Cost Of Wiring

[midlifer]

The run for my new tub is 90 feet. Most of the supplies I purchased seemed reasonable, then the wire hit me. 80 feet of #2 copper x 3 plus 80 feet of #4. The #2 is almost $2 a foot and the #4 is about 1.25 a foot. The #6 and #8 from the spa box to the spa, all 20' of it, was a fraction of that. Does any of this seem unreasonable to you guys?

[fiberarm]

the distance to my tub was 100' - 90' to the gfi and 10' to the tub...$180.00 for #6. Cheaper than hiring someone, but still expensive.

[Roger]

The run for my new tub is 90 feet. Most of the supplies I purchased seemed reasonable, then the wire hit me. 80 feet of #2 copper x 3 plus 80 feet of #4. The #2 is almost $2 a foot and the #4 is about 1.25 a foot. The #6 and #8 from the spa box to the spa, all 20' of it, was a fraction of that. Does any of this seem unreasonable to you guys?

Copper is a hot comodity for thieves now. And you have electrical contractors who used to throw away old wire and left overs, purchasing stripping machines and bringing there scrap in for the cash.

[Dr. Spa]

$2 - $3 a pound

Copper is a hot comodity for thieves now. And you have electrical contractors who used to throw away old wire and left overs, purchasing stripping machines and bringing there scrap in for the cash.

[midlifer]

I just had no idea that I would be spending $650 in just wire. Arghhhhh. Most of the spa sales guys said that running the electrical shouldn't be more than $500 total. I guess that makes the digestion of spending 9k on a tub more acceptable.

[JoeM]

yeah, the cost of wire went up about 300% or so almost 3 years ago and hasnt let up since. Wiring a house is really expensive now.

your #2 for 2.00 a foot is a pretty decent price actually. I think I paid about 1.80 for #6

[floridaspaman]

I just had no idea that I would be spending $650 in just wire. Arghhhhh. Most of the spa sales guys said that running the electrical shouldn't be more than $500 total. I guess that makes the digestion of spending 9k on a tub more acceptable.

If you are wiring up to a 50 amp in your main panel it is my understanding that you can use two #6 wires and two #10 wires or you can even run 4#8 wires if you wish and be fine the #6 wire is actually rated to 60 amps if I'm not mistaken.

I don't see why you would need to go with such large wiring unless your codes are different than ours here in florida.

[cburk]

The electrician that is doing my install charges $500 flat fee for up to 40 ft run. Then $8.00 per foot more for anything over 40 ft.

If you are wiring up to a 50 amp in your main panel it is my understanding that you can use two #6 wires and two #10 wires or you can even run 4#8 wires if you wish and be fine the #6 wire is actually rated to 60 amps if I'm not mistaken.

I don't see why you would need to go with such large wiring unless your codes are different than ours here in florida.

[floridaspaman]

CBurk the electrician we use and recommend here charges a $500 flat fee for a standard installation. That being that the customer has room in their panel and they do not have any unusual circumstances say like digging the line out into the yard. Standard being a single story residence with a standard wall mount for the sub panel. We include the sub panel with the spa.

Our current recommendation for wiring is two #6 wires and two #10 wires ran from the main panel to the sub panel w/50 amp breaker in main panel for 220/230volt. We then include a 15 foot whip from the sub panel to the spa.

[midlifer]

I'm running 100 amp to my 125 amp spa panel. 50 amps will go to the spa breaker and I will have two additional 20 amp circuits. I plan to build an outdoor area with fridge, lighting, fans, and music. I am hoping that the #2 can handle it.