Need Electrical Advice

[GeekDrew]

No Cliff's.

Relevant Information:

My family owns three farms. On the largest of the three are two barns. One of them has electricity running to it.

I replaced some of the wiring in that barn a few years ago, because it was older than stone, starting to fall apart, was very dangerous, etc. All I wired in that particular barn was a few outlets and a few lights.

I also noticed that the wiring that ran through the barn, and then outside and to the well water pump was also looking worse for the wear. It was years and years old. It runs from a fuse panel inside a block milking parlor, protected from the elements, out a pipe (henceforth, exposed to the weather, in some fashion), through a barn (ran along some support beams), down a wall, through a hole in a sliding door. There's a grounded extension cord plug on the end of this wire.

There's a block enclosure about 5 feet away, where the water well is. There's a power cord running from the pump up into the block enclosure, out a hole, and it has a plug on the end. Previously, we'd make sure that the plug was always plugged into the socket, and we would turn the pump on and off by screwing/unscrewing the fuse in the panel. I have no idea WHY we did it that way, it's just the way it's always been done. There's no pressure tank or pressure switch on this pump. I *think* that it has a 3/4 hp motor on it.

Apparently something happened to that wiring last fall, and the people who are using our barn right now temporarily ran a heavy duty extension cord from the pump enclosure to the barn, and to an outlet. I didn't know this until like two days ago. So, when I showed up and needed to fill a 200 gallon chemical tank 3/4 full, I discovered the wiring change (since I couldn't figure out how to start my own water pump any more). I pumped the tank to 145 gallons (something like that), and walked back to the outlet... when I grabbed the plug on the extension cord, to unplug it, I pulled my hand back away, because it was so hot... I eventually just grabbed it quickly and yanked it out... in the process, one of the prongs on the plug touched my pinky finger... I've still got a mark there from it... it was the worst burn I think I've ever felt (and on the farm, I've played with fire, hydraulic oil bursts, overheating engines... a lot). I think it was Wednesday that this happened.

I ran like a madman to a neighbor's house, to see if I could get a cold compress or something for my hand (and I needed to wash my hands anyway, I had RoundUp on them). After running my hand under cold water for a while, I went back outside and explained to him what just happened with the pump... so he came back down to the farm to nose around with me. He owned the farm before my family bought it, so he knew the way everything was wired, except for the changes I made recently.

We concluded that the wiring definitely needs to be replaced between the fuse panel and the pump enclosure.

Now for the question:

What would be the best way to replace the wiring from the fuse panel to the pump enclosure?

My thoughts on the issue: I want to put in cable that is rated for burial where it is outside of the barn, and is completely exposed to the weather. That would probably be from the junction box inside the pump enclosure to the inside of the barn - eh, 20 feet or so, and that's giving me plenty of slack. From there, splice that cable with indoor cable, just so its less expensive (or I could possibly run the underground rated cable the entire way), enter the milking parlor, and connect it to the fuse panel. What I need to figure out how to do, though, is add the ability to switch it from two locations (a three way switch), and add status lights at both locations. Is there any reason that I should *NOT* put three way switches into the mix? The only reason I'm asking is because I've never worked with electricity when I was powering anything that had a motor on it. I know that you can connect many motors to just about any circuit, but because I have relatively little experience with motors altogether, it's better for me to ask than not. Also, is there any special type of switches (other than just the regular three-way-switch from off the shelf at Lowe's) that I should get?

TIA, I feel like a complete newb here.

No Cliff's.

 

[aidanjm]

what the fvck are you doing? Are you a qualified electrician? if not, then you shouldn't be attempting to "replace wiring". I've never heard anything so INSANE. People are killed every year because they think they can DIY it with electrical wiring. What you are doing is CRAZY, and also probably illegal. Hire a fvcking qualified, certified electrician, and get the job done properly and safely!!!! :|

 

[Ornery]

I can understand not wanting to hire an electrician, because they're going to "bend you over" on this project. Biggest problem with this is the motor. They draw a LOT of power. It should be on its own circuit, and the wires used to switch it, need to be just as heavy as the wire running it, which would be 12 ga. minimum, and not very long.

That barn should have its own breaker panel, which means running extra heavy wire from the house's panel. Can that panel support another box? I doubt cable that large can be buried directly. It would probably have to be inside PVC conduit.

