New Workshop Electrical Question

[Matt Przybylski]

Hello everyone,
Let me preface what I'm about to type by saying I'm a complete electrical newbie and have been trying to learn for the past few weeks in preparation of wiring for my new workshop (3 car tandem garage). I am moving into a new construction home and want to add a bunch of 220 and 110 outlets with surface mounted conduit. I'm trying to figure out if I have the wiring correct as I want a single 20A, 220V receptacle and a duplex 20A, 110V receptacle in each box.

The attached image is of the first run coming out of the panel. My plan is to have a breaker for the 220 and a separate breaker for the 110 in the panel. I want to run all the 220 outlets on one circuit and the 110 on the other in this particular line (there is about 3 of these in different parts of the shop, all on their own dedicated circuits). This run will have 4 boxes (3 of which you see here, one more not pictured but the same as the right two setups continued down the line). I want to make sure that I have the wiring correct as this is the basis for the other two runs as well which would mimic this run but on the opposite wall as well as one on the ceiling.

Could someone much more intelligent than I when it comes to electrical work please let me know if this is wired up correctly or if I'm completely off base? I really appreciate the help as this is nerve wracking for me and I've been trying to figure out how to do it for the past few weeks in my head so I wanted to get something down "on paper".

I'd also like to know if I need to ground each receptacle in the box? If so, how would that work with one grounding screw in the box and two separate receptacles? Would I just add one more ground wire to each wire nut and run them both (one from the 220 and one from the 110 receptacle) to the one ground screw on the box together?

And yes, I know I can hire an electrician to do this but I won't because 1) there is a lot of work to do on this and it will get expensive very fast, 2) I want to (and feel like I need to) learn how to do this myself in case of future expansion and 3) I am already going to be shelling out a bunch of money for furniture, back yard, etc, so I'd like to save here where I feel like I can actually do this myself (hah!).

Here is a link to a larger Dropbox version of the image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lz2r9d55grt3fcm/wiring-plan-long-wall.jpg?dl=0

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[Joe Shinall]

Let me just say that I was in your shoes before I bought my new house and I have since rewired half the house myself and also wired my entire shop myself. However, let me plead for you to at least hire an electrician to look over your work when you're done before you throw the switch on. I know some electricians around my area that would do it for under a hundred bucks and it's a great piece of mind.

Pretty sure someone's going to agree with me that you shouldn't run that many 220's off one circuit. Unless you are NEVER going to be running 2 220 machines at the same time.

[Matt Przybylski]

Hey Joe, thanks for your input. You're absolutely right, I indeed am hiring an electrician to finish it (connections to the panel) but I want to do as much of the conduit/wire runs/setup as I can myself.

As for never running 2 220 machines at the same time, that is the plan. Never on one circuit. The DC will have its own dedicated 30amp circuit so it shouldn't be an issue.

[Wade Lippman]

It is not 110v or 125v; it is 120v. (actually I have 117v in the summer and 122v in the winter but its called 120v)
Your wiring looks fine, though i would be real uncomfortable doing this if I had never done any wiring. If you can't afford an electrician, do you at least have a knowledgable friend who can look it over before it goes hot?
I have two 240v circuits. One for my cyclone and one for my tools. I've never wanted to run two tools at once, but obviously would have a problem if I did.
Use a plastic box and you don't have to worry about grounding.:) If you want a metal box then i don't honestly know for sure, but would guess that ground is ground. As long as all the wires pass through all the holes together, the fact that your grounds are effectively joined doesn't matter. Your better outlets self ground to the box.

[Matt Przybylski]

Hey Wade,
Yep, as I mentioned in the comment above yours, I will be having someone look it over before they connect it. I just don't want to do all this wiring and its no good.

[Alan Schaffter]

You might want to check local code. Some states/locales do not allow the tab between each half of a 120V duplex outlet to carry current from one outlet to the next (daisy chain). Instead, they require a pigtail with wire nut be used to connect to the main conductor.

[Doug Garson]

You should also check to see if you need a permit to do this (anywhere I've lived a permit would be required) part of the permit process would be one or more inspections by an electrical inspector. If a permit is required and you don't get one don't expect your insurance to cover you if you have an electrical fire. You might also check your local big box store or electrical supply store to see if they have a homeowner's guide to your local electrical code, it should answer most of your questions.

[Dennis Yamamoto]

One other thing to consider is to install a 220, 30 amp circuit instead of a 20 amp one. 10 gauge wire is a little harder to work with and a little more expensive, but it will save you time in the future if you upgrade your equipment. I'm not trying address the question of 2 machines at a time with this suggestion.

