Electrician Question - Connecting detached garage

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

You have an existing breaker box in the garage? So, just tie that to the new run from the new house, run power out to the old house and barn from the panel in the garage on a 15 or 20 amp breaker so it will trip (hopefully) before the breaker at the new house?

That certainly would work. In the 3rd attached image above, it shows the breaker panel in the garage, and it looks like there is room for 1 more breaker.

That said, If I can run 2 strands of THWN for say $35, it might make more sense as it also doubles the capacity that can be simultaneously used.

Rant- My dad has a 2nd deep freezer in the old house; the other one is in the garage. Then he has 2 giant refrigerators in the house with freezers. My mom and dad live there. Anytime someone gives him something, he thinks he has to use it. His friend just gave him an electric shop heater and he's asking me to wire in a circuit for it even though he's already got propane heaters.

Someone made off with my jetski and trailer, which is the final straw that is pushing me to install security cameras, but I wouldn't mind if thieves would make off with some of the junk lying around. Perhaps a spare tractor, some heaters or freezers...

[oil pan 4]

The junk lures them in and then they take the good stuff.

[freebeard]

What you're doing is beyond the scope of this solution, but when my father wanted power for lights in a detached garage, he put a male plug on both ends of a 50ft extension cord, then plugged one end in in the house and the other in the garage.

[redpoint5]

Silverton lost power today for about 6 hours. Was thinking I might grab my dad's generator and run it on the balcony of the apt to keep the food cold. Then I found out PGE posts the ETA of repair on their website.

[Piotrsko]

If you dont open them much, and fridges are fairly full, they stay resonably cold for about 2-3 days. Full freezers are good for almost a week.

Hoarding stuff is a natural part of aging. Unless I stop myself, i'd have a fridge full of leftovers.

I'll bet you have a phone just chock full of pictures

[redpoint5]

Our freezer was pretty full, so it seemed to stay cool. I BBQ'd cheese burgers on the deck last night, and we ate by candle light.

I toured a home for sale while the power was out, so we were all walking around with our cell phone lights on. There was still daylight left and most of the rooms had plenty of light. I despise HOAs though.

...It should be sufficient to run hot and neutral between new house and old house, right? That would bond the grounds at least, so I can't imagine needing a dedicated ground too.

[oil pan 4]

You always need a ground.

[redpoint5]

Right, the neutral is bonded to ground in both panels. What's the purpose of dedicated ground then?

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Right, the neutral is bonded to ground in both panels. What's the purpose of dedicated ground then?

If I'm not mistaken, it is against code to use the neutral between two panels, ground only. The reason is allowing multiple paths to ground.

I cant remember why that makes sense and I could be wrong. I gave myself a crash course on NEC when I ran new power to my garage.


I got that wrong a bit, this is better.
Found this: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questi...us-bar-in-main

[redpoint5]

I'm still confused. Both houses have grounds, so all circuits will have proper ground wiring.

The old house essentially becomes a subpanel of the new house at that point. So do sub panels need hot/neutral, AND ground connecting them? If so, why?

No, It doesn't matter in the main panel. Yes, it matters in the sub panel. First, REMOVE the bonding strap that connects the two bus bars in the sub-panel. Then in the sub, it should be visually obvious that one of the bus bars is insulated from the case. If not, use a volt meter to find out. The insulated one is for neutral. The one that conducts to the case is ground.

What is the purpose of removing the bonding in the sub, but not in the main panel?

Visuals probably helps explain these questions.