Could that motor be switched over to 220V? If the new box could be supplied with 220V, and located near the motor, a proper disconnect switch could be easily put next to it. You could run the lights and outlets on 110V circuits from there. That's basically what needs to be done. How you get it done is up to you.

We just had a lumber yard go up in flames yesterday. That's the second one in our area to burn in the last ten years. The first one was due to electrical causes, and this last one is probably the same. I bet an electrician is going to want around $1,000.00 to do that, including digging for the conduit, and materials. Maybe you could find one who will knock the bill down, if you do much of the grunt work. Good luck!

 

[CrispyFried]

If you dont know exactly what you are doing its a fire waiting to happen. About 1/3 of the fires around here are electrical in origin. The fact that the extension cord was hot should tell you something. Get a professional.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
No Cliff's.

Relevant Information:

My family owns three farms. On the largest of the three are two barns. One of them has electricity running to it.

I replaced some of the wiring in that barn a few years ago, because it was older than stone, starting to fall apart, was very dangerous, etc. All I wired in that particular barn was a few outlets and a few lights.

I also noticed that the wiring that ran through the barn, and then outside and to the well water pump was also looking worse for the wear. It was years and years old. It runs from a fuse panel inside a block milking parlor, protected from the elements, out a pipe (henceforth, exposed to the weather, in some fashion), through a barn (ran along some support beams), down a wall, through a hole in a sliding door. There's a grounded extension cord plug on the end of this wire.

There's a block enclosure about 5 feet away, where the water well is. There's a power cord running from the pump up into the block enclosure, out a hole, and it has a plug on the end. Previously, we'd make sure that the plug was always plugged into the socket, and we would turn the pump on and off by screwing/unscrewing the fuse in the panel. I have no idea WHY we did it that way, it's just the way it's always been done. There's no pressure tank or pressure switch on this pump. I *think* that it has a 3/4 hp motor on it.

Apparently something happened to that wiring last fall, and the people who are using our barn right now temporarily ran a heavy duty extension cord from the pump enclosure to the barn, and to an outlet. I didn't know this until like two days ago. So, when I showed up and needed to fill a 200 gallon chemical tank 3/4 full, I discovered the wiring change (since I couldn't figure out how to start my own water pump any more). I pumped the tank to 145 gallons (something like that), and walked back to the outlet... when I grabbed the plug on the extension cord, to unplug it, I pulled my hand back away, because it was so hot... I eventually just grabbed it quickly and yanked it out... in the process, one of the prongs on the plug touched my pinky finger... I've still got a mark there from it... it was the worst burn I think I've ever felt (and on the farm, I've played with fire, hydraulic oil bursts, overheating engines... a lot). I think it was Wednesday that this happened.

I ran like a madman to a neighbor's house, to see if I could get a cold compress or something for my hand (and I needed to wash my hands anyway, I had RoundUp on them). After running my hand under cold water for a while, I went back outside and explained to him what just happened with the pump... so he came back down to the farm to nose around with me. He owned the farm before my family bought it, so he knew the way everything was wired, except for the changes I made recently.

We concluded that the wiring definitely needs to be replaced between the fuse panel and the pump enclosure.

Now for the question:

What would be the best way to replace the wiring from the fuse panel to the pump enclosure?

My thoughts on the issue: I want to put in cable that is rated for burial where it is outside of the barn, and is completely exposed to the weather. That would probably be from the junction box inside the pump enclosure to the inside of the barn - eh, 20 feet or so, and that's giving me plenty of slack. From there, splice that cable with indoor cable, just so its less expensive (or I could possibly run the underground rated cable the entire way), enter the milking parlor, and connect it to the fuse panel. What I need to figure out how to do, though, is add the ability to switch it from two locations (a three way switch), and add status lights at both locations. Is there any reason that I should *NOT* put three way switches into the mix? The only reason I'm asking is because I've never worked with electricity when I was powering anything that had a motor on it. I know that you can connect many motors to just about any circuit, but because I have relatively little experience with motors altogether, it's better for me to ask than not. Also, is there any special type of switches (other than just the regular three-way-switch from off the shelf at Lowe's) that I should get?

TIA, I feel like a complete newb here.

No Cliff's.

First of all, you've got to determine the loads on the branch circuit you are creating. The fuse must be then appropriately sized to protect the branch wire run. A 20A fuse will protect wires 12AWG and larger, this is all spelled out in the NFPA's NEC.

Again, the switches you buy must be rated for the wire size. Oversizing the switches may be a necessary, since you are switching inductive (motor) loads, which are generally hard on switches.

