My Barn..... Finally !!!

[EddieWalker]

Good to see some more pics of the place and hear that you're back at it!!!

Eddie

 

[jimmyj]

Wow, that's not a barn, that's a palace. I think you should move it to my place right away!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[crazyal]

Check with some of the local electrical supply stores for prices. I was able to get one size larger main wire for less than what Lowes and HD wanted.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Evenin Guys,
Eddie, Jimmy and Al thanks for your input !

In my previous post I meant to say Im using 14/2 for my lighting, sorry...

Any electrical guys out there ?

What I have been told so far is that #2 URD would be sufficient for the 150 ft run from where the power comes into the house, meter etc, to run to the barn.

I will only be using one or two machines at a time, plus lighting so Im thinking this would be sufficient... any thoughts on this ?

Im thinking the biggest power draw would be my 220 v 3 hp Unisaw and my 8" joiner running at the same time, plus lighting, oh and maybe a small beer refrigerator !

Your thoughts welcome !

 

[crazyal]

I used 1/0 wire and used conduit where it's buried in the ground even though it's direct bury wire. I put a 100 amp breaker in my main panel that feeds a sub panel in my garage. If I remember correctly 2 awg wire was large enough but I got the 1/0 for $1.09 a ft last summer (think HD and lowes were $1.19 a ft for 2 awg). If I remember correctly it was only $.10 cheaper a ft for 2 awg at the electrical store (I bought 120 ft) so it cost only $12 more.

A rule of thumb for wire is 14 awg is for a 15 amp circuit and 12 awg is for a 20 amp circuit. If you are going to have a 100 amp circuit you really need to have the correct size wire so if something happens and you draw the full amount of power the wire will handle the power.

 

[dcyrilc]

Good Evenin Guys,
Eddie, Jimmy and Al thanks for your input !

In my previous post I meant to say Im using 14/2 for my lighting, sorry...

Any electrical guys out there ?

What I have been told so far is that #2 URD would be sufficient for the 150 ft run from where the power comes into the house, meter etc, to run to the barn.

I will only be using one or two machines at a time, plus lighting so Im thinking this would be sufficient... any thoughts on this ?

Im thinking the biggest power draw would be my 220 v 3 hp Unisaw and my 8" joiner running at the same time, plus lighting, oh and maybe a small beer refrigerator !

Your thoughts welcome !

I used 1/0 wire and used conduit where it's buried in the ground even though it's direct bury wire. I put a 100 amp breaker in my main panel that feeds a sub panel in my garage. If I remember correctly 2 awg wire was large enough but I got the 1/0 for $1.09 a ft last summer (think HD and lowes were $1.19 a ft for 2 awg). If I remember correctly it was only $.10 cheaper a ft for 2 awg at the electrical store (I bought 120 ft) so it cost only $12 more.

A rule of thumb for wire is 14 awg is for a 15 amp circuit and 12 awg is for a 20 amp circuit. If you are going to have a 100 amp circuit you really need to have the correct size wire so if something happens and you draw the full amount of power the wire will handle the power.

#2 copper is reated at 125 amps when used for service entry. #4 copper is rated at 85 amps. For a 150 foot run, you should be fine with the #2 copper.

Can't say about aluminum as I never use it and I don't have a code book handy.

 

[scott_vt]

If I remember correctly 2 awg wire was large enough but I got the 1/0 for $1.09 a ft last summer (think HD and lowes were $1.19 a ft for 2 awg). If I remember correctly it was only $.10 cheaper a ft for 2 awg at the electrical store (I bought 120 ft) so it cost only $12 more.

.

#2 copper is reated at 125 amps when used for service entry. #4 copper is rated at 85 amps. For a 150 foot run, you should be fine with the #2 copper.

Can't say about aluminum as I never use it and I don't have a code book handy.

Good Evenin Al and Cyril,
I appreciate your input, and the more I think of it, plastic conduit sounds like a good idea, even though its direct burial !

Hopefully by later june I can get the trench dug ansd install that feeder cable ! Im going on vacation next tuesday and will be gone 11 days so everything will be on hold for awhile !

 

[dcyrilc]

Good Evenin Al and Cyril,
I appreciate your input, and the more I think of it, plastic conduit sounds like a good idea, even though its direct burial !

Hopefully by later june I can get the trench dug ansd install that feeder cable ! Im going on vacation next tuesday and will be gone 11 days so everything will be on hold for awhile !

Have fun on vacation.:thumbsup:

 

[scott_vt]

Have fun on vacation.:thumbsup:

Good Mornin Cyril,
Thanks ! Five days in Anguilla, most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, and then the rest in St. Martin, should not be too hard to take !

 

[crazyal]

Good Mornin Cyril,
Thanks ! Five days in Anguilla, most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, and then the rest in St. Martin, should not be too hard to take !

Take a picture of your tractor piling up that snow with you, trust me it'll make those beaches feel that much nicer.

Copper is nice but it's just too expensive for me. Things you need to remember are:
Copper conducts electricity better so you must use a larger size Al wire. I think for 100 amp service #2 Aluminum is fine yet distance does play a factor.
When using Al wire you should use an anti oxidant coating (it's cheap) on the bare wire.
When using Al wire you need to make sure that the connections on the sub panel and breaker in your main panel are approved for Al (I don't think you could find a new one sold today that's not but if you're one of these people who pull stuff out of the barn that hasn't seen the light of day in 50 years you could run into a dissimilar metal problem).

One of the reasons why I went with one size larger wire is that when figuring out the correct wire size you must include distance from the transformer. For me I had to use 350 MCM wire for 200 amp service because the transformer mounted on top of the electrical vault is quite a ways from the house. Normally 4/0 would be used.

I'm not an electrician but from my understanding is you want no more than a 3% voltage drop for service wire coming into a main breaker panel and a total of 5% for a sub panel for the maximum current rating. If in doubt you can hire an electrician to size it correctly or if you are pretty sure that you have the right size then do like I did, step up a size and know for sure (like I said it was an extra $12).