[Matt Przybylski]

Dennis, I will be using 10 ga for the 30a, 220 dedicated circuit for the DC. The others will all be 12 ga.

[Jason Roehl]

If it's going to be in conduit, go ahead and spring for red wire instead of re-labeling the white wire as a hot leg.

When it comes to grounding the boxes, receptacles, and the two circuits, you can tie all those grounds together. Get bigger wire nuts if need be, and use a small pigtail with a crimp-on ring (or forked) terminal to screw it to the box.

[Matt Przybylski]

Jason, I didn't realize you could tie ALL of the ground wires together into one nut and do that. That's a good idea and will probably be cleaner than what I have.

[Steve Mathews]

Matt - I just finished a very similar project in my barn/shop. The major exception was my wiring was run in stud walls where romex type wire and plastic boxes were used. I also used 10 gauge wire for the 240v, 20 amp circuit. Here's what I learned ...

Make sure you use a large enough box to satisfy fill requirements. There's plenty of info. online to do this calculation. Many here will suggest using a larger box than required primarily because of the 10 gauge wire. It will certainly help but I didn't find it necessary.

Be prepared to be a little more patient with the 10 gauge wire and think about how to cleanly fold the wires into the box. It's definitely more difficult to work with but you get better at as you go along.

You will need to get a special cover plate for the duplex and single 240v, 20 amp outlet. They are available but you probably won't find them locally.

I'm not suggesting that you tackle connecting to the panel but I did it without a problem. In all fairness my shop has a separate subpanel where all power could be cut off.

Member Alan Schaffter suggested that "daisy chaining" may not be permissible in your area. You might be able to determine that by simply looking at one of your duplex outlets in the house, especially considering it's newly constructed.

And lastly, I didn't hire an electrician, not to save money but rather for the satisfaction of doing the work myself. The learning process was fun. If there was any part of the work that I felt was not done correctly or not safe I would've backed off and hired someone more capable to do it.

That's my 2 cents worth of input.

[Matt Przybylski]

Steve, thank you very much for your input. I see you're in Kingman, I'm down in Gilbert, only a brisk 220 mile drive away :)

I found the cover plate I'd need (as well as a bunch of other things which are much cheaper than at the local big box store) at http://www.garvinindustries.com/, oddly enough located in Franklin Park, IL, very close to where I just moved to Arizona from. Funny how all that works out.

I am in fact considering connecting everything to the panel myself, but not until I get someone that knows what they're doing to take a look at what I have done up to that point. I've done research on how to connect the breakers and it honestly doesn't look very hard. I believe all this that I want to do isn't hard, it's just a matter of knowing if I'm doing it correctly thats the crux of the situation. And I completely agree with you about the satisfaction of doing the work yourself. I got quoted >$4,000 for this work as well as some other electrical work I wanted to do around the house (this was the majority of the cost, I'd say probably $2,500 of it give or take, including materials) which I can't swing at the moment with buying a new home and having to furnish it, etc, so I want to do this myself for not only that reason but because I really have been wanting to learn electrical for a long time and I figure this is as good a time as any.

[Steve Mathews]

Matt - I sometimes get to the Phoenix metro area to visit other properties we have there and lately to compete in some airgun competitions. I understand there are also a few good woodworking stores that I plan to visit on my next trip. The drive from Kingman to Phoenix on AZ-93 (soon to be the new US-11) is really quite nice. I hope you like Gilbert and transition to the climate change without a problem.

Yes, I think you'll enjoy doing the work yourself and developing skills for future projects. You are fortunate in that there will be a good source of electricians in Gilbert or surrounding area to use at your discretion, a luxury we don't have in Kingman. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Matt,

I just finished wiring my shop, (35' x 50'). You did not say anything about your panel, if you already have one, or you are going to purchase one. If you are going to purchase one, get one with a lot of breaker positions. I put in a 200 amp panel with 42 breaker positions. I think I have only a couple positions left.

Where I am, the code says if you have metal boxes they must be grounded, plastic obviously not. I ran 220, and 120 outlets all around my shop. I installed the 120 in one box, and the 220 in its own box. I put the boxes next to each other. To put everything in one box is a lot, especially with 10 gauge wire. I would suggest using metal boxes with the 220, and using twist lock receptacles. When you pig tail your ground wire, take it to the box first, rap it around the box screw, then to your receptacle. One wire grounds both.

