What is everyone using for dedicated AC lines???

Eldartford, 10-3 has four conductors as Glen stated. The fourth leg usually is used for running an isolated ground. You would also need to have a receptacle capable of using that feature though, like a PS Audio Power Port. My electrician shook his head and declared it overkill. I told him many would think much of my system is overkill.

Regards,
John

I just upgraded my ded. AC system using all Virtual Dynamics cryo treated wire, breakers, and Hubbell 5362 outlets. 10/4 BX from Main panel to sub-panel $3./ft. (actually 10/3 w/ ground), and then 10/3 (10/2 w/gnd) from sub panel to outlets. 30 amp cryo'ed breaker in main panel, and four 20 amp breakers in sub-panel. All this is now broken in and sounding excellent-- sweet, mellow, live, and most of all very, very natural. At $3./ft. for the wire, I did not consider it excessive. This has been a very worthwhile upgrade. Good Luck. Craig

Jmcgrogan2....The uninsulated ground wire goes without saying in X/2 or X/3. With either voltage you need only power wires (plus ground). With 110 it's 110 and neutral (which is nominally ground). With 220 it's +110 and -110 so that you have 220, line-to-line (plus ground).

Garfish ( and others using similar set-up's ): Even if you have four 20 amp breakers, you do realize that these are being fed by a single 30 amp breaker. As such, you are limiting the total current capacity of the sub-box to 30 amps total, regardless of how many breakers and their ratings in the secondary box.

From my line of thinking, you should have had the electrician tie the secondary breaker box into the mains. This would bypass the 30 amp breaker and allow you to pull as much as you needed from the mains. The only limitation at that point would be the master breaker on the smaller secondary box. In order to do this though, you would need to replace the 10 gauge wiring that goes from the AC mains to the secondary box with something heavier.

In my opinion, 8 gauge is sufficient to handle 30 amps continuously, so you would need at least 4 gauge for an 80 or possibly 100 amp service. That is, if you were ever going to pull that much power on a steady-state basis. The reason that they can get away with using smaller gauged wires in most installations is due to the fact that most people aren't pulling that hard on all of the circuits at the same time, so momentary overloads are not that big of a deal.

Please bare in mind that i am NOT a certified electrician and building / electrical code may vary from location to location. As such, the info that i or anyone else posts to a thread like this should always be verified at the local level prior to taking it for "gospel" and acting upon it.

As i've mentioned before, PLEASE correct me if i suggest something wrong, as this is NOT just a matter of opinion on stuff like this. It can be a matter of life, death and /or personal property loss. None of these are matters where mistakes should be allowed to slide as far as i'm concerned and those that are knowledgable and / or skilled professionals should chime in ASAP in such cases. I would much rather have a boot to the head than be responsible for possibly helping someone to kill themselves or harm their gear. If you don't know what you are doing with electricity and wiring, DON'T try this stuff on your own. Sean
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PS... Unlike 9 volt batteries, you should never put AC wiring into your mouth and touch it to your tongue to see if it is live : )