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Hi! I'm adding a 40 amp subpanel into my basement as I finish it (125 amp rated-panel, using a newly added 40 amp breaker out of the main panel; I already calc'd the loads per NEC section 220). The main panel (200 amp service) is located in my (attached) garage, mounted under wallboard between the garage studs. I plan on running 8/3 AWG through 1 inch sched 40 rigid (gray) pvc around the surface of the garage (I didn't plan to tear down the garage wallboard to run this) into the basement via the rim joist/sill plate, then without pvc through the floor joists and soffets to the new subpanel in the basement.
There's also a "spare basement" 15amp c/b in the main panel connected to an unpowered conductor - it is a red wire in a 14/3G, sharing the neutral with a black that powers my basement sump pump (on its own 15amp c/b). The red "spare" conductor runs to the basement and is capped off in a box in the basement where the black also exits for the sump pump receptacle.
Couple of questions:
1. When starting the 8/3 run for the subpanel out of the main panel into the pvc, do I need to cut out the wallboard around the main panel so that I can "secure" the 8 wire to the stud near the main panel (within 8 inches), or can I just route it through a 1-inch hole bored through the wallboard close to the main panel and route it through a pvc junction box (flush mounted into the 1-inch hole) as the entry, while attaching the pvc box (and piping) to the stud near the main panel? Will that meet NEC code for securing the cable?
2. Can't find anywhere in the NEC (2002) where it discusses sharing neutral wires for branch circuits like the builder has for the "spare basement" circuit. Can I do that for other branch circuits in my basement (run 3-wire from the sub panel, splitting red and black on separate c/bs, then split off the red and black into 2-wire at a distant box for individual circuits, sharing the neutral on the home run?)? Seems that could save some cable and hole-drilling.
Thanks much!
Jim
There's also a "spare basement" 15amp c/b in the main panel connected to an unpowered conductor - it is a red wire in a 14/3G, sharing the neutral with a black that powers my basement sump pump (on its own 15amp c/b). The red "spare" conductor runs to the basement and is capped off in a box in the basement where the black also exits for the sump pump receptacle.
Couple of questions:
1. When starting the 8/3 run for the subpanel out of the main panel into the pvc, do I need to cut out the wallboard around the main panel so that I can "secure" the 8 wire to the stud near the main panel (within 8 inches), or can I just route it through a 1-inch hole bored through the wallboard close to the main panel and route it through a pvc junction box (flush mounted into the 1-inch hole) as the entry, while attaching the pvc box (and piping) to the stud near the main panel? Will that meet NEC code for securing the cable?
2. Can't find anywhere in the NEC (2002) where it discusses sharing neutral wires for branch circuits like the builder has for the "spare basement" circuit. Can I do that for other branch circuits in my basement (run 3-wire from the sub panel, splitting red and black on separate c/bs, then split off the red and black into 2-wire at a distant box for individual circuits, sharing the neutral on the home run?)? Seems that could save some cable and hole-drilling.
Thanks much!
Jim
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