know--don't tell the city! When I go to sell the house, I assume that if code errors are flagged then I can just remove or reduce the rating of the breaker from the main panel, or at worst also remove the conduit running to the garage.

I still have some fittings and a leftover piece of conduit that is long enough to cover the drop from the attic to the subpanel, and the rest of the wiring I'll be using will be romex (for outlets, switches, and lights). I should be receiving an air stapler via rebate on the porter cable compressor kit I recently got... So that will be a fun first use of the tool to staple wires to the studs. :)

Questions

What is running through your attic? Single conductors in conduit, single conductors just unprotected or NM ("Romex")?
The "conduit that is long enough to cover the drop from the attic" - what do you have right now? Single conductors just running down to the panel?
Do you have the neutral and grounding conductors bonded in your subpanel or isolated?
"Don't tell the city ..." You are pulling a permit for this and having the work inspected - right? If not, when you go to sell the house, you may be opening yourself up to some major hassles. It's my understanding that when you sell, if a home inspector hired by the buyer sees the panel in the garage, checks to see whether it was a permitted/inspected installation, discovers that it wasn't - they will write it up and the town will make you either tear out the whole installation or bring it up to the then current code. It's my understanding that is the sort of thing they will check when they see a subpanel in the garage.

I'm asking these questions because there are safety issues associated with them.

Comments
Unless you have a special stapler that shoots staples that are "listed" for NM, you can't use the stapler. Not only that, but I'd guess that a pneumatic stapler is going to staple the cables too hard. You don't want to crimp the conductors inside the cable - just hold the cable in place. If anything, most people tend to staple NM cable too hard - if you're crimping it then you hammered too much/too hard. This isn't like trying to drive a nail flush.
FYI, I looked and there are code sections that allow downsizing of the grounded (neutral) conductor based on calculated load. You can use the #6 as a neutral provided you can show a load calculation to justify the downsizing. The applicable code section is 220.22. Per 250.24 (and table 250.66), the #8 is acceptable as a grounding conductor, although that's specific to service equipment which would be your master panel, not a subpanel. My guess is an AHJ would probably let it fly, provided you could show him/her the code article you used.

[Jonathan Shaw]

Single conductors in conduit enter the attic. A few inches after entering, it becomes single conductors lying in a pile.
Right now the wires are just hanging out in the attic... I haven't had time to finish drilling a deep enough hole to get them from the attic into the side wall. That has proven more challenging than I expected, due to the depth of the wood, the low incline of the roof, and hidden nails everywhere...
They are isolated in the subpanel. And to the best of my knowledge, they must remain isolated in a subpanel. Should I remove the neutral/ground bonding bar? (It is not connecting neutral to ground currently, but I don't know if one would just typically remove that piece altogether for a subpanel.)
I was going to skip the inspection due to fear of having to redo the whole thing to get it to pass... For the permit/inspection, I need to draw a site plan to show the city, then have them inspect the work and approve it. The cost is $102.40. Drawing the site plan should not be difficult, although I'm not sure what level of detail they need, and the cost is within my reach. I just really don't want to redo the work I've already completed (the 80-ish feet of EMT runs). I called the city and asked what the consequences may be for me not getting a permit and inspection. They replied that if someone (e.g. a neighbor) calls in a complaint, and they find the work was performed without a permit, then the $102.40 gets doubled and the work may need to be fixed.

Could a "load calculation" be as simple as me documenting usage scenarios and the peak amperages for each of those scenarios?

Is there an online copy of the code that I can access? I've seen sites that sell it. It seems silly that it is not freely available.

I apologize for taking over this thread... I really didn't mean to do that, although our current discussion still applies to the original post.

Thanks again for your help,
Jonathan

[Jim Becker]

Jonathan, even if you choose not to do the permit thing, you really want to do the work to code in every way for a variety of reasons. Rob and the others have given good advise about that. You can usually also have a local electrician "check your work" for a small fee. In my township, inspections are done by independent firms, too.

I don't know of an online version of the complete code...I looked for that myself quite some time ago. It seems there is a healthy market in "you buy" publications available, however... ;)

[Rob Russell]

Single conductors in conduit enter the attic. A few inches after entering, it becomes single conductors lying in a pile.
Right now the wires are just hanging out in the attic... I haven't had time to finish drilling a deep enough hole to get them from the attic into the side wall. That has proven more challenging than I expected, due to the depth of the wood, the low incline of the roof, and hidden nails everywhere...
The bottom line for you is that [300.3(A)] "Single conductors ... shall only be installed where part of a recognized wiring method of Chapter 3."

Chapter 3 in the NEC lists all the different types of wiring methods. It has individual articles for the various forms of cable (NM aka "Romex", Metal Clad Cable: Type MC, Flat Cable Assemblies, Medium Voltage Cable, etc.). It has individual articles for the various forms of Conduit, Tubing, Raceways, Wireways, Busways and Knob-and-Tube. It has articles on Messenger Supported Wiring and Open Wiring on Insulators (they don't apply to your situation). It doesn't have an article on a "run the loose wires across the attic and down inside the wall" wiring method.

The only "recognized wiring methods" available to you that make any sense are those that involve conduit. It also doesn't matter that you're running inside a wall. The individual conductors must still be in conduit. That means if you're running individual conductors you have to figure out a way to get conduit, with an appropriate sweep or "LB" fitting installed to transition from running across your attic to down inside the wall.

