Temporary Electric To Shed Questions

NY_Yankees_Fan · Nov 30, 2003

I want to install a temporary power cord to the shed for the block heater on the tractor for the winter. The shed is about 100 feet away. I was thinking of installing an overhead wire and then attaching an extension cord to it. I do not want to run it on the ground because I may run over it with the tractor when it is covered with snow. Any idea what gauge wire I would need for the overhead wire? I want something I can put up in the winter and take down in the spring, but strong enough to take the winds and freezing rain. Any idea for attaching the power cord to the wire, plastic wire ties?

Thanks for your help.

MossRoad · Nov 30, 2003

If I was going to go through the trouble of stringing a 100' cable under tension to support a wire for one circuit to an outbuilding, I'd just trench in a permanent solution and get it over with. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

hockeyhead · Nov 30, 2003

Why not make it permanent under ground 24" I believe is code, rent a trencher, with todays underground cables should be a weekend job.
Setting poles for a 100' run, How high? 10' minimum? high tension wire, ,insulators, extention cord, wind, snow, and freezing rain. The only way I'd go is underground.

Junkman · Nov 30, 2003

The BX is a great trenching machine and I would run the wire in PVC conduit to the shed. You can purchase a 6 breaker box to install in the shed for about $15 and a couple of breakers to go with it for not much more than $4.00 each. I would then run a 10 gauge wire from the home electrical panel to the shed and into the panel. I am not certain if the code requires the shed circuit to be protected by a GFI breaker or not. I do know that all outlets on the outside of the house do have to be GFI protected. The problem with the way you want to do it is that it won't meet code and if the shed burns down with the tractor in it, the insurance might not want to pay for the loss. Don't forget to put the red "burried wire" marker tape in the trench as you back fill. That is required by code.

GregJ · Dec 1, 2003

Junkman,
I have never heard of or seen "red buried wire marker tape". Can you tell me a little more about that. It sounds like it makes great sense. I have a neighbor that just put in a couple of ponds with a connecting stream. He has buried more wire and plumbing in his backyard than you can imagine. I dug the ponds and stream and a few of the trenches for him and then a contractor took over. Nothing is marked and he has no markers or photos. I'd be afraid to put a shovel in the ground in his backyard now.

Greg

Junkman · Dec 1, 2003

a picture is worth a 1000 words....... I bought a 1000 foot roll a few years ago and it is a lifetime supply...... If it isn't electrical, I usually mark it with surveyors tape. I try to always take a measurement from two points and make a small map that I file in a photo album with other pictures of buried things around the house. It also has all my permits in it...

GregJ · Dec 1, 2003

I am going to get some of that tape to have on hand. That's a great idea. When I built my home 20+ years ago I took a lot of pictures of all the trenches. I even took closeups of critical locations with a tape measure in the trench. I have had to use those photos several times and they have saved me a lot of grief. But it sure would be nice to be able to dig into a piece of tape like that to know exactly where your lines are. There's no reason not to use similar tape over plumbing as well. Thanks for idea.

Greg

Junkman · Dec 1, 2003

If you don't care about the tape lettering to meet code, then you can buy the caution tape less expensively. I have used some that a friend gave me that said "crime scene - do not cross" to mark out some water lines.... the important thing is to have it marked. I also only back fill with either stone dust or sand.... that way, you will know when you hit that stuff that something is buried below even if it isn't marked......

rambler · Dec 1, 2003

Must be a local code, I've never seen such tape. Not a bad idea.

To the original question, sure sounds like a lot more work to make the 'temp' connection than to run a trench & do it right 1 time.

Or, run a 110 foot extension cord on the ground, 12 ga.

--->Paul

Currmudgeon · Dec 1, 2003

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I would run the wire in PVC conduit to the shed. )</font>

For only 100 feet, this makes a lot of sense. I'd probably go to the effort to oversize the conduit and lay one or two empty conduits. It's a helluva lot easier to pull new wires in to upgrade the service or add a phone line or internet cable if you have empties.