Also, the switches may have to be rated for outdoor use - I don't know if you get a lot of condensation out in the barn etc. That may just be a smart thing to do.

A status light (pilot light) would not be hard to do, but again I would recommend an all-weather arrangement.

Underground rated 12/2 is not that expensive, you may want to do it that way. It is harder to work with though.

Three way switches with the single phase motors you are talking about are not an issue. If it was three phase, an interposing relay would be necessary.

Check the grounding at the barn. The fuse panel needs to be properly grounded.

Sorry about the long response - but the bottom line is that you should consider outdoor duty switches and wiring. Stick to the correct fusing, and at the least - stop unscrewing the fuse! Use a real switch for this purpose!

BTW, I was mixing Glyphomax (generic round-up) yesterday...

 

[Mark R]

Don't have much to add.

But for a heavy load, that is not portable - like the pump, then it should be 'hardwired' into an appropriate rated circuit.

You will also need to ensure appropraite grounding in the barn. In general it is not appropriate to take the ground wire from the house and run it with the power to the barn. Usually, you should install a seperate ground from the barn. Note that this requires you to fit suitable residual current circuit breakers in the barn.

You will also need appropriate residual current and overload protection for the underground line at the house end.

Because you are switching big motors, you may need to use specially rated circuit breakers - because 'normal' may be prone to false tripping.

If you aren't certain of the subtelties, then having a detailed schematic drawn up, installed and tested by a qualified electrician is strongly recommended.

If you want to save yourself some money - there's no reason why you can't do grunt work (like burying cables, etc.) yourself - but makesure that the materials you use are appropriate first.

 

[skyking]

I"ll chime in, since I do quite a bit of wiring, whole houses, industrial motors, wells, compressors.
The best thing you can do to save money is put in a continuous conduit, 1" or larger, with long sweeps at the ends from the pump house up to the place where you want to switch it.
Then put in another from there to the load center.

Dig it in at least 18", or possibly 24" if required by code in your area.
Leave the trench open.
Call an electrician.

 

[GeekDrew]

For those of you (ahem, aidanjm) that basically told me to get over myself, go stand in a bath tub while holding a live 110V line.

My grandfather was a licensed electrician, as was my uncle - they taught me what I *do* know about electricity. And what I do know about electricity has let me completely rewire two other barns and a lot of a house, successfully. Yes, after my work was done in those cases, it was inspected by an electrician, and he couldn't find any problems. In general, I *do* know what I'm doing with electricity - I've just never worked with motors before.

As for grounding the barn, etc.: there is no house on this farm. The electrical drop from the utility is to the fuse panel in the barn. The panel is grounded properly.

There is no local code above NEC.

No, the pump cannot be changed to 220V.

Yes, I need to be able to control power to the pump in two locations, that are about 100' apart (by the distance that the wire would run; it's well over 500 feet for humans to go from one location to the other).

CrispyFried, the fact that the extension cord was hot *DID* tell me something. However, I'm not paying for a "professional" to do it. Unless I come up with a better way, I'll probably just use the exact same setup we've been using for years, and just use heavier gauge wire.

yellowfiero, thank you. Finally a helpful answer. The pilot lights I'm going to use are all-weather light bulb holders that have a glass dome... I've already got them. The three way switches will be housed in a weather protected box. I didn't really think that I would have a very big problem with it, since it's not a three phase motor. I'm definitely going to stick to the correct fusing, etc. - I just need to figure out what I need, first. Oh, and I've gotten angry with several people several times about switching the circuit by unscrewing the fuse... but until now, they said "It works - don't touch it. Fix it after it breaks." Well, now's my chance.

Mark R - How big *is* a 1/2 or 3/4 hp pump, anyway? That's what I'm unsure of. I had always been told that's a fairly small motor. I know that this pump has been plugged into various circuits at various times, and we've never had a problem with it. If someone (electrician, etc.) were to just tell me what needed to be done, I'd be able to do it, without a schematic. That said, I already have a pretty good idea of exactly what needs to happen - I just wanted people's opinions.

skyking - Way to be helpful. If I were going to call an electrician, I wouldn't have posted anything here.

Seems I shouldn't have posted anything here anyway.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Seems I shouldn't have posted anything here anyway.

there you go again with your negative thinking

cheer up!

