Whether you’re trying to add a subpanel to a 200 amp service or to one with a lower ampacity, there’s no difference in wiring them.īefore beginning, turn off the power on the main panel, then put on your insulated gloves.Īfterward, head to the subpanel and look at the knockouts that you’ll use for convenient wire entry. Start feeding.Įverything you’ve been doing has been leading up to this: the actual feeding process. Just pull enough wire to reach the subpanel, whether it’s mounted in an isolated structure or within the same building as the main panel. If the run is extra long, use a radio or communicate through phones/smartphones. One should be the feeder, the other the puller. Work in coordination with another person. Choose only the ones that are designed for pulling polymer coated conductors. Use the most appropriate wire-pulling lubricant if you’re encountering too much resistance.Here’s a helpful video explaining how you can check and troubleshoot a subpanel feeder wire that’s located underground: You may want to brush up on how to install a subpanel in a garage for this. Ultimately, routing and running the wire is a wholly separate topic, which may even require you to dive into trenching, conduit laying, and sub-panel mounting. An average 220v sub panel wiring diagram will confirm if the rods are needed or not. Moreover, take note that you need to install one or two grounding rods if the subpanel is placed in a structure separate from the one housing the main panel. The same goes if you’re trying to wire a subpanel in a shed located a hundred or more feet away from the main service panel because voltage drop becomes a big factor in such cases. Need to know how to pull the wires for installation, replacement, and upsizing purposes? Assuming you’re doing a rewire or want to install sub panel in detached garage, learning these things is necessary. If the feeder wires are located underground and you’re having issues with them, you can do some diagnosing on the main panel and subpanel using a multimeter. Make sure your wires are properly set up.ĭouble-check the wiring run that you will need to do to accommodate the feed in your electrical sub panel wiring diagram. For example, if the panel uses 50 amps of adjusted load, then the breaker should be rated for that ampacity or more.ģ. Remember: you can use any sub feed panel size as long as its current rating is less than or equal to the size of the breaker feeding it.That would require a 4-gauge copper or 2-gauge aluminum. The same goes if you’re trying to wire a 100 amp sub panel from a 200 amp main panel and feed it with a 100A breaker.If you’re settling for 60A as a feeder, make sure you size the cable for that or, to be exact, use the required 6-gauge copper wire or 4-gauge aluminum wire.
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