Electric Subpanel Installation?

I have had alot of thought into the installation of a sub panel in. Just wanted to get some opinions here. Do you think it would be a problem to call and professional electrician to install a sub panel or to do it myself. I see it like as long as you dont lead anyone on to believe you true intentions and give a believeable story about why you need a sub panel this should not be a problem. What do you think? If you agree with me what are some reasons you could give to an electrician for wanting this kind of work done.

poundpusher2009 said:

I have had alot of thought into the installation of a sub panel in. Just wanted to get some opinions here. Do you think it would be a problem to call and professional electrician to install a sub panel or to do it myself. I see it like as long as you dont lead anyone on to believe you true intentions and give a believeable story about why you need a sub panel this should not be a problem. What do you think? If you agree with me what are some reasons you could give to an electrician for wanting this kind of work done.

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if u need any help with hook-up info then ask BBB, hes just stated his own electricity thread for ppl with questions, hes an electrician..its either on the bottom of this page of threads or page 2 maybe..

no, i'm not an electrician, just know my stuff (but realize what I don't know)

Why does everyone want a sub panel? I feel unless you are going 2+ 1000 watters + AC it is a waste. And even 2 1000w is on the edge.

but for the op, how far a run? have access inside the walls or unfinished basement, crawl space, attic?

DIY is easy, if you don't need to run behind drywall (or worse an old plaster house)
Running outside in conduit is another option.
Its near impossible to answer this Q not seeing it.

With a little research you should be able to figure out how to install a sub panel. It is really not too difficult. I am not an electrician and I was able to wire power to a remote garage with conduit, #2 wire for a 100amp panel, buried x2 feed deep to code, the works. There are many internet resources available that will almost walk you through it step by step. (and you can learn a lot here too)

If you decide to hire an electrician, they are going to ask questions on why you think you need a sub panel no matter what. I believe it's in their nature to want to know what you are doing. Even if they are simply trying to be "friendly" you will need something plausible to tell them.

You could try saying you are a software engineer and you have created a MMPORG and you need to run multiple servers + equipment to run the host ....

...Or that you breed exotic pets (snakes, lizards, etc) and it’s a huge power resource and you need a panel in there for safety reasons...

...And there is always the "aren’t you paid by the hour? None of your F*#King business."

All in all, if you are just a little mechanically inclined, and you understand how power works, and you don’t wake-n-bake that day to have the motivation to do something you can probably knock it out in a day yourself and feel proud and powerful enough to take on the next tasks.

well I am an electrician... they key to success in this project is 2 things:
1: having an understanding of tools and how they are used, and basic construction/ remodeling skills. I say this because too many times I have had to bail out homeowners that do DIY projects and dont realize what they have gotten into and tear something up in the process. ex: a guy i helped out after he cut into his service entry cable when drilling a whole to get some 12/2 into his panel. the moral of the story is plan careful, check 3 times, and have an idea of what your getting into BEFORE you start.

2: a good understanding of how power works and why things have to be the way they are. alot of people assume that when with dealing with electricity, as long as it works, its ok and safe. this is not always the case. usually the only warning you get (besides breakers trippping) is the smell of your house burning. also you have to understand that wires ar elike pipes, they carry only so much power before they fail,(like a pipe will burst if theres too much pressure) so you have to take into account your existing power requirements, the size of your wires coming in from the street, the amount of new power your going to need, and then see if your service from the street is actually big enough to handle the additional load. this is critical...

a key point to remember here: alot of people tend to go and look at something that works, then duplicate the connections on the device they are installing. you cannot do this with a sub-panel. here's why- in your main panel, the neutrals and grounds are connected together or share the same terminal bus. this is called bonding. im not going to go into why this is done, but its something that HAS to be done. but only @ the main panel, never in a sub panel. i cannot stress how important this is, because if your subpanel is bonded, then the frames of everything you have connected to your electrical system will now be energized.....

keeping those things in mind, installing a sub panel is not that difficult at all, running the wire is the hardest part

Yes I agree understanding the grounding is probably the hardest part. I had to read several times just to know how to do it, and then researched for an hour or so to understand why I had to do it that way.

If its a remote building you will also need to install lightning protection.

I would be willing to take a shot at it if there was some quick and easy understanding for someone with no electrical basics. If there are any good threads out there that helped you guys out, books, sites, or videos it would be much appreciated. Thanks

poundpusher2009 said:

I would be willing to take a shot at it if there was some quick and easy understanding for someone with no electrical basics. If there are any good threads out there that helped you guys out, books, sites, or videos it would be much appreciated. Thanks

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i told u wot to do already, get on BBB's thread and he'll walk u through it like hes done for others..