 

[KMurphy]

Answer these questions and I can help:

Is the old existing wire aluminum or copper? If copper you shouldn't have any problems splicing. If you are unsure, run all new copper wire.

How far is the electrical run from the source to the motor?

What horspower is the motor?

What voltage is the motor?

Is the motor the only load on this branch circuit? If not, what are the other loads?

If the run is quite long, you will need to oversize the wire to account for voltage drop and I^2*R heat losses. You need to make sure that all connections are tight. If an outlet is hot to the touch, there is a poor connection generating excess heat due to increased resistance. You need to repair or replace these outlets/connection points.

If you want direct burial cable, go to any commercial electrical supply store. I can help you size the wire if you answer the questions above. It is very important to size the fuse/breaker correctly. You will also need a local disconnect switch within sight of the motor of you want to meet code. Make sure there is one earth ground which should be at the main panel. You do not want the neutral conductor connected to ground at any other point. This is for your protection and a code requirement.

I would recommend to run all new wire; it isn't really that expensive when you look at the total cost of what you're trying to do.

 

[skyking]

Geekdrew, my advice was serious, because you were unable to tell us from the beginning:
1) the horsepower of the current pump
2) the gauge of the wire in place now
3) the size of the fuse(s)


Those are crucial to figuring out what to do. I would not want to hear about something really bad happening due to advice somebody took at a forum, so I gave out some safe and sound advice. I really was not meaning to be a smartass.

If you did as I suggested and ran conduit, most electricians would cut you a deal and do a quick and competent job.
If you put it in a little bigger than needed now, bigger wire can be drug in for any contingency.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: KMurphy
Answer these questions and I can help:

Is the old existing wire aluminum or copper? If copper you shouldn't have any problems splicing. If you are unsure, run all new copper wire.

How far is the electrical run from the source to the motor?

What horspower is the motor?

What voltage is the motor?

Is the motor the only load on this branch circuit? If not, what are the other loads?

If the run is quite long, you will need to oversize the wire to account for voltage drop and I^2*R heat losses. You need to make sure that all connections are tight. If an outlet is hot to the touch, there is a poor connection generating excess heat due to increased resistance. You need to repair or replace these outlets/connection points.

If you want direct burial cable, go to any commercial electrical supply store. I can help you size the wire if you answer the questions above. It is very important to size the fuse/breaker correctly. You will also need a local disconnect switch within sight of the motor of you want to meet code. Make sure there is one earth ground which should be at the main panel. You do not want the neutral conductor connected to ground at any other point. This is for your protection and a code requirement.

I would recommend to run all new wire; it isn't really that expensive when you look at the total cost of what you're trying to do.

Thanks for your message.

I'm not sure whether the existing wire is aluminum or copper... I don't really care; I'll be discarding it and replacing all of the wire. In that respect, I'd rather replace a component than rely on an old wire that has been in the barn for years and years and years when nobody knows what load it has seen.

The powers of MS Paint have provided us with *this* image of the barn & the existing wiring. The legend indicates the markings - completely nonstandard, I know. B & D indicate the points that I must somehow manage to locate a switch to start or stop the motor. I also want to put pilot lights at these locations, to indicate the current power status of the motor. We've never had pilot lights before, but before, there was a single way to shut down the motor, so there wasn't really a need for pilot lights.

I knew that you had to locate a disconnect switch within sight of the motor *if* the motor was visible - I didn't know that you had to do that if it was buried. This pump is 50 feet underground... the only way to get to it is to pull the well. Nonetheless, adding an outdoor disconnect switch near the top of the well isn't a big deal at all.

I would venture to guess that the green wire in the sketch (the original wire) is probably about 150 feet from the fuse panel to the pump enclosure. The motor itself is about 100 feet down, under the pump enclosure; there's just waterproof wire running from the pump up to the top of the well (as there is in all wells).

There will be no other load on this branch circuit.

I honestly can't remember exactly what horsepower the motor is. I'm fairly confidant that it's 3/4 (0.75) hp. It was just replaced 4 years ago... unfortunately, I can't remember what it was. My grandma kept track of everything like that for us on all of our farms... she passed away in 2003, and I have since discovered that her recordkeeping left more than a little to be desired.

The motor runs on 110/120 V, I would assume, since that's what is currently being provided to it...

Yeah - there's an earth ground at the panel; everything is OK electrically at the panel.

I'll probably go to Lowe's or one of the local electrical supply stores sometime in the next day or two and buy some direct burial cable.

