Electric question!

[William (Mtl)]

Hi Guys,

anyone of you knows where to find informations on how to add an electric panel from an existing one? I want to bring 60 amps 240v from my actual panel to a new panel inside my garage. The new pannel will have 4 breakers 2 of 20 amps at 220v and 2 at 10 amps 110v And i would need instructions! I bought already a #6 wire to bring the 60 amps from my current panel to the new one but now, WHERE do i connect the wires in both panels? heheh

Thank you

William!

[Denis Chénard in Ottawa]

When I left Québec in '89 electrical work had to be done by a licenced electrician as far as I can remember. Did that change?

There might be insurance coverage issues if you do the work yourself. I would at least check that out first with your company...

Connecting the new panel to the existing one is not very hard, although I can't remember the specifics. I'm sure you'll get answers here, if not google it...

DC

[Andy in Kanata]

Hello William,

The actual hookup is not complicated, but judging by your question you may wish to reconsider doing this yourself. To be legal, this type of installation has to be inspected by the proper authorities. In Ontario it's called ESA or Electrical Safety Authority.

In Quebec however, only qualified electricians are allowed to do this work. It is illegal for homeowners to do it.

If you still insist on doing it yourself, drop me an email.

Cheers,
Andy.

[Gary in Niagara]

William,

The questions you are asking are really basic and if you don't know the answers I would recommend that you call an electrician or at least get someone locally that will work with you.

To get 60 amps out of your existing panel you need to add a 60 amp breaker.

Gary

[Kevin T in T Bay]

This sounds scary,,,, Hopefully the lights don't dim in his neighbourhood....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..

[William (Mtl)]

Kevin, if it's scary for you, can you imagine for me? heheh

[William (Mtl)]

Hi Gary,

i installed already the #6 wire sealed inside PVC pipes and 12" underground. That's what the electric code says. For the breaker etc. i already have the 60 amp double breaker for my main panel.

The only difference is that i never installed this kind of big wire.

William!

[J.P.Rap in Hamilton]

For your own sake and that of your family, I think you should reconsider your plan. If it's about the money, I can sympathize but there has to be a place were you draw the line over saving a buck.
You said you have already run the #6 wire. Thats fine. Go out to your shop and do all the wiring at that end. Make sure you have everything done except the main hook up. Then call in a profesional to inspect your work and hook up the line. It won't cost you too much to do it that way and there will be no insurance or code issues to worry about.
FWIW
J.P.

[Mike on the Wet Coast]

I echo the other's concerns.

In addition, if you are going to the trouble (and expense), put a 12 breaked panel in, not a 4 breaker panel.

[Kevin T in T Bay]

Now ....when will the lights go out on the eastern half of Canada????LOL Becareful, or fork out the cash.... Cheers

[William (Mtl)]

Well, well, no lights went off and everything seem to be ok isn't it? The job is finished and everything went ok!

William!

[William (Mtl)]

Thank you very much Andy for your help. I did the installation and everything went ok!

Thank you again for your help!

William!

[William (Mtl)]

Thank you Denis,

yes indeed, it is illegal here in Quebec to do it yourself. I asked today to an electrician and i called a friend of mine in the insurance business and he confirmed that one thing insurances hate the most is people that try to do their big electricity work by themselves etc. etc.

So i have to call an electrician and ask him to come and verify the installation and he is going to write a letter to the insurance company saying that the work is acceptable and if not he will have to correct and specify on the letter ... OF COURSE you will have to pay for the letter and the electrician etc. etc. But at this point it's better do it.

Thanks

William!

[Norman (Metcalfe, Ont.)]

I completely wired my previous shop including
new, additional breakers,etc..

What I did was to get the Ontario Electrical Handbook and follow it to the letter..

In Ontario, this is allowed.

I called Ontario Hydro after completion, inspector came over, was suitably impressed, and issued a Certificate. Cost 50.00 maybe, I can't remember now.

Norman

[Kevin T in T Bay]

Glad to here you made the connection. Question..Now what did you do to the rest of the grid??? Now my hydro is going off and on..Check the light switch...LOL