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Hi I have a 1950s house in Indiana that has the original wiring to a detached garage. The garage is about 25-30 feet from the main panel. It currently only has a switch for the light.

I am planning to run a welder, and air compressor at some point so I would like to install a 110v and maybe a 220V since I am going to run the wiring.

Should I run a subpanel to the garage or can I run two dedicated circuit arms to the garage with a shutoff in the garage?

Any other suggestions are appreciated. Here is a picture of my main panel. enter image description hereenter image description here

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  • That's the only panel you have? If so, you only have a 100 amp service?
    – Tyson
    Oct 5, 2017 at 17:23
  • Ya thats the only panel I have.
    – Dan
    Oct 5, 2017 at 18:48
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    Not an original panel, somebody upgraded sometime recently since Eaton bought out BRyant/Cutler Hammer. Wish they would've gone larger, is all. But definitely, slap a 50A 2-pole BR in any 2 locations, run some #6 and off you go. A panel about this size would be just right for the subpanel.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Oct 5, 2017 at 19:38
  • Harper this should be an answer.+
    – Ed Beal
    Oct 6, 2017 at 14:01
  • So would I run a 6/3 UF-B WG? And 1 or 2 ground rods? 4 ft or 8ft?
    – Dan
    Oct 6, 2017 at 20:22

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You could do either, as your main panel seems to have capacity for both a double-pole breaker (240V) and a single-pole.

Adding a sub-panel in the garage would give you more flexibility both for adding things to the garage and by taking up less space in the main panel (2 spots vs. 3). So that would be my preference although it might be a little more expensive up front.

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