Subpanel from stove circuit

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Onion69420

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Hello. I want a bit more juice to my garage workshop.
I have a 40 amp circuit from an unused electric stove/oven. The stove is located on the back wall of my house and it would be simple enough drill through the wall, bury the wire in PVC pipe or conduit, and use it to feed a subpanel in my garage.
Is there any downside to doing this or is it against code?
The only other way would be to run a feed from my main panel in the basement up through the walls, across the attic and firewall etc etc., and that is a bit above my pay grade. The stove circuit I could handle though
 
The Sparky's will be right behind me, but this is not even close to what needs to be done.
 
what do u mean?
Basically it's just extending a 40 amp circuit.
The only thing I can think of, and perhaps I'm wrong, but I believe its code to have a stove outlet and a gas line where the stove is. I dont use the electric.
My main concern is if this is safe, which I believe it would be, it's really no different than running a feeder off the main panel for a sub
 
Is the garage attached, or a separate structure?
 
If the garage is attached, what the OP is proposing should work. However you can not "bury" any connections. There must be access to any connection.
 
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I don't see off the top of my head any code restriction with the concept only of "repurposing an existing circuit". If the conductors/wires are sufficient for the breaker rating or vise-versa then I don't think it will be a violation to repurpose this circuit to feed an attached structure.

Your method of redirecting the circuit from the range receptacle to a sub panel in your workshop will have to be looked at further. Meaning a bit more detail will be needed.

Having an existing setup is one thing whether grandfathered in or other reason but to now take that and just move it somewhere else may be a code violation.

Example: You have one receptacle in a bedroom and this receptacle is the only thing you have on the circuit. It is a 15amp circuit with 14 gauge wires feeding it. You want to move this one circuit to another place in the same room - even just 4 feet. This existing circuit was from the original installation when the house was built 50 years ago. If you move the existing receptacle or run another receptacle off this existing receptacle will pull other code factors into play. Is the circuit grounded? If not it can't be extended. Will it now be required to be AFCI and GFCI protected? Etc Etc Etc - Not only do you have NEC concerns but AHJ (local codes office) concerns and rules/codes to follow considering now it may not now be grandfathered in the way it was originally installed because the existing circuit is now being moved and altered. The concept of repurposing the circuit in basic form is not only the question and concern here it is all the other factors surrounding it.

Another example would be let's say this range was only fed the old way with a service entrance with only 3 conductors it may not suffice to meet code to extend that circuit or even at that same location then replace the range receptacle with a sub panel installation.

Why am I being so vague? Because until we have more information we can't really guide you with specifics.

,
 
I’m assuming you have power to the garage/shop now that is taking a different route from your main panel to the garage. Is that power 120v or is it another 240v line. There may be an issue with having the building being powered with two different feeds off the main.



With the unused stove you defiantly have the potential of unused capacity that could be channeled to the garage.



It would have to be cleanly done so if you someday sell your place a home inspector wouldn’t pick up on it and flag it as a problem. Say the buyer wanted an electric stove and you still had the J-box for the stove in place. That whole J-box IMO should be stripped out and labeled garage feed making it clear its not a future electric stove connection.

The biggest issue I think is the mixed feeds to a remote building and maybe the pros here will chime in on if that’s allowed. :coffee:
 
"Onion..." you have not specifically stated that this workshop structure is attached or detached from the house. There is a difference. I assumed it was attached according to your description in your first post.

Is this attached or detached? If detached is there any other circuit feeding this workshop presently other than your proposed circuit?
 
Well he did say he wanted to take the power thru the back wall of the home and then “bury it in conduit” he also called it a “workshop/garage” and that I assumed means he has some form of power out there for the workshop part. He also said he wanted “a bit more juice” to the location so that sounds like he has some juice already.

Going by those clues I came to a conclusion this feed would be a second source of power off the main breaker to the garage and I’m not sure how messy that gets within code. :coffee:
 
Hey Bud I hear you. I guess you were stating although did not specifically say it that this workshop is probably detached since the bury of conduit is needed. It is safe to assume that by the description but by Code we can not assume this and the reason I asked. Yes, more "juice" would indicate an existing circuit - hence the reason I asked for confirmation attached or detached and you and I both know will make a difference according to code issues.

To bury conduit does not mean running power to a detached workshop. Example: Single story house. Want to run power to my workshop 52 feet away. As a feeder to my workshop power the circuit from my main panel out the wall to the outside. Down into the ground. Run it parallel along the base of the foundation of the house, up from the ground back into/thru the wall into my workshop then into a sub panel. Otherwise would have to go thru finished walls repairing sheet rock etc damage.

Also it is to run power from the "main panel" not "main breaker" - I only say this so "Onion" does not double tap the main breaker in confusion (I don't know Onion's skill level).