What would be the best route to run the wire? I would assume I'm actually going to have to run more than one wire, since need more then that number of individual wires in a single cable, assuming I put three way switches on the motor. I'd like to run the new wire as close as possible to the original wire path (the green line), because that's the most secure path to use.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

<edit> Forgot to upload image. Doh.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: skyking
Geekdrew, my advice was serious, because you were unable to tell us from the beginning:
1) the horsepower of the current pump
2) the gauge of the wire in place now
3) the size of the fuse(s)

Those are crucial to figuring out what to do. I would not want to hear about something really bad happening due to advice somebody took at a forum, so I gave out some safe and sound advice. I really was not meaning to be a smartass.

I'm sure you weren't meaning to be a smartass... I just forget that people here don't know the way I work better. I do know how crucial many things are to this project, those 3 things most so. I don't know the gauge of the wire in place, nor the size of the fuse - right now. I could easily drive down there and check really quick. But, I made that original post in the middle of the night, and it was more of a "eh, I'm bored, why not post something" more than a "I need critical advice quickly" post. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate advice, and I understand the seriousness in working with electricity.

That said, how could an electrician figure out how many hp the motor is, when I can't? :-\ The only thing I know to do is ask a couple more people if they happen to remember what was installed.

 

[Ornery]

Any suggestions?

Cost wise, it may be cheaper to use a relay to power the motor. That way you could use light duty wire and switches to flip it on and off.

 

[skyking]

You can size that motor in place with an inductive meter. It is an inductive load, so a meter clamped around one leg will tell you how much is draws when it starts, under normal load, etc.
That will give you a clue. Take a look at voltage drop when the motor starts and after it gets going. that will tell you how adequate or inadequate the lines are now.
When wires heat up as you observed, there is way too much load for that path, or there is a locally hinky connection. That plug that burned you? It was likely a bad plug in, loose and causing a bad connection. Amps go up, volt down, things get hot.That is why 220 is so attractive in these applications. it either doubles the amount of power for a given wire size, or halves the size needed, however you look at it.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Any suggestions?

Cost wise, it may be cheaper to use a relay to power the motor. That way you could use light duty wire and switches to flip it on and off.

That crossed my mind... I should see how much relays cost. It would also be much safer (IMHO) to do that. That way I'm just switching the load to activate the relay, and not the entire load that the pump uses (well, and the pilot lights too, now that I think about it).

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: skyking
You can size that motor in place with an inductive meter. It is an inductive load, so a meter clamped around one leg will tell you how much is draws when it starts, under normal load, etc.
That will give you a clue. Take a look at voltage drop when the motor starts and after it gets going. that will tell you how adequate or inadequate the lines are now.
When wires heat up as you observed, there is way too much load for that path, or there is a locally hinky connection. That plug that burned you? It was likely a bad plug in, loose and causing a bad connection. Amps go up, volt down, things get hot.That is why 220 is so attractive in these applications. it either doubles the amount of power for a given wire size, or halves the size needed, however you look at it.

Yeah, I'm familiar with what can cause high heat conditions, such as that (or at least I knew those ways). However, I would be correct, wouldn't I, to believe that the load was too high for that cord, since I could feel heat in more places than just that plug? I don't remember if I mentioned it elsewhere or not, but the cord was warm elsewhere (no *hot*, but warm, and shouldn't have been).

I knew that there would be some way to measure the the voltage that it's currently using (to assist in this) but I had never done it before... thanks. Now, off to find an inductive meter...

Would you also suggest using a relay to switch the power to the pump, instead of switching the entire load?

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew

Originally posted by: Ornery
Any suggestions?

Cost wise, it may be cheaper to use a relay to power the motor. That way you could use light duty wire and switches to flip it on and off.

That crossed my mind... I should see how much relays cost. It would also be much safer (IMHO) to do that. That way I'm just switching the load to activate the relay, and not the entire load that the pump uses (well, and the pilot lights too, now that I think about it).

Ok, I second this. You want to control the pump with a 12v relay. That way you can run cheap wire back and forth from the switches to the relay, and not have 10 amps of pump power running back and forth all over the place. A good relay arrangement should be cheap, like less than $20 if you pieced everything together yourself, but I imagine you could pull off under $50 even getting pre-assembled components made for exactly what you are doing. The money you'll be saving in power wire may even pay for it.

