modular electrical busway recmd?

I did my shop with 4"x4" raceway. I think that is what you are calling busway. Probably depends on the supplier. Anyway, I found the best price from All Phase Electric. I believe they are in several states. One thing to consider is adding circuits later. SO MUCH EASIER with raceway. Just laying in the wire during the initial wiring saves a bunch of time. And tracing a circuit is way easier too, I think that even with a $1000.00 difference it's worth it in your case. ERS

Hey Doug,

I don't think that bus will ever be cheaper to run than EMT conduit, and mounting time for conduit is less too, and more adaptable to many things. I'd guess only when the currents required get over say 2 or

One thing to watch, is that using a particular "busway" requires that the disconnects be specific for the bus system you buy. Get quotes for them for comparison in your estimates too, and not just for the buss itself. I've never seen bus used at a height less than maybe 8 feet above floor level, but I don't know if there is a code for that. Plus, depending on what is hooked up to it (and you said ten machines, no cranes or other overhead stuff??), in use you still have to run "something" else (conduit??) to get from the bus to the machine, and this may even require a second disconnect because of it.

NOT having actually looked at prices, I would think that it is easier and more economical to do a reasonable size wire run to a splitter box or two, and "best deal" disconnects and conduit from them for each machine.

By the way, in inustrial/commercial use, disconnects have a number of advantages over circuit breakers in many instances. Both code and usage.

Take care.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.

ps.. by the way, you did mean "bus", and not "troughing", didn't you? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (William Danielson) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Even if you find inexpensive busway, the fused disconnect boxes are expensive. Busway would be the cleaner install, and is handy if you move machinery around much. Depending on your local codes, with busway, you can get by with properly installed SO cord to the machines vs. Conduit.

The other option is wire tray. Less expensive than busway, but a bit more costly than conduit. You can run cable in the wire tray, and stub down a verticle piece of conduit just at the machine. It is a clean looking install.

Have you tried to locate any used busway and busplugs? With all the manufacturing that's being shifted overseas, there should be lots of this stuff available used. There's really not much that can go wrong with it, so aside from being really dirty, used stuff should serve you as well as new.

John

For longer runs, one could use wire tray segments every so often, connected by sections of EMT.

This should result in a significant cost reduction.