My Industrial Cabin Build

[WoodChuckDad]

Well my electrician called me this morning. He watched my video. And he convinced me to run a separate trench. I own an excavator. It wont be much of an issue. My biggest issue is that I have a 36 inch bucket. I do own a smaller bucket but have never changed them and don’t want to learn today.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

That’s a big bucket.

Since water enters to left of electric, run electric close to house, water to the outside or on the bank above the retaining wall. They shouldn’t have to cross.

I got a feeling he’s already got it dug though.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

We finished the digging behind the house to even out the retaining wall and dug most of the trench. I have about 6-8 feet at the well and 15 feet from the other end to the house. We expect rain this week but I don’t know much is expected. I will be putting the conduit and pipe in next week so long as it isn’t raining. Was planning to buy the 3 yard hydrants that my wife wants installed but nobody around here seems to have them so I will be ordering online. Oddly enough when I went online I saw a warning that said the iowa woodford couldn’t be used in potable water applications. I made me wonder what component is supposedly contaminated. It mentioned lead. So is there a real issue or is this prop 65 stuff. I plan on having 3 of them tied into my line from the well.View attachment 734461

 

[yanmars]

i do not want to hijack this but can perforated plastic farm drainage tile be in the same trench above the electric line?

 

[WoodChuckDad]

i do not want to hijack this but can perforated plastic farm drainage tile be in the same trench above the electric line?

By all means, hijack it. I was wondering the same thing. I would love to put in some kind of drain tile or french drain to limit the water that seeps down the hill.
I have a french drain around the house but would like to stop any water from ever reaching it.

 

[s219]

Hope you have better luck with rain and trenches than I do. Had one get filled back in about 50% during a downpour once and had to re-dig it (gloppy silty muck came out the second time, a real mess). Other times I've had to pump them out when they filled up with water, and let me tell you, pumps don't get along well with muddy trench water. After I learned those lessons, I got a lot more "strategic" with my timing.

Last winter was terrible -- we had so much rain, the ground stayed saturated for weeks after. Didn't matter when you dug, the trench would start filling up on its own. No way to win when that happens.

 

[747driver]

Are you aware of the type wire you can use when installing wire in conduit underground ? I had to use the THWN when i ran wiring to my woodshop and also in my barn, as both were in conduit underground.

THWN-2 wire, for example, is a standard type for running through underground conduit. Use thick-walled conduit at least 3/4 inch in diameter for this application.

 

[EddieWalker]

Well my electrician called me this morning. He watched my video. And he convinced me to run a separate trench. I own an excavator. It wont be much of an issue. My biggest issue is that I have a 36 inch bucket. I do own a smaller bucket but have never changed them and don’t want to learn today.

I hate suggesting ways to spend more money, but a walk behind trencher is fairly cheap to rent, and they cut through the ground pretty quickly. I did 1,200 feet of water line by myself in one day. The hardest part was filling in he trench.

I have a backhoe with a 24 inch bucket. I've rented the trencher instead of tearing up everything and having to deal with making it nice again. Now I own a used riding trencher that I rarely use, but still have a few projects for it before I sell it. Nothing comes close to what it can do!!!!

 

[deezler]

I mean, an excavator is a pretty good trenching tool also. Just need to swap the buckets, man! 3 feet wide is pretty silly. Definitely do separate trenches, combined is insane when you have the real estate not to.

 

[dstig1]

I mean, an excavator is a pretty good trenching tool also. Just need to swap the buckets, man! 3 feet wide is pretty silly. Definitely do separate trenches, combined is insane when you have the real estate not to.

Maybe he has a REALLY BIG water line!