Run all the 120 in plastic boxes. I don't like to wire the receptacles like your diagram. I like to pig tail the wires just like you did in the 220. Where I am, code requires 120 outlets to be GFI protected. I like using GFI breakers, and not GFI receptacles.

Run dedicated circuits to everything that could come on at the same time, air compressor, dust collector, etc. If you do work on your panel, stand on a rubber mat...

Sam

[Matt Przybylski]

Sam, do you happen to have a picture of how your 220 and 110 boxes sit next to each other? What I'm having a hard time with is how the conduit is run for that. Is it just all run through one 3/4" pipe to the first box, then a very short length of pipe to the next box that holds the 220, and then on to the next set of boxes down the line? in essence if the 110 box were first and the 220 second, you'd just be pushing the 220 wires through the 110 box in the back and vice versa for the 220 on the right?

[Steve Mathews]

Sam, do you happen to have a picture of how your 220 and 110 boxes sit next to each other? What I'm having a hard time with is how the conduit is run for that. Is it just all run through one 3/4" pipe to the first box, then a very short length of pipe to the next box that holds the 220, and then on to the next set of boxes down the line? in essence if the 110 box were first and the 220 second, you'd just be pushing the 220 wires through the 110 box in the back and vice versa for the 220 on the right?

I don't like the looks of double boxes but I think there are advantages based on my prior reading. Please confirm but I think pass through wires do not count in fill calculations.

[Ryan Mooney]

When it comes to grounding the boxes, receptacles, and the two circuits, you can tie all those grounds together. Get bigger wire nuts if need be, and use a small pigtail with a crimp-on ring (or forked) terminal to screw it to the box.

To clarify, if you do that you want only ONE ground return. What you do NOT want is any loops in the ground circuit. That is don't run two grounds from the panel and pigtail them together (I know Jason knows this but the details are well.. the details... which is where the devil lays in wait).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)

[Art Mann]

I hope the color code you have chosen for your illustration is just a little misleading rather than bad wrong. It appears that you are using grey to depict 120VAC in the 240VAC circuit and to represent neutral in the 130VAC circuit. Yes?

[Matt Przybylski]

Art, that is correct, if you look closely you will see that I've marked the gray (what will actually be a white wire in "real life") with "black tape" to denote that it is hot, as I understand is common to do in this case.

[Art Mann]

I don't see anything wrong with your plan. In fact, that is the way I have my shop wired. There is nothing wrong with running multiple 240VAC outlets from one circuit. I did a couple of 240VAC multi outlet circuits that way and I never encountered a problem. My opinion is that running two machines at once is a safety hazard even if the two machines are on different circuits (unless you have multiple operators). If you are running a 240VAC dust collection system or a big compressor, I would provide individual circuits for them.

[Matt Przybylski]

Thanks Art, those are my thoughts on the subject as well.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Matt,

I used romex, and all of the wires are in the wall. If you are using conduit, and running it on the outside of the wall, I think you can just run the wires through the box. Here is the way I would do it if I was using conduit on the outside of the walls (check code first). Run the 120 and 220 circuits totally independent of one another even though they are in the same conduit. From the panel run 2 hots and 1 ground for the 220. For the 120, I would run 1 hot, 1 natural, and 1 ground, ( One ground may do it for both, I'm not sure). The problem with running everything in one conduit is keeping track of what wire is for what circuit. Color coding will be important. If you run two ground wires, you can not tie them together, like Ryan said. If you run two ground wires, they each only connect at the panel.

I would separate the two boxes by a few inches of conduit. I like double boxes. It clearly identifies your 220, and 120, it also gives you more room to wire things. 10 gauge is hard to work with. I ran all of my 220 with 10 gauge wire. I used 20 and 30 amp breakers depending on what size circuit I wanted. Doing it this way, it allows me to upgrade a 20 amp circuit by just changing a breaker to 30 amp.

I like using twist lock receptacles for the 220. Without the twist locks, and having both 220 and 120 in the same box, someone may try to use the 220 to plug a 120 tool into, you never know...

Today I will take a photo and post it tonight.

Sam

[Matt Przybylski]

Great Sam, thank you!

[roger wiegand]

I've never seen a 240 v outlet that would accept a 120v plug, nor vice versa, I don't think that's an issue, at least if the correct plugs/outlets are employed.

I've wired my shop so that things that can run at the same time as my tools have dedicated circuits-- these would primarily be the air conditioner, dust collector, and air compressor.

