How to Make a 50 Ampere Circuit

Turn off power to the electrical circuits inside your home by opening the electrical panel, and turning the main circuit breaker switch to its "Off" position. Unscrew the panel cover and plug a 220-volt circuit breaker into a vacant slot in the panel board.

Locate the spot on the wall where you wish to place the electrical outlet and find the studs that run behind the wall with a stud finder. Hold the outlet box against the wall along a stud and screw the outlet box into place, using a screwdriver. Punch a knockout on top of the box, using needle-nose pliers.

Climb up to the crawl space above the ceiling and locate the spot directly above the outlet box you mounted. Drill a hole along the exterior edge of the wall in the ceiling, using a drill bit roughly of the same diameter as the electrical cable you will install. Slip the tip of the electrical cable through the hole and drop the cable down to the outlet box. Attach the cable onto the wall, using wire molding with self-adhesive backing.

Slip the cable end through the knockout on top of the box, then pull the cable from inside the box by about six inches. Remove four inches of cable sheathing, using diagonal pliers. Strip off three-quaerters of an inch of insulation from the tip of each of the four wires, using a wire stripper.

Loosen the terminal screws behind the 220-volt receptacle. Hook each wire to its corresponding terminal screw according to the following configuration: neutral (white) wire to the silver terminal screw, green, or bare wire to the grounding (green) terminal screw and each remaining black (hot) or red wire (hot) to a brass terminal screw (in any order). Tighten each screw securely and pull on each wire to make sure there are no loose connections.

Coil the wires or fold them in a zigzag manner, then tuck the wires carefully into the outlet box. Screw the receptacle onto the outlet box and screw the receptacle faceplate to cover the wires.

Run the electrical cable across the ceiling to the area directly above the electrical panel. Use cable staples to attach the cable onto surfaces. Slip the cable through an available opening or conduit inside the ceiling, then drop the cable to a knockout on top of the panel. Pull the rest of the cable from inside the panel, then cut the cable with diagonal pliers after leaving about two feet of cable dangling inside the box. Remove the cable sheathing from the entire two feet of cable to expose the inner wires.

Route each wire neatly to its corresponding terminal screw in the following configuration: neutral (white) wire to a terminal screw on the neutral bar where all the other white wires connect, green (sometimes bare) wire to a terminal screw on the grounding bar where all the other green wires connect, and each of the remaining black (hot) or red wire (hot) to a terminal screw at the end of the 220-volt circuit breaker you plugged earlier.

OkjCut any excess wires, then strip off one half inch of insulation from the tip of each wire. Plug the tip of each wire to the slot below each terminal screw and tighten each screw securely. Pull on each wire to make sure there are no loose connections.

Replace the cover of the panel once all the wires are connected. Turn on the main circuit breaker, turn on the 220-volt circuit breaker, then plug a 220-volt appliance into the 220-volt circuit.