I want to install a sub panel in my basement directly below my kitchen. 44 foot run to the main panel. Can I use 6/4 SOOW wire instead of AWG? This panel will eventually have a transfer switch on it to work with a generator. It will carry all of my kitchen, ( two freezers, microwave, coffee maker, toaster ) the basement sump pump and my propane furnace. I intend to use a 60 amp sub panel with 8-10 available circuit breakers. Also – this feed will be mounted on the face of a support beam that traverses the length of my basement. What is the code-appropriate way to mount this cable on the face of that beam? I intend to run this wire myself, then hire an electrician to do the actual connections on both ends.
Wiring – Adding sub panel in the basement
subpanelwiring
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According to Table 250.122 of the National Electrical Code, a 10 AWG copper conductor is fine as an equipment grounding conductor for circuits with up to 60 ampere protection.
National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
Article 250 Grounding and Bonding
250.122 Size of Equipment Grounding Conductors.
(A) General. Copper, aluminum, or copper-clad aluminum equipment grounding conductors of the wire type shall not be smaller than shown in Table 250.122, but in no case shall they be required to be larger than the circuit conductors supplying the equipment. Where a cable tray, a raceway, or a cable armor or sheath is used as the equipment grounding conductor, as provided in 250.118 and 250.134(A), it shall comply with 250.4(A)(5) or (B)(4). Equipment grounding conductors shall be permitted to be sectioned within a multiconductor cable, provided the combined circular mil area complies with Table 250.122.
For 70 amperes, you'll want to use 4 AWG copper or 3 AWG aluminum conductors. If the run is overly long, you'll want to compensate for voltage drop, by increasing the size of the conductors.
It looks like there originally wasn't an equipment grounding conductor included with the feeder, but you'll need one with the new feeder. If the original feeder was run through conduit, you might have to upgrade the conduit to fit the additional conductor.
If the original feeder was a cable assembly, and not individual conductors run through conduit. You should be able to replace it with 4-4-4-6 cable, from the local big box home improvement store.
When you install the equipment grounding conductor in the new panel, you'll want to make sure the neutral bus bars are isolated from the ground. And you'll have to terminate all the neutral and grounding conductors at the appropriate bus bars.
NOTE:
- If you're replacing the panel, you might have to install AFCI and GFCI protection devices as required by code.
- If you don't want to rewire all the circuits in the panel to add a grounding conductor, you might want to consider adding GFCI (and possibly AFCI) protection devices.
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Best Answer
AWG is the name of the wire size, e.g. you want to use 6 AWG wire.
SOOW is a cable type, however it is cordage and not allowed for building wiring.
You want NM-B or possibly UF-B.
It needs to be protected from physical damage, i.e. getting beaned by people moving furniture or carrying in a ladder or whatever. If you must mount it on the face of the beam, your best bet is to install it in EMT conduit, which provides physical protection. However, at that point, you are better off running the EMT all the way from panel to panel, and then, using THHN individual wires in the pipe. A neat side effect of this is you can run an extra 10 amps, so 70A.
If you lived in Wyoming and drove 85 mph every day, would you want 85 mph rated tires on your car? Of course not, you don't want to be at safety redline all the time. So do not get a "60A" panel. Get more like a 125-200A panel that has plenty of spaces. Like huge numbers of spaces. Like 30 spaces.
Get a Siemens main-lug panel. This will allow you to use this here transfer switch actually made by Siemens and is Tier 1 quality gear. ($25 + two $10 breakers).
"But I don't need 30 spaces" -- oh, you just watch!
So wow, we're at 25 spaces just like that.