I like the convenience of multiwire branch circuits to give me two separate 120 v circuits as well as 240 in a single box with one 12-3 wire. In most boxes I put one 240 outlet and one duplex 120, splitting the 120 so that each side of the duplex is independent. That way I can plug a high draw tool and shop vac in at the same duplex outlet without overloading anything.

[Brice Rogers]

The rule for most residential wiring is that each device has to be within 6 feet of a receptacle. That means that the spacing between receptacles must be 12 feet or less. When I wired my workshop, I put in quad receptacles roughly ever six feet. I have never been sorry. Having only a duplex (2) receptacle wouldn't work for me.

While it appears permitted to include a 240 volt receptacle in the same box as a 120 volt circuit, I think that most people do not do that. Perhaps it has to do with the difficulty of pulling six wires through the conduit. You will find that when you have a lot of wires in the same conduit, it can be a little hard pulling the wires, even with pulling lubricant.

I presume that you are planning on using the gray PVC conduit? I would advise going with the larger sized conduit that your boxes will support. When you start pulling wires, you'll understand why. There is code for the max number of 90's allowed on a conduit run without incorporating a pull box.

So, if this was my workshop I would run the 240 runs in one conduit and the 120 run in another set of conduits. Also, I would use quad 120 receptacles (that is, two duplex receptacles in a single box).

[Chris Padilla]

I used the large 4 11/16 x 4 11/16 boxes and used stranded #10 for everything. I put flex conduit in the walls so I could change things later if I desired. I also Edison-wired (multi-wired) all my 120V/20A using black, red, and 1 white neutral for the return. All my 240V is 30 A and twist-lok and on their own breaker. I also ran dedicated for the dust collector and air compressor.

[Art Mann]

I believe Sam meant to say that the neutral wires from different circuits should not be tied together. The reason is the neutral wire is a current carrying conductor. It has to have a certain capacity independent of any other circuit. You have more freedom with the ground wire because it never carries current unless the circuit is faulted out. If that happens, one hopes the breaker will open the circuit.


Great Sam, thank you!

[Chris Padilla]

I put in quad receptacles roughly ever six feet. I have never been sorry. Having only a duplex (2) receptacle wouldn't work for me.

I believe they use the term single and double-gang to refer to number of receptacles in a box. So your quad would be considered a double-gang and the duplex a single-gang.

[Chris Padilla]

I believe Sam meant to say that the neutral wires from different circuits should not be tied together. The reason is the neutral wire is a current carrying conductor. It has to have a certain capacity independent of any other circuit. And I think you are saying: In its most basic form, the neutral will need to at least carry the same amount of current as the hot wire in a circuit. In the case of a multi-wire or Edison-wire style, it can carry less if both the red and black hot are drawing. So in a nutshell, each circuit needs its own neutral...except in the multi-wire or Edison-wire style which only needs one neutral despite being two circuits (I think it is appropriate to call such a wiring style as having two circuits?).


You have more freedom with the ground wire because it never carries current unless the circuit is faulted out. If that happens, one hopes the breaker will open the circuit.


Actually, the ground can carry current just fine and never trip the circuit breaker. It is there mostly to keep the current flowing back to the panel and not through a person who might touch metal that is accidentally being used to carry current. Now if that circuit has a GFCI on it (receptacle or breaker), THEN the GFCI will trip in this situation since it will detect a large current difference between the hot and neutral (since the white neutral is no longer the return path back to the panel for the current).

[Art Mann]

And I think you are saying: In its most basic form, the neutral will need to at least carry the same amount of current as the hot wire in a circuit. In the case of a multi-wire or Edison-wire style, it can carry less if both the red and black hot are drawing. So in a nutshell, each circuit needs its own neutral...except in the multi-wire or Edison-wire style which only needs one neutral despite being two circuits (I think it is appropriate to call such a wiring style as having two circuits?).

I would not call that two circuits but that doesn't really matter one way or the other. In reality, I am sure you know that if the load on a sub panel or multi wire circuit is perfectly balanced, then the neutral wire won't carry any current at all. I left out that little detail because it is likely to cause more confusion than enlightenment.


Actually, the ground can carry current just fine and never trip the circuit breaker. It is there mostly to keep the current flowing back to the panel and not through a person who might touch metal that is accidentally being used to carry current. Now if that circuit has a GFCI on it (receptacle or breaker), THEN the GFCI will trip in this situation since it will detect a large current difference between the hot and neutral (since the white neutral is no longer the return path back to the panel for the current).

