[GlennCMC70]

there is no 220V service in my garage - thats about to change.

i picked up a 250V 30A outlet (3 slots arranged in a circle w/ one looking like a "L") which matches the plug on the welder.
i have a 30A breaker that takes up two slots in the breaker panel for the house (located in the garage!)
i have some new 10 gauge 3 conductor wire (black, white, and green conductors).
snap the breaker in place - make sure its switched off.
install a black and white conductor in one of the two set screw slots in the 30A breaker.
connect the other ends of the black/white to the outlet and the ground to the ground on the back of the outlet and inside the breaker panel (metal box).


to be honest here, the only thing i know about A/C electricity is it can kill you. other than that, i don't know jack. i can replace a bad outlet/socket/switch, but i couldnt wire any 110v circuit from the box to the wall if i had to.

so does the above sound right? i know there should normally be a red wire to use in place of the white, but i've read thats really only required for 4 prong plug/outlets.

looking for the FRAXX guidance here oh wise one's. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/drink.gif)

[Torque]

Out of curiosity, what's the safety issue with Romex? Vulnerability to being found by screws, etc? Curious as I just ran about 700+ ft of it in my recent re-model and I'm about to run another couple hundred feet in my garage makeover.

[nape]

Out of curiosity, what's the safety issue with Romex? Vulnerability to being found by screws, etc? Curious as I just ran about 700+ ft of it in my recent re-model and I'm about to run another couple hundred feet in my garage makeover.

Other then the typical nail/screw through it, since most builders don't put the nail plates over where they drill the studs:

Circuit breakers are mechanical contraptions that can freeze/rust/stick over time and when combined with Romex can present a dangerous situation. If a splice/device/wire goes bad (or someone decides to plug in 3 space heaters...) and the draw goes up and the breaker doesn't trip, the wire can get hot enough for the insulation to melt off and set the insulation/studs on fire. The chance of this is lessened in conduit because if the wire gets hot enough to melt the insulation off, it will then find ground and be a dead short which will either trip the breaker or blow the wire.

You'll probably be fine since you just wired everything new, but in areas where houses have been around for a long time, these situations creep up and are starting to cause fires.

Conduit makes sense in areas where urban sprawl is happening and people are living in older and older houses. The house doesn't need a complete gutting when technology changes or new devices come out where the homeowner might need more recepts/draw. It makes even more sense in condos/apartments/townhomes. You can just pull new wire if you need more ampacity.

The biggest benefit in my eyes is that if something does go wrong, you don't have to chop the wall to fix it. What is usually pitched is safety since most people don't know more then they hit the switch and it works.

This post has been edited by nape: Nov 9 2008, 09:43 PM