Replace all the wire. Get outdoor wire and then run it inside conduit. You don't want to be the guy that forgets where the wire is 3 years later and puts a shovel through it.

I also say call an electrician, though - if you do any major grunt work (mostly digging a trench from the sounds of it) I believe you could get something like this done for a "reasonable" cost.

Edit: Here is a good example relay Apparently sprinkler systems commonly use 24vac as a trigger - something similar to this relay would do the trick.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

I would call for a quote or too just to see. I would think that with your family connection in the trade, you ought to know someone that can give you on-site advice for a nominal fee, or even do some of the more heavy duty stuff, like upgrade that box.

 

[Ornery]

I looked for a few minutes for a 60AMP relay, but couldn't find a suitable one. No reason why the coil couldn't run off 120VAC, which is readily available, of course.

Looked again and found a few at Grainger:

• Power Relay, Coil Voltage 120 VAC, Contact Current Rating Resistive @ 28 VDC 30 Amps
• Power Relay, Coil Voltage 120 VAC, Contact Current Rating Inductive 30 Amps, Contact Current Rating Resistive @ 28 VDC 30 Amps
• Power Relay, Coil Voltage 120 VAC, Contact Current Rating Resistive @ 28 VDC 30 Amps
  
• Dust cover...

 

[Analog]

here is a 15A relay 120V with NEMA1 enclosure for $14. NEMA1 is for indoor use.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2005052120343795&item=11-1986&catname=

 

[CrispyFried]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew

My grandfather was a licensed electrician, as was my uncle - they taught me what I *do* know about electricity. And what I do know about electricity has let me completely rewire two other barns and a lot of a house, successfully. Yes, after my work was done in those cases, it was inspected by an electrician, and he couldn't find any problems. In general, I *do* know what I'm doing with electricity - I've just never worked with motors before.

As for grounding the barn, etc.: there is no house on this farm. The electrical drop from the utility is to the fuse panel in the barn. The panel is grounded properly.

[..chop..]

CrispyFried, the fact that the extension cord was hot *DID* tell me something. However, I'm not paying for a "professional" to do it. Unless I come up with a better way, I'll probably just use the exact same setup we've been using for years, and just use heavier gauge wire.

You didnt mention your uncles, gramps or you qaulifications before.

I mentioned what I did because I worked for a company that did insurance claims on fire damages properties. And 1/3 are electrical.

So if you have the knowledge, go for it.

 

[GeekDrew]

Sorry for the delayed response.

Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
I would call for a quote or too just to see. I would think that with your family connection in the trade, you ought to know someone that can give you on-site advice for a nominal fee, or even do some of the more heavy duty stuff, like upgrade that box.

Yeah, we've got a couple of connections in the trade... but they aren't good ones. We live in a small community, and the only other electricians in our immediate area all go to the same church (which happens to be one that kicked me out because of my sexuality)...

CrispyFried - I didn't mention anything about qualifications, because I don't have any... I've just done some stuff before. I know about safety, etc., and the things that I've done, I *know* how to do. I'll admit that I haven't a clue what I'm doing with motors, though... and while I know what a relay is and does, I've never installed one before.

Also, I've found out that I don't know anyone around here that has a meter that will allow me to measure the amount of voltage being used (as skyking mentioned, an 'inductive meter'?). Would it be safe to assume that the motor is 1 HP? I can guarantee that it is not over that, and between several of us, we've decided we're about 99% sure that it's 3/4 hp... but using larger gauge wiring (for 1 HP) couldn't hurt anything... or at least that makes sense to me... right?

Ornery - Thanks for the links... but I really have no idea what to do with them. What is it that I'm looking for? I don't know what I need in the way of a relay.

 

[GeekDrew]

bump

 

[Ornery]

Good thing you bumped, because I missed that question. I just linked to those power relays for pricing. Compare using those $20.00 parts, and a few hundred feet of light gage, 3 conductor wire for your 3-way switches, VS a few hundred feet of heavy gage, 3 conductor wire, and possibly heavy duty 3-way switches. It's almost a no-brainer, but I'm not sure what your electrical code will allow.

I'd take this project to your local electrical supply store, and drop it in their lap to price it out. They should be aware of who to order the relay from, if they don't stock such a thing. They could tell you how heavy the wire needs to be from the Breaker Box/Relay to the motor, given the length of the run, and motor's size. If you buy all the stuff from them (and not Home Depot), I'd think they would do it for you no charge, since they mark things up pretty good to cover that extra service.