Electricians, check my specs and advice

[Woody65]

Hey guys, I am getting ready to run a line to service my camper and the well. I have a 100 amp service in the new barn and want to run a 220 60amp service to a post that will service the well pump and my camper. I ran the calculations and came out with a copper 6awg 3 wire w/ground for the 150 foot run. I am pretty adept at wiring ( wired my entire house, changed out service from weatherhead to meter to panel, changed out panel from 100amp to 200amp) but do not know what all the letters and abbreviations mean when looking at different wiring online. In the past I would go to my electrical supply and the guys there were great and gave me what was necessary. The wire will be going in 2.5" conduit underground to a subpanel that will then feed the 20amp well circuit and an RV stand for the 30amp trailer. Any confirmation/advice on the type of wire would be great. Thanks.

 

[Mendonsy]

The trusty wire size calculator says you need 4awg for that run.
wire size calculator

 

[Woody65]

The trusty wire size calculator says you need 4awg for that run.
wire size calculator

I see that. I ran it so many different ways that I confused myself :shocked:. Correction 4awg 3 wire w/ground.

 

[RNeumann]

The letters after the wire indicate size and wire type. The more heat the insulation is rated for the smaller the wire needed. The typical wire sold at wholesalers and box stores is THHN/THWN. It has a high heat rating- 90°C. With the cost of copper no one wants to stock wire that would require a bigger size because of lower rated insulation.

The code (with voltage drop recommendations) calls for 6 gauge copper. The calculator is based on max amps continuously- not likely since that amperage would trip the breaker.

1 1/4" conduit is plenty. It is well within code spec with under 15% fill. I ran the numbers using 4 gauge wire, 6 gauge would be even lower fill %.

The box stores have 500' spools of wire for less than or about the same as the wholesalers. One spool gets you the two legs and the neutral. Buy a roll of black and add white tape the neutral wire ends. If you want to be fancy add red or blue to one of your other wires- however it's not required by code. The ground can be smaller.

Edit- for some reason that calculator is calling for 4 gauge no matter the length. That is an error or a different wire type. NEC (code) rates 6 gauge THHN to 75 amps.

Edit to the edit- the fine print on the voltage calculator says it's based on 53°C insulation- even though the standard is 90° C. Very misleading! That's one way to over sell wire. I'll be avoiding that company from now on.

 

[Woody65]

The letters after the wire indicate size and wire type. The more heat the insulation is rated for the smaller the wire needed. The typical wire sold at wholesalers and box stores is THHN/THWN. It has a high heat rating- 90°C. With the cost of copper no one wants to stock wire that would require a bigger size because of lower rated insulation.

The code (with voltage drop recommendations) calls for 6 gauge copper. The calculator is based on max amps continuously- not likely since that amperage would trip the breaker.

1 1/4" conduit is plenty. It is well within code spec with under 15% fill. I ran the numbers using 4 gauge wire, 6 gauge would be even lower fill %.

The box stores have 500' spools of wire for less than or about the same as the wholesalers. One spool gets you the two legs and the neutral. Buy a roll of black and add white tape the neutral wire ends. If you want to be fancy add red or blue to one of your other wires- however it's not required by code. The ground can be smaller.

Edit- for some reason that calculator is calling for 4 gauge no matter the length. That is an error or a different wire type. NEC (code) rates 6 gauge THHN to 75 amps.

Edit to the edit- the fine print on the voltage calculator says it's based on 53°C insulation- even though the standard is 90° C. Very misleading! That's one way to over sell wire. I'll be avoiding that company from now on.

Rneumann, Thanks for the response. You gave me what I was looking for. Should I purchase a 6guage 3 wire with ground or a 6-3 without a ground and a separate wire 8 or 10 guage and use it as the ground? I would assume you are suggesting this cause it is cost effective. Thanks

 

[RNeumann]

Since you have conduit buy individual wire. Technically you can't put Romex in conduit. Here is the wire you want (except find black or red). Same brand and source if you choose to jump to 4 gauge.

Southwire 5 ft. 6 White Stranded CU THHN Wire-249411 - The Home Depot

The ground should be 8 gauge. Technically code would call what you are doing a sub panel- sub panels require a separate ground and neutral (even though they are combined in a main panel). If it was me I'd add a little ground rod at the new panel and tie that into the ground from the main panel.

Here is the ground wire. You will need to decide if buying by the foot is worth it. If you have other uses for wire it's always cheaper to buy a spool.

Southwire (By-the-Foot) 8 Green Stranded CU THHN Wire-2492599 - The Home Depot

Don't forget lube. The easiest way to get your pull rope through is with a vacuum. YouTube vacuum conduit or something like that if you need more info on that topic.

 

[Woody65]

Since you have conduit buy individual wire. Technically you can't put Romex in conduit. Here is the wire you want (except find black or red). Same brand and source if you choose to jump to 4 gauge.

Southwire 5 ft. 6 White Stranded CU THHN Wire-249411 - The Home Depot

The ground should be 8 gauge. Technically code would call what you are doing a sub panel- sub panels require a separate ground and neutral (even though they are combined in a main panel). If it was me I'd add a little ground rod at the new panel and tie that into the ground from the main panel.

Here is the ground wire. You will need to decide if buying by the foot is worth it. If you have other uses for wire it's always cheaper to buy a spool.

Southwire (By-the-Foot) 8 Green Stranded CU THHN Wire-2492599 - The Home Depot

Don't forget lube. The easiest way to get your pull rope through is with a vacuum. YouTube vacuum conduit or something like that if you need more info on that topic.

That's the same wire I was looking at for the project. Thanks for the info. It is very helpful. Since I have a 150' run I think I will purchase a 500ft spool of the 6 wire. The 2 conductors and the neutral will be 450' anyway. I can just tape the ends for the second conductor red, the neutral white and buy a separate 8 wire in green for the ground. Thanks again for the calculation, you saved me a few bucks. If I went by the wire calculator I would be buying 4 wire for no reason.
Now if I can just find an outdoor 60 amp sub panel with at least 4 breaker spots I would be fine. I don't like using the big box stores but I have a 10% off coupon for my next purchase and I am trying to bundle a bunch of things together to make the most of the coupon.

 

[GLyford]

Kind of sounds like a "spa panel" will cover most of those bases, yes?

GE 6 Amp GFI Spa Panel-UG412RMW26P - The Home Depot

 

[RNeumann]

If I'm understanding what you are trying to do this is what you will want. To meet code you will need to add a ground bar ( ground and neutral need to be separate in a sub panel) Note the photo only shows a neutral bar (upper part of the picture that shows the inside). I try and match the brand with the other panels on the property but that is just my OCD. Others install what the supplier has and or what is cheapest- remember your biggest cost will be the breakers themselves- especially if you use GFCI.

Square D Homeline 1 Amp 6-Space 12-Circuit Outdoor Main Lug Load Center-HOM612L1RBCP - The Home Depot

Then add this if the brand you get doesn't have a separate one-

Eaton 1-Terminal Ground Bar Kit-GBK1CS - The Home Depot

 

[RNeumann]

Kind of sounds like a "spa panel" will cover most of those bases, yes?

GE 6 Amp GFI Spa Panel-UG412RMW26P - The Home Depot

This would work but the 60amp breaker isn't needed.....I don't think. The OPs first post is a bit confusing but I think he needs that type box with a 30a breaker (RV) and a 20a breaker (well). I think the 60a reference is only the wire rating and not the breaker needed. I'm not 100% on that but I'm sure OP will clear it up....:^)