hey guys, i know its been posted on here a few times about how to rig up a piece of pvc or pipe, to a subsoiler and use it to pull and bury underground wire, but i am still a little confused. when you start the run, do you rig up something to hold the roll of wire, at the beginning of the run, and it unrolls as you drive along, or do you just tie off the end to something at the beginning of the run, and somehow rig up the roll to the back of the tractor, and let it unroll that way. i need to run lights to my horse arena, and am hoping to get by with underground wire, and not have to run it through conduit. i am pretty unmechanically inclined, so any help would be great. thanks guys
burying wire with subsoiler advice
- Thread starter botakix
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kennyd
Advertiser
I have built one...
The roll needs to be on the tractor, NOT on the ground as there would be to much resistance to pull the wire through the ground. I also made a dry run without wire in my soil that's really mostly shale.
The roll needs to be on the tractor, NOT on the ground as there would be to much resistance to pull the wire through the ground. I also made a dry run without wire in my soil that's really mostly shale.
Renze
Super Member
We did that often to get electricity to our bush house, or to get electric fencing from the barns to the pastures.
There are some fancy cable ploughs witha long chute and a pulley, similar to drainage ploughs
IF you have time and a lot of cable to be ploughed, you could do that..
We used to take the bolt of the replaceable chisel off the ripper, and put a... i forgot the name.. a chain connector in the shape of a letter U, connected with a bolt through eyes in the top.. Anyways, we used that loop mounted behind the chisel to guide the cable.
Then you need to PUSH the cable into the trench by hand, through that ring, or otherwise the cable finds too much friction on the metal and damages, or you just rip it apart.
Its a 2 man operation, one operating the tractor in a very low gear, and the other feeding the cable.
When putting a cable in a trench just behind the ripper leg, you probably wont get it deeper than half the working depth of the ripper.
There are some fancy cable ploughs witha long chute and a pulley, similar to drainage ploughs
IF you have time and a lot of cable to be ploughed, you could do that..
We used to take the bolt of the replaceable chisel off the ripper, and put a... i forgot the name.. a chain connector in the shape of a letter U, connected with a bolt through eyes in the top.. Anyways, we used that loop mounted behind the chisel to guide the cable.
Then you need to PUSH the cable into the trench by hand, through that ring, or otherwise the cable finds too much friction on the metal and damages, or you just rip it apart.
Its a 2 man operation, one operating the tractor in a very low gear, and the other feeding the cable.
When putting a cable in a trench just behind the ripper leg, you probably wont get it deeper than half the working depth of the ripper.
MikeInEburg
Veteran Member
Check this link:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/122515-pulln-cable.html
The classic "a picture is worth a thousand words"...
Mike
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/122515-pulln-cable.html
The classic "a picture is worth a thousand words"...
Mike
kennyd
Advertiser
Thanks Mike...I should have did that.
Redbug
Veteran Member
Just a thought...why not run the subsoiler back and forth a few times with a small blade on it, to get a trench and lay grey electrical conduit with the wire inside? I know it's more work/money, but it would be a better long range installation. You could also run a couple spare wire pulling cords for future use.
hey guys,thanks for all the great info. i really didnt want to go through the trouble of pulling it through conduit, due to the extra expense and time, and thought the underground wire, with the subsoiler might be the best option. i will try it, and see how it goes. thanks again for clearing up the roll of wire issue, for me and the other helpful suggestions. come on summertime. LOL
dqdave1
Veteran Member
You can pull pvc conduit just like the UF wire.
2manyrocks
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 9,516
How many feet of wire and what gauge wire are you wanting to install?
not really sure what gauge yet, but i am sure it will be pretty heavy. i am going to run lights to my horse arena, and havnt really got to talk to a electrician yet, to get input on wire size, etc. i probably have 300 or more ft to run. its a spring project, so not that big deal yet, just thought i would start getting some ideas on burying the wire in advance. thanks for all the help guy
schmism
Super Member
howdy!... welcome to the site.
Generaly your conduit size should be 60% larger than the diameter of the cable, 40% fill is NEC. Regardless of cable size I typicaly do not install conduit more than 200 ft without a pull box and with no more than 3 90 deg bends.
2manyrocks
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 9,516
I think the wire would have to be a larger gauge to avoid voltage drop if it's a 300' run. I had seen the earlier posts about burying cable with a subsoiler, but I appreciate it being brought back up to get more of the details.
Could you bury cable 18" with a subsoiler if you only have a 22 hp tractor or does it take a larger tractor?
Could you bury cable 18" with a subsoiler if you only have a 22 hp tractor or does it take a larger tractor?
joe48
Gold Member
I couldn't find my code book but if the foggy old brain works you need 12 gauge minimum for 300" and 15 amps, 10g would be better depending on total amp load plus current drop for the distance.
You might consider using 12/3 with ground, that will give you 2 separate circuits in one wire and pull.
I'm sure that theres a master electrician out there that will give us the correct info/specs.
As far as pulling the subsoiler 18" dep with 22hp, its doable ,depends on 2 things; traction and soil type. I've pulled my CK 20 HST 12-18" deep in one pass in sandy loam. In heavy clay Ive had to make 2 or 3 passes to get full 18". Of course roots and rocks don't count.
Have fun. Joe
There have been many disagreements on here about this exact 300' of wire scenario.
You need to calculate your load, and then size the wire so that the voltage drop is acceptable.
Most will agree that even with a small load, (over 700 watts), #12 falls below the minimum requirements for this job, due to the voltage drop, if your doing it by the book,
If you just want to run some incandescent lights only, say 600 watts max, they will handle the drop & #12 wire can work.
If you want to have say 1000 watts max, you need at least #10.
#8 or better, will get you 12 amps, at 115 volts.
#6 does not even give you a full 20 amps at 300 feet, without a drop to 114 volts, assuming you have 120 volts to start with, many don't.
You really want to run it in conduit, and that also has to be sized properly to keep the wire from over heating.
Most electricians will urge you to run even larger wire now, rather than regret it later.
hey guys, thanks so much for taking the time to give me such useful detailed advice. the more i read, i think this might be one of those projects left to the pros, or at least get a certified electrician, to come out and look at the job, and tell me what would be better for this application. thanks again so much
Redbug
Veteran Member
Here's a good voltage drop calculator where you can plug in whatever variables/choices you have...It's interesting to see the what different wire types does, etc...
BotaKix...Na, I would think it out and do it yourself. You got the tools, information and TBN.
Voltage Drop Calculator
BotaKix...Na, I would think it out and do it yourself. You got the tools, information and TBN.
Voltage Drop Calculator
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