A 5 HP single-phase compressor will pull 28 AMPs, not a big load for a 100 AMP feed. A wire welder will run all day on 20 to 25 AMPs, and a stick machine about 35 AMPs....still well under the continuous rating of the breaker-bite-bus system. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
Another good reason for only one meter is, at least in our area, there is a minimum for each meter, then the rate per KWH goes down as usage goes up. First KWH used may be twice the price of last KWH used.
Shop added onto existing meter means electricity cost starts out at the least expensive KWH rate.
Check into your local codes to see what is allowed. One way to do it is to pull from your main panel to a subpanel and then feed the shop from the subpanel.
If your panel is full, there is usually a better opportunity to double-lug in the meter can since the lugs in there are often a bigger size to take underground pulls of large aluminum, that sort of thing. If you do that, what you'll have is two separate main breakers, one for the shop and one for the house. The new shop main breaker would need an outdoor enclosure, and would feed over to the sub panel that was IN the shop. You need not have a "main" breaker in the shop sub panel, only the distribution breakers. When we re-did our electrical I knew we would be feeding a shop later on so my meter feeds to a distribution panel which then [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] has breakers for all the sub panels....the house, the shop, etc, etc. four separate subs.
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