You could choose to change the wiring. Up in the attic install a junction box at the top of the conduit where you're coming up from your main panel. In the junction box, switch to #3 aluminum SER cable. Think of SER as being fat Romex with aluminum instead of copper conductors. You have to be a litle careful about joining copper to aluminum - there are special wing nuts you use or you could buy a small 4-pole terminal block (easy to find on ebay search on 3869998080 as an item number for an example). You can staple SER up in your attic using the right size staples. The SER can run down inside the wall without any other protection. You'd probably need nailing plates in the garage where it goes through studs, but those are easy to install. There are other rules about running the SER in an attic that we can get to later if you go that route.

You can't leave what you have the way it is. Not only does it grossly violate the NEC, but it's a safety hazard. You're asking for trouble the way you have it wired right now.



They are isolated in the subpanel. And to the best of my knowledge, they must remain isolated in a subpanel. Should I remove the neutral/ground bonding bar? (It is not connecting neutral to ground currently, but I don't know if one would just typically remove that piece altogether for a subpanel.)
You have it wired correctly. I asked the question the way I did to see how you had it wired. In a "subpanel" (BTW, not actually a real NEC term), the grounded (neutral) is on an isolated buss that is not bonded to the EGC. There is normally a green bonding screw that is installed when they need to be bonded. In the subpanels I put in our house, I just left that green bonding screw sealed in its little plastic bag in the bottom of the panelboard. That makes it really clear on inspection that the neutral and grounding busses are intentionally not bonded together.



I was going to skip the inspection due to fear of having to redo the whole thing to get it to pass... For the permit/inspection, I need to draw a site plan to show the city, then have them inspect the work and approve it. The cost is $102.40. Drawing the site plan should not be difficult, although I'm not sure what level of detail they need, and the cost is within my reach. I just really don't want to redo the work I've already completed (the 80-ish feet of EMT runs). I called the city and asked what the consequences may be for me not getting a permit and inspection. They replied that if someone (e.g. a neighbor) calls in a complaint, and they find the work was performed without a permit, then the $102.40 gets doubled and the work may need to be fixed.

OK - I can't help being a little snide here. You didn't want to pull a permit and have your work inspected because you were afraid it wouldn't pass :rolleyes:. Isn't that like ignoring the little voice in your head that tells you not to do something with a machine because it isn't safe?

The reason municipalities require permits and inspections is safety. They are helping to protect you from shoddy work being done, whether by an unscrupulous contractor or inexperienced homeowner. What the town told you about the fee being doubled and "work may need to be fixed" is exactly what I was referring to with the house inspectors. The difference is that when you go to sell your house and your buyers hire a house inspector who discovers the inappropriate installation, your buyers would require that the work be fixed, would require a permit/inspection, and the town would require that the work be fixed to whatever code is adopted at that point in the future.

If you do the work to code now and have it inspected, future changes in the code don't matter. Your installation is grandfathered as an approved installation.



Could a "load calculation" be as simple as me documenting usage scenarios and the peak amperages for each of those scenarios?

On the load calculation, the answer is yes and no. You need to read section 220.61, Feeder or Service Neutral Load, as part of doing your calculation.

I thought of another way for you to get around this. Article 240.4(B)Protection of Conductors, Devices Rated 800 Amperes or Less states "The next higher standard overcurrent device rating (above the ampacity of the conductors being protected) shall be permitted to be used, provided all of the following conditions are met: ..." and it lists some conditions that don't apply. From 240.6(A) Standard Ampere Ratings, Fuses and Fixed-Trip Circuit Breakers, 60 and 70 amps are standard ratings. That means, since your grounded (neutral) is rated at 65 amps, you could just use a 70 amp breaker instead of the 75 amp breaker and be done with it.




Is there an online copy of the code that I can access? I've seen sites that sell it. It seems silly that it is not freely available.

There is not an online copy. Your local library should have a copy of the NEC that you can either use there as reference material or possibly check out. The code isn't free, at least not yet. There are things that may force that to happen in the future. FYI, the NEC is created by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), which is an international, non-profit organization.

============================================

Were I in your position, I'd accept the fact that there is some rework to be done, get the permit and inspection and be happy knowing that you "did it right" and won't have to worry about the installation coming back to cause you problems in the future.

One thing you might want to ask your inspectors about is fire-stopping - caulking that you use to seal holes through top and bottom plates in walls. This is a code requirement [300.21] and is the one thing I got red-tagged on 'cuz I didn't know about it.

Hope all this helps.

Rob

[Ted Shrader]

Silas -

Besides the expert advice you have gotten so far on following code and the ramifications downstream on the sale of your house, let me add one more item. Should there be a fire (and we all hope not), the insurance company will also probably check the permit history no matter the cause of the fire - except maybe lightening. Anything to assign blame. . . .

Ted

[Jonathan Shaw]

I am very appreciative of your advice. There is a lot of information that I obviously need to digest.

It is not my plan at all to leave a bundle of wire sitting in the attic -- I just haven't finished the work, yet. The breaker has been turned off this entire time.

This weekend, I hope to finish the run to the load center using the remaining conduit and fittings that I have. Your alternative suggestion of using aluminum and a terminal block is intriguing. If I have trouble with the conduit, then I will need to consider this.

I am using a 70A breaker to feed this panel, not a 75A one. In fact, I don't think the local places even sell 75A Square D breakers (or I just haven't noticed them). So I am hopefully fine with regards to the #6 copper neutral.

Thanks again,
Jonathan