I have a very thick 4 wire supply coming from my panel and a 50 amp breaker that went directly to my hot tub. I no longer have the hot tub. The wires are caped and the breaker is off. I want to use the existing 4 wire supply that is already ran and put a plug on the end to use for various tools, log splitter, skill saws, ect. Can this be done without changing everything? Thanks for your knowledge. Phil J.
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Possible duplicate of Converting 4 wire supply to 3 wire outlet – keshlam Oct 06 '16 at 16:33
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1@keshlam The titles of the question might seem similar, but the body of the questions are quite different. The question you linked to was asking if they could connect the grounding and neutral conductors together. – Tester101 Oct 06 '16 at 18:02
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I am not knowledgeable on electrical. Therefore do not understand the answer given in the question asked. All I wanted to know was can I splice wires together from the 4 wire feed to a standard gfi plug for power tools and put a 20 breaker in place of where the 50 is. – Phil J. Oct 07 '16 at 10:56
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Do you want 240 V or do you want 120 V? – Jim Stewart Oct 21 '23 at 22:37
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Sure. You could use the existing feeder to supply a main lug panel, then install individual 20 ampere breakers in the panel. Use the 20 ampere branch circuits to supply receptacles, where you can connect your tools.
Check with your local building department, and/or a licensed Electrician, to flesh out all the details. You'll want to make sure the job is done properly, and up to current code.
Tester101
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Tester 101 So I can connect the red and black together with a black coming off from both to the outlet? This makes sense. Thanks a lot for your help. Should a 20 amp be good or should I put in a 30 ? My log splitter is a 20 amp. – Phil J. Oct 07 '16 at 10:59
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@PhilJ. NO. You can connect the red and black to the terminals of an electrical panel. Then you can use circuit breakers to create branch circuits of varying size. You'll want at least one 20 ampere general purpose receptacle circuit, then whatever other specialty circuits you want. – Tester101 Oct 07 '16 at 12:07
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Ok the electrical terminology I do not understand any of it. This is what I have. I have 1 wire containing 4 wires coming of my panel from a 50 amp breaker. It goes under my house to back yard. I want to put a plug on the open end of those wires to plug in power tools. Speaking in dummy terms how do I do this? Connect red, black together then to outlet. white on otherside and green on the ground? – Phil J. Oct 07 '16 at 21:27
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@PhilJ. No. You can't put a 15- or 20-ampere receptacle on a 50 ampere circuit. You could replace the 50 ampere breaker with a 20 ampere double pole breaker, but the wires may not fit in the terminals. You'd definitely have to pigtail some 12 AWG on the other end, to connect to the receptacle. You sound like you're in over your head, and should probably contact a local licensed Electrician. – Tester101 Oct 07 '16 at 23:59
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Ok. I understand now. I could put (2) 20 amp breakers in the panel where the 50 amp was. Hence the 50 is a double breaker. On the other end where the open wires are I would have to put a junction box and in that box I would use some 12 AWG wire and splice together and out to the receptacle. I am ok with doing things I just want to make sure. I do not like electricity and it does not like me. ha ha. Thanks for your help. You have been very knowledgeable and patient with me, explaining it. 2 Thumbs up...... – Phil J. Oct 08 '16 at 13:31