Wiring my shed, looking for some electrician type input

[dan45]

Wish I could help, but people are usually shocked to find out that I'm not a very good electrician

 

[scramp]

I totally agree with RickN, #10 wire and 3/4” PVC or UF wire. Two circuits, one for lighting and one for power. Total of four wires. Black, red, white and green #10 wire.

since you said it isn’t under a driveway, I would go with UF. Since you don’t want to dig deeper, I assume the garage is fairly far from the main panel. If it’s to far, you might want to upsize to #8 wire. How far is it?

 

[Waltercat]

If money is no concern and corrosion is of concern and 6" depth is still desired. Use RobRoy 40 mil PVC coated rigid conduit. Click link. As for Galvanized Rigid corrosion, you can likely get 20 years
before any concern for leakage. And unless it's pressurized, condensation will cause water to collect inside. Most any electrician will verify that.
/

 

[Shadowrider]

I went with this instead of running conduit and wire to my shed.

I only run some LED lights, battery chargers for tools, radio, and case feed on the dillon. Small A/C will run on a small Honda generator when needed, heat is kerosene. Works out great, was cheaper and I can take it to deer camp with me.

https://www.ecoflow.com/us

 

[Droff]

I’ll try to answer some of these questions…

This is a workout shed, not a work shed.

I’m fine with PVC, most folks recommend that, but I don’t want to dig that deep of a trench (18”) although it is maybe 30-40’ total, not that far. I’m not renting a trencher either. There are a few things underground that I'll be passing over that I don't want to worry about.

UF is an option, that looks like at least a 12" deep trench (GFCI protected) for that, twice the depth of rigid galvanized at 6”. It’s 24” for UF non-GFCI protected. The GFCI route is not out of the question.

From what I’ve read, nothing is going to be water tight regardless, water will get into the conduit and the ground is considered a wet location.

I don’t plan on any large current draws for this shed and don’t feel a need to future proof just in case. 12 ga is plenty for my plans and I’ve got one breaker slot available, so all outlets/lights will be on one circuit. The salamander will give me heat when I need it and I’ve got a large standing fan to use in the spring/summer/fall when needed.

Money is a concern.

Saying all that, I had thought about a generator of some type at first but kind of blew that off. Shadowrider’s link to that EcoFlow might not be a horrible idea.

I appreciate all the input/suggestions, still undecided though.

Thanks.

 

[Waltercat]

Just wondering. Are you in a municipality? Are you in the house for good?
Lots of people don't follow code but that's kinda a personal decision. If you decided to fudge it could maybe get you on a home inspection. But many inspectors think 'outa sight, out mind' and don't probe
for depth on something like that. They have disclaimers to protect themselves.
My run was 130' and 12" deep in PVC. With a GFCI receptacle and breaker.
Is the bldg. metal or wood?

 

[Droff]

Just wondering. Are you in a municipality? Are you in the house for good?
Lots of people don't follow code but that's kinda a personal decision.

I'm in city limits but this has crossed my mind. I'm not getting it inspected and I haven't had inspections done on previous home projects that should have been inspected.

I don't want to do something that looks like a knucklehead did it and also try to stay close to code as much as my knowledge allows. If I do end up selling the house at some point, I figure I'll just pull the breakers that I added and call it a day as far as a home inspection goes.
This is a wood shed.

 

[Shadowrider]

Money is a concern.

Saying all that, I had thought about a generator of some type at first but kind of blew that off. Shadowrider’s link to that EcoFlow might not be a horrible idea.

It's definitely the "easy button". I still need to get a solar panel for mine, but it recharges via 110V easy enough. Plug it in to a wall or a generator.

Also, from what I was able to gather before buying mine, these EcoFlow have great inverters. You can charge while using them and they will load balance to the point of just "passing through" if the batteries are fully charged, whether that's via a wall plug, solar or generator. They are also true sine wave which is a plus for electronics and you can put two linked together to double capacity if you need to later.

 

[Snattlerake]

There are rigid compression connectors and couplings. But they are fairly expensive. The sticks of conduit are threaded each end and you can use threaded couplings, which there should be one include on each stick.
1100705
Actually the price at Lowes for 2 connectors is not bad. Technically they are not rain tight but they have been used outdoors for many many years.

What forced air heat draws 2 amps.

THAT, was my question.

Doing some digging shows a butane shop heater only draws 2A for the fan.

 

[Droff]

What forced air heat draws 2 amps.

THAT, was my question.

Doing some digging shows a butane shop heater only draws 2A for the fan.

I've always called it a salamander but maybe I was trying a bit too hard to appear smart by calling it a forced air heater, wasn't too sure folks would know what a salamander was.