Just messing with you Bud :great:
We just can't assume it is detached.

Hey Onion can you let Bud and I know if it is detached before we start throwing darts at each other - :cry:
 
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Hey Bud I hear you. I guess you were stating although did not specifically say it that this workshop is probably detached since the bury of conduit is needed. It is safe to assume that by the description but by Code we can not assume this and the reason I asked. Yes, more "juice" would indicate an existing circuit - hence the reason I asked for confirmation attached or detached and you and I both know will make a difference according to code issues.

To bury conduit does not mean running power to a detached workshop. Example: Single story house. Want to run power to my workshop 52 feet away. As a feeder to my workshop power the circuit from my main panel out the wall to the outside. Down into the ground. Run it parallel along the base of the foundation of the house, up from the ground back into/thru the wall into my workshop then into a sub panel. Otherwise would have to go thru finished walls repairing sheet rock etc damage.

Also it is to run power from the "main panel" not "main breaker" - I only say this so "Onion" does not double tap the main breaker in confusion (I don't know Onion's skill level).

Just messing with you Bud :great:
We just can't assume it is detached.

Hey Onion can you let Bud and I know if it is detached before we start throwing darts at each other - :cry:
I know just what you are saying I did just that when I installed my hot tub. I came across the basement and then went thru the wall with conduit and ran conduit along the outside and up where I wanted my GFCI sub panel. In my mind I never left the house with that part of the run. Then when I went back down and under the deck and up into the tub I considered that being an outside run.

Sometimes reading posts are like playing Sherlock Holmes. Then at the end it is more like Paul Harvey’s the rest of the story. Page Two!
 
Many years ago I ran a line like that for my hot tub once. The only difference between now and when I did it is that I knew nothing about residential electrical. My friend showed me what I should buy wire/etc. I ran the line thru the basement and out the crawl space and up into the deck into the hot tub. He made all the connections. I never even went near the breaker panel ever as I was always concerned that the electricity may jump out and bite me if I got to close - no kidding. My mind always saw those warning signs at the substations.

I always enjoyed listening to Paul Harvey broadcast. He had a very unique way of speaking which made it interesting.
 
He made all the connections. I never even went near the breaker panel ever as I was always concerned that the electricity may jump out and bite me if I got to close - no kidding. My mind always saw those warning signs at the substations.

My industrial electric and electronic courses I remember the instructor saying “Electricity is nothing to be feared, but it is something to be respected.”

That kind of summed it up for me.
 
My industrial electric and electronic courses I remember the instructor saying “Electricity is nothing to be feared, but it is something to be respected.”

That kind of summed it up for me.

My electrical instructor always made that his number one important point.

Going into the electrical courses I had absolutely no concept of how residential electrical worked and could not even think about something as simple as changing a light switch because of the fear of electricity.

Learning about electric helped me open my eyes and learn to respect it instead.

Sorry, getting off topic here.
 
Hi, thanks for all your replies. I've had some emergency vet issues with my dog so sorry for the slow response.
Here is more detailed info:
I have a big garage, like 1500sqft. In that garage is a legal marijuana grow. It is attached to my house, sorta...picture an L, that is my house, the front 3rd of the garage is connected and the ret extends out.
This garage has a 100 amp subpanel...I have 200 amp service.
my grow uses about 60 amps at 240 volts. That's a continuous load. Because I changed some things around I need another 15 amps for an air conditioner. Only problem is that this sub panel also feeds half my house...apparently the previous owner though it would be cheaper to feed that side of the house rather than fish wires through the walls...idk. whatever.
So I want to put this sub panel in and the remove the circuits that feed the house and put those onto the new sub panel. Basically its 3 bedrooms each having a small window air conditioner, total draw would be about 25 amps max. Doing that would allow the 100 amp subpanel to be dedicated to my grow.
I had an electrician come out yesterday and he quoted me 1500 bucks. Hes not gonna bury the line but he will run it in conduit under the eaves of the house.
 
So, the garage 100amp box actually is sufficient for your needs in the garage after you remove the house circuits from the garage 100a box. You won't need to run a line from your stove 40a circuit to the garage as originally thought. Now the issue is powering the 3 bedrooms in your main house. Your new plan is to run a line to a new subpanel to power the bedrooms. Will the new subpanel be connected to the stove 40amp circuit you mentioned earlier?
 
Yep, the stove will feed the sub, and the sub will feed the 3 bedrooms.
Not sure why they built the house the way they did. Originally the electric dryer line was fed back from the sub in the garage, across the attic, and into the basement where the dryer is, nevermind that the main panel is 10 feet from the dryer.
The house was made in 45 and over the decades it was added onto, it's now 2200sqft yet they never added a 2nd bathroom....or any closets.
 
Is the existing 240V stove circuit 3 or 4 conductor?
 
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