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Power Issues in my Shop. (Updated with a picture)
Posted on 12/17/24 at 11:52 am
Posted on 12/17/24 at 11:52 am
We bought our house 6 years ago and it has a shop. Long story short, when I turn on the window unit on in the shop it seems to take a lot of power from our house. Our microwave will not work well and the lights even get a little dim. It has not been a huge deal because I do not run the A/C out there very often. However, I would love to have it come on more to make the space a little more climate-controlled. Any idea as to what is happening and how I might fix it?
This post was edited on 12/18/24 at 3:02 pm
7
Posted on 12/17/24 at 11:58 am to arktiger28
How far away is the shop? I'm guessing it's pulling power off of just one side of the box and the run is long enough to pull a bunch of power from that one side where the microwave is and the lights.
Maybe the line to the shop isn't big enough as well?
I'm not an electrician but guessing on this. Others may have better insight.
Maybe the line to the shop isn't big enough as well?
I'm not an electrician but guessing on this. Others may have better insight.
Posted on 12/17/24 at 12:27 pm to arktiger28
Sounds like a problem with your main service entrance or air conditioner. Some freak possibility that shop service is too small and just perfect to make the ac never really get going good enough but something would have failed by now if that were the case.
Posted on 12/17/24 at 12:36 pm to arktiger28
What size circuit is the microwave and shop on? What are the watts on microwave and what are they on the AC? Find out everything that's on that circuit.
If you have room in your breaker panel, you may want to have the shop run on a dedicated circuit.
If your shop is already on it's own circuit and not sharing it with microwave, then call someone that knows more than me.
If you have room in your breaker panel, you may want to have the shop run on a dedicated circuit.
If your shop is already on it's own circuit and not sharing it with microwave, then call someone that knows more than me.
Posted on 12/17/24 at 1:01 pm to TigerSprings
quote:
If you have room in your breaker panel, you may want to have the shop run on a dedicated circuit.
Posted on 12/17/24 at 1:39 pm to TigerSprings
This.
Air conditioners and microwaves need to be on a their own circuit because they both have high power requirements.
If they are on separate circuits already, what is the total amps/watts that you have going to your breaker box? Unlikely that those two combined are topping it, but it is possible if its a small box and a powerful microwave/AC
Air conditioners and microwaves need to be on a their own circuit because they both have high power requirements.
If they are on separate circuits already, what is the total amps/watts that you have going to your breaker box? Unlikely that those two combined are topping it, but it is possible if its a small box and a powerful microwave/AC
Posted on 12/17/24 at 6:00 pm to TigerSprings
Who in their right or wrong mind would run a shop service from a kitchen circuit? I’ve seen some janky things like dual GFIs before but nothing like that.
Posted on 12/17/24 at 7:17 pm to arktiger28
How is the shop service tied into your main panel?
Posted on 12/18/24 at 7:49 am to arktiger28
I don't know what your tie-in to your shop looks like but you should probably have a dedicated circuit for the shop in your main panel and a subpanel in the shop for the circuits there. AN AC should be on a dedicated circuit in that subpanel, even if it is a window unit.
Your microwave should also have its own circuit.
If all of that is done correctly and you are still having the issues you describe, you might want to hire an electrician to troubleshoot your issues.
Your microwave should also have its own circuit.
If all of that is done correctly and you are still having the issues you describe, you might want to hire an electrician to troubleshoot your issues.
Posted on 12/18/24 at 8:15 am to TigerSprings
quote:
If you have room in your breaker panel, you may want to have the shop run on a dedicated circuit.
This is what I did. I have several large shop tools----table saw, band saw, radial arm saw, jointer/planer, designated thickness planer, drill press, large router in a shaper table, etc. and I ran a separate panel to my shop to handle the load.
I also have my 50 gallon electric water heater on that panel. That way I never have an issue with pulling a load from the living area of my house.
When I first moved into the house the area my shop is now in was used as a storage/utility area and only had a handful of outlets. Running cords to use my tools got old real fast so I bit the bullet and ran a new service.
Posted on 12/18/24 at 9:50 am to AyyyBaw
And how long is the run with what gauge wires?
Posted on 12/18/24 at 1:54 pm to arktiger28
quote:
We bought our house 6 years ago and it has a shop.
quote:
when I turn on the window unit
Was the window unit in the shop when you bought the house?
Posted on 12/18/24 at 3:01 pm to arktiger28
I thought a picture might help. Here is what the outside hookup looks like. The box I am pointing to was labeled shop. Does anyone know what the box to the right is? It was turned off which I thought was strange. Do these pictures help answer any questions at all?
Posted on 12/18/24 at 3:32 pm to arktiger28
Where does the conduit from the box on the right run to?
Wouldn’t think it would have anything to do with the shop but can’t be sure without knowing where it’s going.
Wouldn’t think it would have anything to do with the shop but can’t be sure without knowing where it’s going.
Posted on 12/18/24 at 3:36 pm to CottonWasKing
quote:
Where does the conduit from the box on the right run to?
It goes into the ground so I would need to do a little digging to figure out the direction it is going?
Posted on 12/18/24 at 3:54 pm to arktiger28
Open your shop box. And take a picture.
Posted on 12/18/24 at 4:07 pm to chrome1007
This is necessary without more info. Don’t touch anything in there, just remove cover.
Can also answer the following and get there: Is your home breaker box behind that meter and does it have a main on it also? How many amps?
How big is the shop? 100A 240 is a big feeder! How big is house also? How big is the shop AC? Is there a 100A sub panel in shop? What is AC breaker size there?
My guess is same as my original, too much stuff going on for whatever your main service is. Shop service seems fine so far and wouldn’t really affect the home anyway except for overloading main service.
Can also answer the following and get there: Is your home breaker box behind that meter and does it have a main on it also? How many amps?
How big is the shop? 100A 240 is a big feeder! How big is house also? How big is the shop AC? Is there a 100A sub panel in shop? What is AC breaker size there?
My guess is same as my original, too much stuff going on for whatever your main service is. Shop service seems fine so far and wouldn’t really affect the home anyway except for overloading main service.
This post was edited on 12/18/24 at 4:07 pm
Posted on 12/18/24 at 7:09 pm to arktiger28
The box to the right has one 15 amp breaker (which appears to be off). Best guess is that its fed from your shop box.
Anything not working - landscape lighting, sewer aerator, etc?
Anything not working - landscape lighting, sewer aerator, etc?
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