Running 500 feet of underground wire.

[grsthegreat]

Thanks... if we were to go with #2 copper xhhw in conduit we would have more options... I see 500' rolls of single wire for as low as $150

So 3 ea 500' of #2 and plus ground.

copper is way overkill . Use 2 #2 plus ground for 120 volts or 3 of the #2 and ground for 240v

 

[ultrarunner]

My apologies to member Check for not starting my own thread.

I was thinking if we did substitute #2 copper I could put a 40 amp sub panel in that barn... might add an electric fence or a booster pump...

The Service Entrance is quite a ways from the road and run over head on several poles... nearest transformer is out on the highway... so lets say 500' from the road to the meter and another 500 feet to the barn up on the hill.

Anything else that needs to be checked such as voltage at the meter?

 

[bigdeano]

Step the voltage up to 480v for the long run and then back down to 120v at the end with transformers. 14ga wire would work fine. 15A / 4 = 3.75A over the 500 ft. 3.75v x 2.58 ohms per 1000 ft = 10v voltage drop, leaving 470v. 470 / 4 = 117.5v output. It will be a little lower because of losses in the transformers. You will want 2kva or larger transformers. You can buy the transformers on ebay for about $100 each. You want the kind that look like a metal brick with the junction box built in. Jefferson is a popular brand as I recall.

This is how the power company delivers power to your house without using cable a foot in diameter.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've thought about it... just was not sure it was cost effective and as reliable.

Does anyone here at TBN have home/ranch/farm experience with using transformers for long runs between buildings or to run a distant pump?

 

[boggen]

Actually, the lake is about 600 feet across, and about 7 acres and slightly oval. I don't know how deep it is yet, but a 25 foot measuring tape did not hit the bottom in most places when I tried it.

I believe it is springfed, and the level does go down slightly over the course of the summer.

It is just something that came with the 25 acre property that I purchased. The main part of the property has 400 feet of frontage on a good-sized lake and Haliburton County in Ontario. The main lake is lower than the small lake, and my guess is that spring water flows in from one side and then seeps through the ground towards the large lake about 700 to 800 feet away.

see attached picture


above i am showing an axial pump. they provide very high GPH, at very little pressure. these pumps are better suited when you DO NOT need to say pump water up above the lake surface to water cattle. but rather better suited. when they can be left below water, and not needing to raise water level above the pond surface.

if you want to go "air lifts", there are some better setups that use "air blowers".
if you get air pumps that use diaphragms. they allow you to pump water down deeper into the water, BUT they replacement kits for the diaphragms are rather expensive, and may only last 1 to 3 years. (depends)
air blowers on other hand. do not pump air very deep into the water, say 1 to 4 feet if that. and are setup for very high CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air. these air blowers will last long with out maintenance compared to diaphragm air pumps. and can be combined with some better "air lift designs" that move a lot more water. and could replace an "axial pump" setup in above picture.

http://www.thepondforum.com/showthread.php/6674-Rectangular-Airlifts there are a few links that show a square/rectanglur air lift. there are also "banks" of multi air lifts stacked side by side (smaller size say 2" pipe air lifts), and then some larger circular air lift's that look kinda like the square / rectangular air lifts. these air lifts do not shove the air stone / air diffuser deep down. but rather only placed 1 to 5 feet deep below the water. goal is move lots and lots and lots of water.

dropping an air stone / air diffuser deep in water = only trying to pump water up above the pond / lake surface. this is not needed nor wanted. you just need to create water currents. more water you move. the bigger your water currents will be, and the more aeration (raising DO *dissolved oxygen) level will happen.

www.koiphen.com has a few folks more dedicated to air lift design setups. (dealers / commercial folks, and a good amount of hobbyist folks more up to par than i am) i am to far out of the loop of better efficient designs for air lifts. for getting down into niddy griddy DIY, or bought setups that might be available.
--someone there should also be able to point you in direction of who currently sells the 4" and 6" cheaper pvc pipe axial pumps. vs the very costly metal casing pumps you will more likely find searching internet.

 

[grsthegreat]

My apologies to member Check for not starting my own thread.

I was thinking if we did substitute #2 copper I could put a 40 amp sub panel in that barn... might add an electric fence or a booster pump...

The Service Entrance is quite a ways from the road and run over head on several poles... nearest transformer is out on the highway... so lets say 500' from the road to the meter and another 500 feet to the barn up on the hill.

Anything else that needs to be checked such as voltage at the meter?

#2 copper would work great for 1000 foot run at 40 amps. That gives 6.8% voltage drop. Hate to calculate the cost though

 

[check]

Hey guys, all great ideas. Will have to check them out carefully, as I see I have several options.

One big advantage of going solar of course, if I do not have to pay on going electricity costs, which can really add up when you have, say a 1/4 hp pump running 24/7. Have to calculate out the kilowatt ours, and then look at the cost from our local utility.

 

[check]

Another interesting issue is that a breeder told me that a bigger pond actually has a greater risk of becoming too warm, because the wind can set up surface currents and circulate the water from down below to up above. And with rainbow trout in the lake, of course this is a worrisome issue.

 

[check]

I may in fact want to set up a smaller area, right in front of the beach, because my main goal was to have nice clean clear water with a clear bottom for little kids to play in. And I have seen some interesting set ups at the local cottage life show, whereby they use bubblers to clean up ugly bottoms where there are lots of weeds, etc.

 

[check]

I am going to have to get my scuba gear on and do a bit of a survey of the bottom, as this little lake is quite deep.