Any time the ground wire is carrying any current, it is not just fine. It is a symptom of a very serious problem. If it is caused by a direct short to ground, one hopes that a breaker will trip but it may not. If you are approaching the point that a 15A or 20A breaker will not prevent someone from being electrocuted, and you need a ground wire to do that, then I agree. It is hard concept for a lot of people to accept that simple breakers protect the wiring only.

See comments in red.

[Sam Layton]

355747Here is a photo of my receptacles. Everyone has their own preference, I like separating the 120, and 220. All my 220 have twist lock receptacles, and stainless steel face plates. All of the 120 have white plastic face plates. It just works for me.

Matt, there are different ways to wire a building, an experienced electrician may be able to use fewer wires, and get double duty from some wires. If I were you, I would not try to save wire by getting double duty from a wire, you do not have experience for that. If you stick to basic wiring, I think you will be fine in wiring your project. Are you running your wires from a main panel or a sub panel? Installing a circuit breaker, and running the wires from the breaker is easy. Just make sure your main breaker is off.

I will say it again, just stick with the basics. When you leave your panel with two hots and a ground for a 220 circuit, finish the circuit with those three wires. Don't use the ground for anything else, just that circuit. Same with a 120 circuit, leave the panel with one hot, one natural, one ground, and finish the circuit with those three wires. Don't use the ground or natural for anything else...

Check out one other thing. Where I live, the 120 receptacles have to have that plastic shield so a child can not stick something in one leg of the plug.

What Art said in red as well...

Sam

[Matt Przybylski]

Sam, thanks for that. I agree, I think some of the advice I'm getting is a bit more advanced than what I'm prepared for and while someone with more experience may be best suited going that route, I think I need to do what is easiest and will work for my setup.

I'm using my main panel as it is a 200 amp panel and I have about half of it left wide open. It's right on the other side of my exterior garage wall so I was going to put a PVC 8x8x4 junction box on the garage side and run all conduit to that and from there just go straight into the drywall behind it to the panel.

Thank you for taking the picture, much appreciated. I wish I had run the romex prior to the drywall phase of the build but such is life.

[Sam Layton]

Matt, I think you will be fine. If you place your breakers in your panel, balance them ( don't use all of the ones on one side, and leave the other side empty ).

Sam

[Chris Padilla]

Any time the ground wire is carrying any current, it is not just fine.

Good grief, I meant that the ground can carry current...not that it is 'fine' in the sense it is okay...just that it can handle it.

[Ryan Mooney]

A couple of other notes (plus strong agreement with everything Sam said - very nicely put Sam):

I would suggest running at least a couple of 120v circuits, alternate the outlets so that you have access to circuit A and B within short reach of each other. That is really convenient if you happen to need to plug in two high draw tools at the same time (say a saw and a vacuum). Use different coloured faceplates for each circuit so its easy to tell them apart. It adds cost but as they say cry once :) You can share conduit for this (watch the fill rates), I generally label the cable ends in shared tenancy conduit because it makes tracking and connecting so much easier using something like https://www.amazon.com/Gardner-Bender-42-035-Booklet-Symbols/dp/B002YDWQ0I (there are a number of products like this - I actually use something more like: https://www.amazon.com/Panduit-S050X150VAC-Vinyl-Self-Laminating-2-Inch/dp/B003J1RAFK but a $500 solution kind of seems like overkill for home use :D) I haven't seen electricians label cables, but its a cheap way to keep track of things (just don't do like the one guy I worked with did and label one end 1, 2, 3 and the other end A, B, C - A did not go to 1 either.. I was literally gobsmacked).

Buy some wire lube before trying to pull the wire through the conduit. The wire lube is formulated to not attack the wire sheath so although other things might work its smart to just use the thing made for it. Lubricating the wires makes them MUCH easier to pull and reduces the risk of stretching or tearing the wire sheathing due to friction.

You can pull a string through the conduit by tying a sandwich bag to the end of the string and sucking it through with a vacuum. Also either put in a pull string loop so you have a backup string, or pull a trailing string with the wire so you have another pull string for later. Using a 25-50lb swivel leader between the pull string and the cables can help keep the wires from twisting to much as you pull them. Having the wires carefully laid out before pulling (as a bundle) can help keep things tidy as well.

Watch the number of curves's you put in without an access panel - NEC has a limit of (I seem to recall) 360 total degrees but the way its calculated is complicated and counts a lot of non-obvious things so generally cap it at one 90d bend per run for ease of pulling (most of my experience is low voltage which is fussier as well which bias me a bit).

