Putting It Back Together

[tohellwithuga]

Yeah, I had originally thought I would have the DC in the corner that the wood storage was in, so I had already dropped a dedicated circuit there. When I moved the DC, it didn't make sense to have a dedicated circuit in that corner anymore, so I just added the next 3 outlets to that circuit. I do want to leave some outlets in that corner just in case I decide the layout doesn't work (for example, I thought about moving the wood storage to the back concrete wall between the shelves and utility sink, which would mean that the orange outlets would be used more).

Also notice that I have access to the blue outlets in the corner near the doors on that wall. So, technically, I could use either the green or the blue there.

That being said, your suggestion to alternate the outlets is probably a better idea (I had thought about this, too, but just didn't do it for whatever reason). Does this look better? I alternated most of the outlets, and added a dedicated (purple) for the DC. Any thoughts?

Green: 20A circuit 1 (4 outlets total)
Orange: 20A circuit 2 (4 outlets total)
Blue: 20A circuit 3 (5 outlets total)
Purple: 20A circuit 4 (1 dedicated outlet)
Yellow: circuit 5 (5 outlets total)





Summary (L to R): Green high/low pair; orange high/low pair; green high/low pair; 2 high orange.



Summary (L to R): Yellow high/low pair; blue high / purple low; blue high/low pair.



Summary (L to R): Yellow low; yellow high/low pair; blue high/low pair;

[mpc]

That looks pretty good to me. Though with 20 amp circuits you may not need to change your existing wiring; if they'd been 15 amp circuits I'd strongly suggest alternating them. In my shop I basically made every outlet its own circuit (nowhere near as many outlets as you have) and it's nice to not have to worry about overloading anything. Mine are 20 amp circuits too.

Any 220 outlets? In case you ever get that big 5HP table saw or big band saw? I put one in my shop for my Mig welding unit. I figure one is enough for what I do - I doubt I'll ever need the welder in combination with another 220 volt tool! I located the outlet so that the welder (which has long cords) can reach either end of my long shop/garage or I can toss the cord through the nearby window and use the welder outside if/when necessary.

With all of the outlets you've shown this probably won't be a big deal for you: any cordless tool chargers? I have a few different charger brands (Ridgid, Ryobi, and the seldom used Makita) with a fair number of batteries. And no good "out of the way" place to actually use the chargers. An outlet with a small shelf nearby would be quite handy! My chargers, when needed, end up sitting on the wings of my drum sander since it's rarely used, borrowing the outlet intended for the sander. Maybe a small shelf underneath your service panel? Unless it'd be a knee-busting hazard sticking out...

Do you use sawboards or long edge guide clamps? I have both, I found hanging the sawboards on the face of the sheet storage bin (a wedged-shaped setup like you've been showing) was a simple way to keep them protected and out of the way. I have two sawboards; one is 8 feet long and the other is a bit over 4 feet; the bin storage is just over 8 feet long thanks to the "cap" at the tall end so the sawboards fit nicely.

Just noticed something else: you have a band saw and drill press sharing a cart... probably just a notional idea/drawing at the moment but is the placement for the two tools correct? Right now it looks like the drill press would prevent the doors from opening on the band saw. Although flipping them around may make it hard to open the drive belt door on the drill press... or reach the table height adjustment crank.

mpc

[mpc]

One other thing I wish I'd thought of when installing wiring in my shop: easy access to the stud bays above and below the service panel. My shop is basically a second garage on my property, it was unfinished when I bought the property. So I had one good chance to think about wiring, insulation, etc. before the wallboard went up. The ceiling is still open rafters so, if I need more wiring, running conduit is pretty simple... except the actual part of getting the conduit down to the service panel itself. Thinking about it now, I wish I'd made 16 inch wide wallboard sections, attached only with screws and no tape/mud, above and possibly below the service panel so I could easily get to the box for future expansion.

mpc

[tohellwithuga]

That looks pretty good to me. Though with 20 amp circuits you may not need to change your existing wiring; if they'd been 15 amp circuits I'd strongly suggest alternating them. In my shop I basically made every outlet its own circuit (nowhere near as many outlets as you have) and it's nice to not have to worry about overloading anything. Mine are 20 amp circuits too.

Any 220 outlets? In case you ever get that big 5HP table saw or big band saw? I put one in my shop for my Mig welding unit. I figure one is enough for what I do - I doubt I'll ever need the welder in combination with another 220 volt tool! I located the outlet so that the welder (which has long cords) can reach either end of my long shop/garage or I can toss the cord through the nearby window and use the welder outside if/when necessary.

