[tpagel]

I have a house with 200A main panel. There is a 100A subpanel in the garage which is wired off this main panel. I am currently doing a kitchen renovation, and, due to a potential lack of spaces in the main panel, I have decided to install a subpanel for kitchen and new exterior circuits. I bought a 100A subpanel but was going to wire it as a 60A panel, with 6/3 wire and a 60A circuit breaker at the main panel. Somebody has since showed me the guts of the panel I bought, pointing out that it needs 2 load side inputs to activate all spaces. He said I should just go ahead and make it a 100A panel. Can I do that? Have 2 100A panels off one 200A main panel? Should I?

Also, I if I make it a 100A panel, what wire do I need for it? It is 20'-30' away from the main panel. #4's?

Additionally, if I went with 100A subpanel, couldn't I use the 6/3 wire I bought to wire a 220V 4 prong slide-in range outlet? Would that wire need to be in conduit?

Thanks for any and all replies!

 

[Jim Port]

A 6-3+ground cable will be able to supply both legs in the panel. You do not need 100 amps inorder to power both legs.

You could use the 6-3+g cable for the 140 volt 4 prong range receptacle.

Conduit is required by some areas like Chicago. Otherwise it is not needed unless the cable requires protection from physical damage.

 

[tpagel]

Thanks very much for the quick reply. One more question. If I wired the subpanel at 60A, does it make any sense to connect the range's 50A circuit to it, or should I take that one circuit back to the existing dedicated circuit breakers at the main panel (the range is moving locations from where the old stove was, and the house wiring is old and suspect, so I am not re-using the existing wire). Thanks again in advance..

 

[Jim Port]

I would definitely leave the stove circuit fed from the main panel.

 

[tpagel]

Thank you very much for the comments and insight.