[Matt Przybylski]

Ryan, thanks for all that info. I have actually been thinking about separating the 220v and 110v outlets and putting them in separate boxes next to each other (similar to Sam's setup but with conduit) and I think you just confirmed for me what I had not thought of and that is, for instance, miter saw/vacuum running at the same time. So, I think I will modify my plans to do that and put two duplex 100 receptacles in a 4x4 box and one 220v receptacle in a 2x4 box next to it. I will put the different color plates on them to differentiate circuits, that is a great idea, thank you.

If I were to do this, can I run the conduit for the 220 and 110 basically together, side by side, and go into each box and then continue this on the line. If you could picture this, one conduit would use an upper hole in the side of the 4x4 box, the other would use a lower hole, one would carry 6 total wires, 3 each for the duplex outlets, the other would carry 3 wires for the 220. The 3 220 wires would just pass through inside of the 4x4 box while the 6 would get hooked up to their receptacles and then same thing but reversed for the 220 2x4 receptacle. Hopefully that made sense, but would that be permissible?

[Jason Roehl]

To clarify, if you do that you want only ONE ground return. What you do NOT want is any loops in the ground circuit. That is don't run two grounds from the panel and pigtail them together (I know Jason knows this but the details are well.. the details... which is where the devil lays in wait).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)

I don't think he's running a sound system. Besides, what do you think the conduit is? I'd ground the conduit, and nut all the grounds together in each box. He could pull one larger ground wire to serve several circuits, too.

[Matt Przybylski]

I wanted to follow up with what I described above in terms of conduit. The wiring would be the same as my original plan just where I'm running the wires adjusted for each conduit and as outlined.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y6pept6u7gtobst/wiring-plan-long-wall-conduit.jpg?dl=0

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[Sam Layton]

Thank you Ryan, your advice is spot on as well. Matt, I did what Ryan said regarding alternating my outlets on both the 120, and 220. I really like his idea about different color face plates. Mine are not marked, and I forgot which are which. I am going to mark them, thanks Ryan.

I like your idea Matt, regarding the two 120 circuits in the 4x4 box. For the 220 circuit, use a 4x4 box as well. You can use a 4x4 box, and get an adaptor plate that takes it to a single gang opening that will accept one receptacle. That will give you a lot more room wiring your receptacle, especially using the 10 gauge wire.

You also will need a wire caddie to put your wire on so you can pull it. I don't think wires that just pass through count as fill, I am not sure though. I think you have a good plan that will function well and look good.

Keep us posted.

Sam

[Matt Przybylski]

Sam,
That is good advice on the 4x4 box for the 220 as well. That will also allow me to expand in the future if need be by running more wire to the 4x4 box and putting a second receptacle in there if I wanted with just changing out the face plate.

I've got a wire caddie on my "to buy" list for sure. I have already run a bunch of cat6/coax/speaker wires during the build between framing and drywall going up so I know how rough it gets trying to unwind wires and keep it sane during the pulls.

[Sam Layton]

Looks good to me Matt. I like GFI breakers, instead of GFI plugs. It cost a little bit more, but you are saving a bundle by doing it your self.

Sam

[Sam Layton]

One other thing I would add to your, to buy list, is a tester to test if your circuit is hot or not. Don't know what it is called, but it is about 4" long, 3/4" in diameter, and has a small blade that you insert in the hot leg of a plug, or touch next to a wire to see if it is hot or not. A little light will flash, and it will beep. Any time I work on electrical I always use it to check.

Sam

[Matt Przybylski]

Sam, yep, I already have one :)

[Bill Dufour]

Consider more 240c circuits for an air compressor, welder or air conditioner. I would upsize the conduit where you may latter want to pull more wires. I also would pull a string along with the wires in every conduit run. Leave the string behind after the wires are pulled. makes it much easier to latter pull some more wires.
If this is a three car garage consider adding a sub panel. That may be cheaper then lots of extra wires.
Any chance you may get an electric car or rv that needs a 240 outlet in 40 years?
Bill D.

[lee cox]

You could do all the hard work stringing and mounting everything. Then hire an electrician to connect to the real power and inspect your work. It will cost less since you did most of the work.

[Josh Kocher]

Just to muddy your water a bit...

Why not use 12/3 in a multiwire branch circuit configuration?

That would give you 2 separate 20amp 115volt circuits plus a 230volt with one run from the box and one less space in your panel.

If you still want/need a dedicated 230 you could still do a second run...

But now you'd have 2x115v circuits plus 2x230v circuits with minimal extra cost and work and only one more space in your box...