SRBB6

I want to get a bigger compressor for my garage now that Im starting to paint more and more. Im going to have to have someone come out and do some electrical and was just curious as to what Id expect to pay to have a outlet /source capable of running a 230 volt compressor installed?

Sam Lin

Depends if the main line to your house has enough current capacity for your needs. If so, its relatively cheap as they just add another breaker to the main and run it to the garage (your house likely has 220 for the dryer and maybe water heater). If you need more current, then you gotta run a new line from the street, put in a new main, and wire from there - that adds up quick in both materials and labor.

Sam

SRBB6

I know we have a 220 for the dryer in the house. What would a rough figure be to have it ran off of that line?

Im asking because I dont want to even consider going all out on a compressor if its not going to out weigh the cost of making it work.

Motorhead_AZ

I just did this today. I added a 50A breaker to my main and ran the wire to my "work shop" with a 6-50 receptacle. It cost me $98 in parts, and I had an "electrician" friend of mine help me. It took us (mainly him, I was just providing moral support, LOL) 4 hours to do it, but we were talking and joking and what not. So if a prepared electrician does the job, it would probably take him 3 hours to do it. Down here, I think the going rate $75-95 an hour for this sort of work.

That was the good scenario. The bad one is when your main has no more room for new breakers. That's when you have to either upgrade the whole box to a bigger one, or change the regular breakers to Tandom breakers to make room. Upgrading the box is VERY expensive (probably around $3000 or more) and it usually takes 2 days to do (2 days with no power). The Tandom breaker route is the easier option if your main is maxed out. Those Tandom breakers are $20-30 a piece and replace 2 of the conventional 110V 20A breakers.

SRBB6

What about something like this:

http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p136.htm

?

Motorhead_AZ

Those transformers won't work. The reason for it is, if you're doubling the voltage, you cut the current by half (power equation, with the assumption that the power factor is 1). A regular household circuit has 15-20 amps. If you put one of those things in to bump up the voltage to 240, you can only draw 7.5 to 10 amps out of it. Most of the 240V compressors (like the 60 gallon ones they sell in Home Depot) draw 15 amps contineous.

Just have a company that gives free quotes come and tell you what needs to be done. Then call around and find the company that charges the least for labor.

8mpg

Id do it myself if I were you. You can spend little as $20 doing it if you put the outlet near the breaker box. Its actually relatively simple and not a lot of worries if you have a main breaker to the breaker box so you can shut off all the elec...

Just like Motorhead says, install a breaker, drop some 10/3 wire down the wall from the attic, wire it into the breaker like the rest of the breakers, pop on the power adn viola, you are in business. If you got a ton of money to waste, get an electrician. I got quoted something like $200 to run a damn 230v 10 feet away on an adjacent wall to the breaker box. I did it for $50 or so with a 20ft extension chord too.