220V can be wired with 12/2 by just using a different breaker (and outlet), right? I.e., instead of hot/neutral, you wire wh/bl as both hot? If that's the case, if I ran another dedicated outlet, I could just replace it later. I guess turning the low orange outlet in the middle of the wall into a dedicated circuit would be best. For that matter, I guess I could do the same for one of the yellow outlets on the opposite wall, giving me one dedicated circuit on each wall.

It might become hard to remember which outlets are on which circuit, though - although I could always label them. I do keep a printout of a chart of all my circuits with each of my panels, though.

With all of the outlets you've shown this probably won't be a big deal for you: any cordless tool chargers? I have a few different charger brands (Ridgid, Ryobi, and the seldom used Makita) with a fair number of batteries. And no good "out of the way" place to actually use the chargers. An outlet with a small shelf nearby would be quite handy! My chargers, when needed, end up sitting on the wings of my drum sander since it's rarely used, borrowing the outlet intended for the sander. Maybe a small shelf underneath your service panel? Unless it'd be a knee-busting hazard sticking out...

I will probably be doing some kind of cleat system, and was thinking of building something like one of these for charging:

Do you use sawboards or long edge guide clamps? I have both, I found hanging the sawboards on the face of the sheet storage bin (a wedged-shaped setup like you've been showing) was a simple way to keep them protected and out of the way. I have two sawboards; one is 8 feet long and the other is a bit over 4 feet; the bin storage is just over 8 feet long thanks to the "cap" at the tall end so the sawboards fit nicely.

Great idea for that, thanks!

Just noticed something else: you have a band saw and drill press sharing a cart... probably just a notional idea/drawing at the moment but is the placement for the two tools correct? Right now it looks like the drill press would prevent the doors from opening on the band saw. Although flipping them around may make it hard to open the drive belt door on the drill press... or reach the table height adjustment crank.

Yeah, I just threw those together to get them in the model, didn't give it much thought yet.

One other thing I wish I'd thought of when installing wiring in my shop: easy access to the stud bays above and below the service panel. My shop is basically a second garage on my property, it was unfinished when I bought the property. So I had one good chance to think about wiring, insulation, etc. before the wallboard went up. The ceiling is still open rafters so, if I need more wiring, running conduit is pretty simple... except the actual part of getting the conduit down to the service panel itself. Thinking about it now, I wish I'd made 16 inch wide wallboard sections, attached only with screws and no tape/mud, above and possibly below the service panel so I could easily get to the box for future expansion.

Thanks again for the reminder here. I was just pondering this recently. Once my walls get closed up, how would I add new circuits? I am leaving the ceiling open for now, too. I had thought about using a plumbing access panel like this (would need to be larger):



They are expensive, though (and not sure about code), so I will probably just end up building something like you suggest.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

[tohellwithuga]

This guy says he will sell me this Delta 50-870 for $125, but he doesn't have the remote. I can't find a whole lot about the model (or even the filters, honestly), so I'm probably going to keep looking:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/tls/4167784287.html

[lrr]

It might become hard to remember which outlets are on which circuit, though - although I could always label them. I do keep a printout of a chart of all my circuits with each of my panels, though.

Like you did in your drawings, use different colored outlets. Or outlet covers.

I have a basement shop with a 100A subpanel, so I have the good fortune to have lots of circuits. For my two existing 120V/20A circuits I have gray and orange outlets in the walls. I've added a 3rd circuit for another use (chargers, or other items I do not want on "tool" circuits). and those will be white. The breaker is in, but I haven't wired it yet. The shop has ivory ceiling outlets for lighting that are on the existing 15A circuit that was one of the original basement circuits. I will have to say that having lighting on the main panel makes it handy when the subpanel is turned off for wiring work. I still have light.

For 220V circuits, I use white for one circuit (Laguna 2HP dust collection), and ivory for another (radial arm saw). My air compressor is in the garage but fed from a 3rd 220V circuit from the basement subpanel. My plan is to eventually add a switch for that outlet so I can turn the compressor on and off from the shop, although it can be turned on and off with the breaker, but that is not real convenient. (It likes to cycle at 2AM when I forget to turn it off. Scares the heck out of us, and it probably irritates the neighbors, too ...)

Note: I used orange outlets for one circuit because they were on closeout at a local hardware store. They are pretty expensive at places like Home Depot or Lowes. But they do give the shop a real serious/industrial look. I tend to use power tools on orange, and shop vacs on gray -- about the only time multiple items are powered on at the same time. This is almost a non-issue now that I have the Laguna dust collector, but I will use the shop vac on my Festool track saw (coming soon). It is too hard to justify a Festool dust extractor after getting the Laguna about 2 months ago. I am sure my wife would ask why I want to buy another expensive "shop vac"! Maybe next year.