Garage Power Requirments for Sawstop and Dust Collection?

[Andrew Schofield]

Hi all,

I recently bit the bullet and bought the 1.75HP PCS Sawstop 110v, and am super excited to finally own a high quality saw! I went for the 110v as a) i'm unlikely to be cutting thick hardwoods very often, b) the garage is wired at 110v, and c) financial considerations (this saw was already at the very top of my budget, in fact over!)

I am now starting to look at dust collection options to pair with the Sawstop (I don't currently have anything other than a small shop vac) and from reading a few forum posts it looks like power could be an issue if everything is on one circuit? I don't really know too much about electronics, or even what I need to look for to figure this out (aside from just trying it)? There are only 2 outlets on the walls in the garage, the light switches and the garage opener wired in the roof. No idea if all this is all on one circuit or what the amps are or anything like that.

Am I likely to have a problem if I was to buy a reasonable dust collector that ran at the same time as the sawstop? Ideally I would REALLY like something that just came on automatically when I started the saw.

The basement is finished so not that keen to do a DIY or pay an electrician to come out if I don't need to, but would love some advice as don't want to overload the circuit and cause a safety hazard. It may be that I do this eventually down the line anyway as I would like the ability to also run a shop vac as well to connect to the over blade connection hose.

Thanks for any advice! Andrew

[David Buchhauser]

Hi Andrew,
If you know where the circuit breaker box/panel is, you could figure out which wall plug/receptacles are on which circuits by process of elimination. Chances are that your 120Vac circuits are on 20 amp breakers. You could switch off one breaker at a time and then check your garage wall outlets to see which ones are powered (or not powered). I would expect that you could run your table saw and a shop vac or smaller portable dust collector from a single 20 amp circuit. Your table saw should have a motor plate (or perhaps in the manual) specifying the current draw and recommended circuit. The same would be true for a shop vac or portable dust collector. My guess is that in a few hours there will be over 20 replies to your thread with very detailed information and suggestions.
Good luck!!
David

[Jim Becker]

Succinctly: You are going to need two circuits to accommodate a table saw and a dust collector with appropriate voltage/amperage on each for the tools to be used.

[Robert Engel]

Succinctly: You are going to need two circuits to accommodate a table saw and a dust collector with appropriate voltage/amperage on each for the tools to be used.

Definitely!!

[Frank Pratt]

Succinctly: You are going to need two circuits to accommodate a table saw and a dust collector with appropriate voltage/amperage on each for the tools to be used.

Absolutely. If you can afford a SawStop, you can afford to have sufficient power run to your shop. Have a sub-panel put in the shop so there will be ready access for future needs.

[Andrew Schofield]

Absolutely. If you can afford a SawStop, you can afford to have sufficient power run to your shop. Have a sub-panel put in the shop so there will be ready access for future needs.

Thanks guys, seems like I just need to get an electrician out to get my shop ready. Was hoping to do without but better to just get it done than have constant problems.

Thanks

[Ron Selzer]

I understand the money concerns especially since you stretched way out to get the sawstop.
Try the using the saw and dust collector as it is now, start the saw first then start the dust collector. Automatic is nice but you don't want both motors pulling power to start at the same time, until you get the electric upgraded. I have my dust collection starting automatically when SawStop, thickness planer, jointer, wide belt sander and radial arm saw start up. Still have to start shop vac by hand.
Then when you replenish your budget get the electrician out to instal at least a 60 amp 12 circuit subpanel. I don't know anyone you built there shop all at one time with all the goodies, right off the bat. You buy what you need at the time taking consideration of what you can afford at that time. Over the years the real laid out shops take shape.
Good luck
Ron

[glenn bradley]

Thanks guys, seems like I just need to get an electrician out to get my shop ready. Was hoping to do without but better to just get it done than have constant problems.

Thanks

Good advice here and good decision. It can be a difficult decision, especially if you have already blown your budget. Kudos to you for realizing that dust collection is an important part of keeping yourself safe and keeping your machines running smoothly. You have probably read or heard about folks having the circuit breaker trip in mid-cut or the lights dim when they turn on a machine. You do not want to be that guy. As often happens in hobbies or other recreational endeavors, we need to go just a bit further to get it right. Then we can relax and enjoy our time.

[Andrew Schofield]

Going to be an interesting conversation with the wife! :eek:

[Andrew Schofield]

I understand the money concerns especially since you stretched way out to get the sawstop.
Try the using the saw and dust collector as it is now, start the saw first then start the dust collector. Automatic is nice but you don't want both motors pulling power to start at the same time, until you get the electric upgraded. I have my dust collection starting automatically when SawStop, thickness planer, jointer, wide belt sander and radial arm saw start up. Still have to start shop vac by hand.
Then when you replenish your budget get the electrician out to instal at least a 60 amp 12 circuit subpanel. I don't know anyone you built there shop all at one time with all the goodies, right off the bat. You buy what you need at the time taking consideration of what you can afford at that time. Over the years the real laid out shops take shape.
Good luck
Ron

Be interested to hear what system you have to automate your dust collection with starting up those tools. I haven't gotten too far down the line of researching my options but all I know is that my space is limited....

