Spencer's Pole Barn Project

   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project
  • Thread Starter
#261  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

I put a 45 degree fitting on the end of the conduit feeding this panel out by the transformer. I thought it would be easier on the wire than the way I did the first one over in the pole building.
 

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   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project
  • Thread Starter
#262  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

OK, this panel is all wired up and ready to go. I hooked into the "Feed-Through" lugs on the bottom of this panel. That way I get the full 200 amps from the main breaker at the top and I still have all 8 spaces left in the panel for future use. Most panels don't have this "Feed-Through" feature, you have to get a special panel.

I had to do some dangerous maneuvering to get the wires into those feed-through lugs. The wires were too short to be able to bend them so I had to unbolt the whole brown section of the panel and lift it up. Then I positioned the wires below the feed-through lugs and lowered the whole brown section onto the wires. What makes this dangerous is that those wires feeding the main breaker are live. It would have been a hassle to get the power company back out here to pull the meter to shut off the power so I just carefully did it this way.

Don't try this at home.
 

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   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project
  • Thread Starter
#263  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

Now, back to the panel in the pole barn. I hooked up these two 20 amp GFCI (ground fault circuit interupter) receptacles for temporary power. I wired each receptacle with 12 gauge wire and put each on it's own 20 amp breaker. I put my GFCI tester on there just to make sure they were working properly (they were).
 

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   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project
  • Thread Starter
#264  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

Last picture in this series.

Everything is complete and it didn't even take me until winter to get it done. I have a 90 amp temporary power panel on order. It is a NEMA TYPE 3R RAINPROOF panel with three outlets in it. It has a NEMA 14-50R 125/250 volt, a NEMA 6-20R 250 volt, and a NEMA 5-20R 125 volt GFCI receptacle each with its own breaker all in one package. I will hook that up in the pole barn until the barn is finished and then I will mount it out on the panel in the woods by the transformer so I will have power out there too.
 

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   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project
  • Thread Starter
#265  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Last picture in this series. )</font>

Oops, just one more picture. I forgot to show you a before and after of the new driveway. You can see I now have a straight shot into the pole barn.
 

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   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project #266  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

Spencer,
I'd have to give you a <font color="green"> green </font> tag on that installation..........great pics /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project #267  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I went down the the lumber yard on Saturday morning to rent this Ditch Witch trencher. It is rated at 4" wide by 24" deep. I had very high hopes that this was going to be easy. )</font>

And, after my experience running a Ditch Witch through only 40' linear feet of cement-like hard pan to install a gas line, I was expecting you to say that it didn't turn out so easy. But, after seeing your pics of that beautiful 400+ foot trench, it looks like you mastered that task pretty good.

Also, nice, subtle job of blurring on the one pic - you know the one I mean /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

I'm going to consolidate the highlights of this part of your saga to take with me to my planning session with Florida Power & Light (sometimes known as Florida Flicker and Flash) as we start building. It will be a pole-mounted transformer but all on-site wring will be underground. The pole I suspect they will use is in the middle of the 780' length of our property, so it will be almost 400' down the road to the gate, and about 300' or so the other direction, past the house to the barn.
 
   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project #268  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It would have been a hassle to get the power company back out here to pull the meter to shut off the power )</font>

I don't know about your power company, but when I had some work to do like that, I just called the power company one Friday and told them that I was going to pull my meter to do the work over the weekend, and they said that was fine, they sent someone out the following week to put a new seal on the meter.
 
   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project #269  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

<font color="blue"> You can see I now have a straight shot into the pole barn. </font>
Spencer, first, great electrical job and the pics were great. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

The only advantage I see to your original driveway was that it somewhat 'hid' the barn from people driving by on the road. Now, both you and them, will be able to peer into the barn. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
   / Spencer's Pole Barn Project
  • Thread Starter
#270  
Re: Spencer\'s Pole Barn Project

Inspector, thanks for the approval. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I do have a question on the bonding straps for you. I think I remember you saying a few months back that you treat main panels and subpanels differently. In this picture of the panel out by the transformer you can see that I don't have separate ground and neutral bars. I installed the two ground rods that we talked about earlier and everything including the bonding strap is connected to that one bar.

When I talked to the interim electrical inspector last week he said that I would be better off not calling the panel in the pole barn a subpanel because then I would need to have four wires in the trench instead of three. He said I would need to put in one ground rod at the pole barn panel anyway so just call it a main panel and put in two ground rods, calling the panel out by the transformer more of a disconnect. So I did just trench in three wires and put two ground rods in at the pole barn panel. As you can see in this picture I do have separate ground and neutral bars in the panel in the pole barn. The bonding strap came attached to the neutral bar and that is the way I have left it. Do you think I should leave it attached or disconnect it?
 

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