How do I lay a 220V line? (1 Viewer)

[DanielKellmii]

So a friend of mine is getting a pool with a built in jacuzzin. He tells me to get his old one. Great, a free Jacuzzi! Not so fast. I have to install a 220V line. So, I call an electrician. $700. Hmmmm, that is a lot of money. I know an electrician who will let me install the line, and he will do the final hook-up. Around $150. Much better.
I have never done anything like this. Any suggestions on how to do this? I will be running the line through my attic, so that part will be easy. The hard part will be fishing it through the walls. For the electrical panel (I have circuit breakers) do I just run the wire along down the wall into the panel and out through the place where a breaker could be installed? For the attic, I plan on going to home depot and buying the best conduit I can find and run the wires through that. How many wires do I need? 2 or 3?
Any suggestions on how to do this or a link to a website is greatly appreciated.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Get a copy of "Wiring Simplified".
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books This is a short book that's easy to read and you will learn the basics quickly. Covers the National Code, but not your local codes.

Determine what your local code allows. Often "the best conduit" is NOT legal in your area.

This isn't rocket science, BUT you need to learn what you are doing.

 

[DanielKellmii]

Funny that you say that. I was a rocket scientist.
That is why I am going to have a real electrician do the final hook-up. I don't want any problems in the future.

 

[Philip_G]

it's very simple, getting the wire into the panel is the hard part, connecting the wire to the breaker and plugging it in takes less than 5 minutes.
Go talk to your local permit office and ask for an inspector, tell them what you're doing and what they'd like to see and they can tell you what to use.

 

[Daren Welsh]

Retired? Moved on?

 

[DanielKellmii]

Good one

Daren, I have moved on, now doing gas turbine work.

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Let me start by saying I am not an Electrician and I have no idea what your local codes say...

But more than likely you will need a manual disconnect near where the Hot Tub will be located. Check your local codes to determine the distance. You may also need a panel mounted GFCI breaker for the circuit, again check you local codes.

If you use a romex type cable you will not need conduit in your attic but will need it when it goes outside. Make sure you attach the romex cable to the rafters in the attic (again check local codes.) To make the transisition from inside to outside you can instal an outdoor (weather proof) junction box over the hole you drill through your wall (you might even install a small stub of conduit on the box to poke through the wall). Then you can run conduit down from the J-Box to a manual disconnect then use a flexible water-tight conduit from the disconnect to the tub.

I agree with Philip_G... talk to a local inspector. If you find the right guy/gal in the Electrical Dept at Home Depot they can shed some light on what materials you may need. You might want to pay your electrician friend an extra c note and get some advice about what will be needed.

Good luck... nothing better than a nice hot tub!

 

[Philip_G]

DOh, have you checked your panel to be sure there's enough space? not only for the two breakers themselves (double pull) but amperage wise?

 

[Jay Taylor]

Even if there are no available circuit breaker slots they can still get the new breakers to fit by replacing existing breakers with 1/2 sized breakers.

 

[Philip_G]

sometimes, and sometimes they have to install a larger panel, or a sub panel. Neither is cheap.

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Good Point Phillip_G!!! Another good reason to pay your electrician friend some extra to help get you going in the right direction!

You wouldnt want to cram too much into an existing pannel and have the main breaker popping everytime the hot tub and the clothes dryer happen to be on at the same time. (and it will only happen after just getting in to the hot tub )

 

[Eric Kahn]

You will need a ground fault
you can not put romex in conduit, you will have to use THHN wire in the conduit
make sure you get the right kind of conduit if you are burying it

not sure who to tell you to ask, maybe your friend who is an electrician

 

[DanielKellmii]

The electrician is going to get paid. I don't know him that well. And if I did, I would still pay him.

I have checked, and I have plenty of physical space in my panel. As far as amperage goes, I am not sure but I don't think that is a problem. My house is only 10 years old and I can't imagine a builder thinking that there would be no upgrades.
Yes,a GFI is a must when dealing with water.

If I get this done, my next step will be running my speaker wire through the attic. I know, I need to get the approved speaker wire. That kills me because I spent $200 on monster cable.

 

[JamesMH]

Electrical work is pretty easy, but you have to follow basic safety rules.

Daniel, it looks like you don't really know about electrical wiring in the house, it really is best that you leave it to a qualified electrician, especially since if you do this one wrong it can kill you.

 

[Greg_R]

Well, he's having the electrician do the actual hook up... he's just running wire.

The Complete Guide to Home Wiring is an excellent resource that will tell you how to wire up a wide variety of projects (legally and within code). I installed two 30amp 220V circuits and a few switched lights in my garage with the help of this book. You may be able to just browse the book at a bookstore and get the info you'll need...