Thanks

[ChrisA Edwards]

I could not run my SawStop PCS 1.75 and my Jet DC (110v) off the same circuit without tripping the breaker.

When I changed the motor on the Sawstop to 220V/3HP, my electrician friend put a meter on the circuit to see the amps required plus any startup spike. The Sawstop, with that motor, had minimal spike.

I would imagine the DC will probably spike more on startup than the Sawstop, so if trying them both on the same circuit, I would start the DC, let it run for a few seconds, before turning on the Sawstop.

[Bill Dufour]

At the very least run 240 volts to the shop. You can add more circuits later but not unless you have the 240 will it ever amount to much. Look in the house to find the fuse or breaker supplying the shop. Plug a radio into the outlet and slowly unsrew fuses one at a time until the radio is silent. Or if you have them flip breakers the same way.
What country do you live in and how old is the electrical service. Do you have 240 volts at the meter?
Bill D

[Robert Engel]

Going to be an interesting conversation with the wife! :eek:

May I suggest asking your wife's permission is quite different than asking her approval?

See, you may walk away from both conversations with your head down and feeling defeated, but in one case she think she's doing the right thing, the other she's hurt your feelings.

Give it a try. Its worked for me for 35 years!! I've never been denied (shop tools, that is LOL)

[Frank Pratt]

When determining how big a feeder to run to your shop, consider the following needs for a 1 person shop:
- Dust collection: a 5 HP collector will draw around 15A - 20A at 240V
- Table saw, band saw, lathe, or any other large machinery that will only be run one at a time: 3 HP is probably the larges motor you'll have & it is about 12A - 15A at 240V
- Air compressor: 2 HP is a reasonable assumption, about 10A at 240V

Dust collection, a large machine and the air compressor may be running concurrently, so you need to add up those loads. If you will be installing electric heat or air conditioning, add the largest of those loads to your total. Lighting can be handled by the existing lighting circuit.

So, without space conditioning, a 50A panel would be plenty. My shop has a 70A & doesn't come close to using that capacity. At times I've had 3 or 4 people in there using various tools & machinery.

[Jim Dwight]

I have a SS PCS 1.75. I learned that I need a thin kerf ripping blade to make deep cuts, even in softwood. But with the right blade, it can cut three inches deep in hardwood. With a clean, reasonably sharp and thin kerf blade, your saw can do the same things others use 3hp or 5hp saws. But it really needs a 20a circuit. I had mine on a power strip hooked up to my shop vac so the saw triggered the vac. The PCS would trip the 15A breaker on the power strip but the combination almost never tripped the 20A breaker. But the shop vac didn't work well on the PCS. The cabinet would fill with dust.

So I put in a second 20A circuit (120V) and installed a Harbor Freight 2hp DC. Works fine with the PCS, my CMS, my jointer and planner. I have 5 inch snap lock pipe with gates and use a remote to turn on the DC. The remote cost about $15.

I think you need two 120V circuits but I would not put in a panel for the shop or 220V circuits unless you are sure you will want tools that need 220V. I could have run a 220V line easily when I added my second 20A 120V and I did not bother. I can do everything I need to do with 2 20A 120V circuits. I've been doing this for nearly 50 years so I am pretty sure what I need.

[Bill Dufour]

Any chance of welding or an electric car before you move out? then run at least 60 amps

[Jim Dwight]

I also have a MIG welder that works fine on 120V. Not all welders need 220V.

[Scott Bernstein]

I am fortunate in that my main 200A panel for the house is located in the garage; this had made installing more circuits for my shop tools a breeze.

I purchased the 120V 1-3/4HP sawstop PCS about 4-5 years ago, before I had any 220V outlets in the garage. I had it on a dedicated 20A amp breaker. Using a standard kerf blade I could cut 3/4 flat stock, and up to 6/4 hardwoods without too much problem. Anything thicker the motor would bog down and occasionally trip the breaker. With a thin kerf ripping blade I could manage to cut up to 12/4 stock if I went very, very slowly. At that time I was using a Rigid shop vac for dust collection which was pretty much like using no dust collection. I eventually upgraded the motor in my saw to the 220V 3HP version and now it is on a dedicated 220V circuit, with my 5HP dust collector on a separate circuit. This huge cyclone is tremendous overkill for my hobby shop but I have one 4" flex line to the cabinet and another 4" line to the overarm dust collector/guard on the sawstop. Always love watching the shorter cutoffs go floating up into the dust guard and disappear.

[Tom Bender]

It is possible to have a nice shop with only 120 volt circuits, but you will need at least 3 of them. Start with a 15 amp circuit just for lights. Add a 20 amp circuit for each big machine that could run together. That would be; table saw, dust collector, air compressor. Not all shops have a compressor so that may get you to 3 circuits. Those 20 amp circuits can handle everything else when the TS and DC are not running. They should feed utility outlets around the walls.

I have a remote to start the DC and I'd say it is better than an autostart.