MartyZ 691 Posted June 14, 2020 I need to run wiring in my garage for power tools. Running from the panel is finacially prohibive for now for multiple reason, 1 of which being that I have no space in the main panel and would have to add a sub panel. So I need a temporary solution for now. Obviously the easiest is to run extension cords but I want something a little more solid. So the question is, do I still need a permit, and hence a licensed electrician, I live in a townhouse, to run plastic conduit ON the walls, with an external junction box with outlets, basically a diy extension cord in a conduit, and just plug the other end into the outlet? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Malsua 1,422 Posted June 14, 2020 28 minutes ago, MartyZ said: I need to run wiring in my garage for power tools. Running from the panel is finacially prohibive for now for multiple reason, 1 of which being that I have no space in the main panel and would have to add a sub panel. So I need a temporary solution for now. Obviously the easiest is to run extension cords but I want something a little more solid. So the question is, do I still need a permit, and hence a licensed electrician, I live in a townhouse, to run plastic conduit ON the walls, with an external junction box with outlets, basically a diy extension cord in a conduit, and just plug the other end into the outlet? Are you running THNN in the conduit? The answer changes if that's the case as you'd have to wire directly into the box on either end. You don't need a permit to make an extension cord, but how the cord is wired matters. You can get rubber 3 conductor service cord and run it through conduit and put your own ends on it. You could cut one end off a cheap extension cord, fish it through the conduit and put a new end on it on one side. It's only 16ga in most common cords, so that affects your amperage allowance. I assume you want the conduit just to be neat and not tripping over a cord? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MartyZ 691 Posted June 14, 2020 1 minute ago, Malsua said: I assume you want the conduit just to be neat and not tripping over a cord? That's exactly what I want. To screw it to the wall, for it to be solid, not droopy, and so that I can't snag it accidently. And put a 2 gang box on the end with standard outlets. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Malsua 1,422 Posted June 14, 2020 27 minutes ago, MartyZ said: That's exactly what I want. To screw it to the wall, for it to be solid, not droopy, and so that I can't snag it accidently. And put a 2 gang box on the end with standard outlets. If your going into a 15am outlet, buy at 14ga extension cord and run it through the conduit and into a box and wire your outlets. You can buy plugs that screw into an outlet so they can't be removed on the plug side. If you have a 20ga outlet, you can get a 12ga extension cord. Also, if you've go anything heavy on that circuit, maybe you can move that item to a different circuit. Personally, if it's just a 15amp circuit, I would leave it just a double outlet. Every 4 outlet I've ever wired in our facility was 20amp because people start jamming everything they can into it and if I did that with a 15a circuit, they would ultimately pop a breaker. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites