I bit the bullet and wired my garage for 50 amp 240 volt. Inside I used conduit and surface mounted the boxes. I also added 240 volt outlets in two locations so I can run tools on either end of the shop.

As far as passing inspection goes, I was never too worried. It's not all that hard to meet code. What was a PITA was digging a trench. I went with 1" PVC buried conduit and pulled three 6 gauge conductors. The ground wire can be 8 gauge.

I can understand the appeal of a generator. But having 240 always available in a shop rocks. You can run a real air compressor! I have a 220 volts 3 HP belt sander for metal work, it takes stock down like you can't believe.

I spent a about $350 on materials and $80 for a pair of conduit benders ( 3/4" and 1/2"). In my area permits cost about $110 including the inspection. As a homeowner, I'm allowed to do my own work. The only tricky part of the code is knowing not to connect the neutral inside the shops breaker box to the shops ground. That and making sure the shops ground rod meets code.

Not sure if that's the case in your area or not. The upside is I can run a decent sized heater when I'm not welding. Since I plan on staying here for a while, it made sense to go for it, IMHO it was one of the best shop upgrades I have made, at lest until I build a new shop. On a large project the time between welds is often pretty long as you set up the next part. The generator re start could get old pretty quickly.


Then again, I still want to buy an emergency generator.

Kevin