Running Power to Detached Garage

[grsthegreat]

Ive put in so many miles of pipe over the years. Just filled hole with same dirt I pulled out. Compaction was the excavator or backhoe.

and im not at all against conduit, it’s all I ever use. I’m just saying you can’t say conduit is cheapest part anymore. I can rent an excavator for $500 a day. The conduit costs more. It was never like this before

 

[4570Man]

I'm going to stop posting in this thread. Because I am too biased.

Right now I'm sitting in my ranch house, looking at my barn 100 feet away. It's the barn served with undersized small wire and with crappy power, where I can't run a welder or anything too much past a light bulb. There's no low voltage wire or low voltage conduit-- gosh-- I wish I could put an alarm or CAT5 camera out there. Or maybe a mesh wifi device. And no water-- no schedule 40 pvc-- so I have to come into the house when I'm all dirty and foul things up in the house just to wash my hands. Or for the many other uses I would use water in a barn for ..... maybe water for animals? Radical thought, maybe?

But ... whoever preceded me and put in the undersized wire with direct bury saved some really good $$ back in the day. God they saved a lot not putting in a conduit. Wow, I hope they saved a ton! And as a bonus, they put a low-end cheapo Zinsco electrical panel in the barn-- you know, the cheap ones known to start fires because the breakers don't trip even when overloaded.

I have a tractor with backhoe, so I could fix it by trenching. But, the thought of digging up the old cheapo wire and running new conduit isn't pleasant. To trench again, I need to go through established flower beds with large plants, front yard lawn, a substantial amount of gravel driveway, and through roots from 100 foot tall oak trees that can reach 8 inch diameter or even bigger.

So ... I live with it because the effort to install conduit doing in the right way ... after the fact ... is too onerous.

But ... the original installer with the direct bury cheap wire--- saved some really good $$$.

I never suggested going cheap. I was one of the few that suggested running a 100 amp circuit. But conduit is far from cheap now. I don’t see any reason for sand backfill either. I’ve never been called to fix a conduit or scheduled 40 pipe due to a rock break. At least one that happened in reasonable conditions. That black poly waterline trash is another story. And I wouldn’t be above throwing a water line in the same ditch but more times than not they start and end at a different spot so it’s just as easy to do a code compliment job and run them separate.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I'm going to stop posting in this thread. Because I am too biased.

Right now I'm sitting in my ranch house, looking at my barn 100 feet away. It's the barn served with undersized small wire and with crappy power, where I can't run a welder or anything too much past a light bulb. There's no low voltage wire or low voltage conduit-- gosh-- I wish I could put an alarm or CAT5 camera out there. Or maybe a mesh wifi device. And no water-- no schedule 40 pvc-- so I have to come into the house when I'm all dirty and foul things up in the house just to wash my hands. Or for the many other uses I would use water in a barn for ..... maybe water for animals? Radical thought, maybe?

But ... whoever preceded me and put in the undersized wire with direct bury saved some really good $$ back in the day. God they saved a lot not putting in a conduit. Wow, I hope they saved a ton! And as a bonus, they put a low-end cheapo Zinsco electrical panel in the barn-- you know, the cheap ones known to start fires because the breakers don't trip even when overloaded.

I have a tractor with backhoe, so I could fix it by trenching. But, the thought of digging up the old cheapo wire and running new conduit isn't pleasant. To trench again, I need to go through established flower beds with large plants, front yard lawn, a substantial amount of gravel driveway, and through roots from 100 foot tall oak trees that can reach 8 inch diameter or even bigger.

So ... I live with it because the effort to install conduit doing in the right way ... after the fact ... is too onerous.

But ... the original installer with the direct bury cheap wire--- saved some really good $$$.

Wait.. You have power to the barn? I have to use a flashlight. During the day...

 

[KWentling]

Man I pity anybody trying to build anything now. Prices and availability are just nuts. If it were me and I could find the conduit, I would at least try to bury 1 1/4" to allow a 100 amp sub panel if not now, at least in the future. You need to know what code is for your locale and if it has to be inspected, and let that dictate the minimums. Do it safely.

 

[EddieWalker]

I disagree with running Cat5 or any other internet type cable to a barn. What would you use it for? I use my phone if I need to look something up right away, but if I'm doing something and I get lost, I'll walk back to my main computer and search for a youtube video of how to do it. I really don't want a computer in my shop.

 

[Diggin It]

I disagree with running Cat5 or any other internet type cable to a barn. What would you use it for?

If nothing else, a camera or other security device. And remember, not everyone has adequate cell service to be able to use a phone to look something up.

 

[Xfaxman]

If you don't have cell signal in a metal building, check this thread: Cell Phone & WeBoost

 

[grsthegreat]

I disagree with running Cat5 or any other internet type cable to a barn. What would you use it for? I use my phone if I need to look something up right away, but if I'm doing something and I get lost, I'll walk back to my main computer and search for a youtube video of how to do it. I really don't want a computer in my shop.

I thought same thing years ago, then I purchased a computerized plasma cutter. i tried and failed to run cat5 later on....not deep enough and damaged it installing fence post.... so I went to a wireless wifi extender. Works great 300 ft from house. Good solid signal. And now my cell phone works deep inside shop using wifi signal.

 

[MossRoad]

I disagree with running Cat5 or any other internet type cable to a barn. What would you use it for? I use my phone if I need to look something up right away, but if I'm doing something and I get lost, I'll walk back to my main computer and search for a youtube video of how to do it. I really don't want a computer in my shop.

I find it handy to have a cheap computer with a big screen in my garage VS trying to look up stuff on my phone with greasy fingers (and old eyes, too ). I can just walk over to a bench and look at the display. Keyboards are $5 if they get too dirty. You can also watch a ball game in the background, or listen to music. Pretty handy.

 

[grsthegreat]

I find it handy to have a cheap computer with a big screen in my garage VS trying to look up stuff on my phone with greasy fingers (and old eyes, too ). I can just walk over to a bench and look at the display. Keyboards are $5 if they get too dirty. You can also watch a ball game in the background, or listen to music. Pretty handy.

I forgot about the music. I log into Pandora when tooling about the shop. Music in shop is nice.

I also use my iPad for doing inventory in shop (generator repair parts inventory). Having wifi in shop does come in handy. Never thought about it when I built shop in 1996.