Hello,

How do you run a wire from the house to the barn for electricity?
I want it to go underground. So far the trench had to be dug 18"
deep (that much i know (legal stuff)).
Is there a wire that can be used or do you have to use conduit?
If you can use a wire, can you run the part that is in the house
with normal wire and at the outside point change to outside wire?
Are there special connection for this change? Is the outside wire
a great deal more expensive, as i suspect?

There is "UF" cable, which is direct burial. You would use NM or AC
(standard cable), in the house and transition to the UF in a junction box,
using wire nuts, before going outside or underground. You need to check on
the buried depths for your particular circumstances, as it may require a
trench of 24 inches. UF cable is more expensive than NM cable but probably
less expensive in the labor involved in doing the job in conduit



"Harry" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

How do you run a wire from the house to the barn for electricity?
I want it to go underground. So far the trench had to be dug 18"
deep (that much i know (legal stuff)).
Is there a wire that can be used or do you have to use conduit?
If you can use a wire, can you run the part that is in the house
with normal wire and at the outside point change to outside wire?
Are there special connection for this change? Is the outside wire
a great deal more expensive, as i suspect?

"Harry" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

How do you run a wire from the house to the barn for electricity?
I want it to go underground. So far the trench had to be dug 18"
deep (that much i know (legal stuff)).
Is there a wire that can be used or do you have to use conduit?
If you can use a wire, can you run the part that is in the house
with normal wire and at the outside point change to outside wire?
Are there special connection for this change? Is the outside wire
a great deal more expensive, as i suspect?


UF (underground feeder) wire is okay if buried to the proper depth for your
local code. Based on the length of the run and the load demand you may need
to step up the wire size for the given ampacity because of voltage drop.

The only advantage to conduit is additional protection in rocky ground and
the ability to replace the wire with no digging at some point in the future.

Considering the current price of copper cable, conduit and wire might be
cheaper.


Colbyt

On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 19:51:52 -0500, "Colbyt"
wrote:


"Harry" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

How do you run a wire from the house to the barn for electricity?
I want it to go underground. So far the trench had to be dug 18"
deep (that much i know (legal stuff)).
Is there a wire that can be used or do you have to use conduit?
If you can use a wire, can you run the part that is in the house
with normal wire and at the outside point change to outside wire?
Are there special connection for this change? Is the outside wire
a great deal more expensive, as i suspect?


UF (underground feeder) wire is okay if buried to the proper depth for your
local code. Based on the length of the run and the load demand you may need
to step up the wire size for the given ampacity because of voltage drop.

The only advantage to conduit is additional protection in rocky ground and
the ability to replace the wire with no digging at some point in the future.

Considering the current price of copper cable, conduit and wire might be
cheaper.


Colbyt


I just did this on my new barn. On end of it is only about 15 feet
from my garage. I hit lots of rocks, and have a mole problem, so I
decided that conduit was required, and besides that, the trench dont
need to be as deep, and digging is the hardest part of the job (by
hand). I just used that gray pvc conduit, I used 3/4" to allow for
expansion. I ran TWO 20A circuits from the garage. I probably could
have done fine with one, but what the heck, 2 is better. I am already
glad I did because I keep horses in there and sometimes use 1000watt
water trough heaters. Last week I had 2 of them going and turned on a
electric space heater in my little entry way so I could warm up while
working in there. I'm glad I had 2 circuits. I got these two 20A
breakers on opposite sides it the line so I can share the neutral.
Then, for the heck of it, I shoved an extra #14 wire and a #14
neutral. That's not connected, but it's there if I want to expand.
In summer I might run a 15A breaker to that for my lighting only.

I dont know the size or use of your barn, but I'd recommend at least 2
circuits. Of course that means using a 12-3 UF (costly). So, consider
pvc conduit. In the end it cost less than UF. I am really not sure
what the code says these days for pvc conduit burial depth, but it's
much less than UF, allows for expansion without digging again, and is
more durable if you got digging critters. I actually paid less per
foot for conduit than for UF, and I already had the wire to shove thru
it. I placed my conduit 8 to 10 inches deep. I was hitting lots of
rock at 8" so thats where I stopped. But on the garage end there was
no rock so I got carried away digging. plus I had to tunnel under the
wall footing, which is a cement block set in the soil with the slab
poured on top. (It was built this way because of lower soil on one
end and to stop or slow down those damn critters that dig under slabs.
So, at the actual garage wall, I went down over 12". An 8" block and
4" slab.

Now, if I want to add anothe circuit, or run something like a phone
wire to the barn, I got the conduit there and dont have to dig again.

(It's probably not legal to run a phone line thru conduit that
contains AC power wires, so you did not read that part.....)

"Harry" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

How do you run a wire from the house to the barn for electricity?
I want it to go underground. So far the trench had to be dug 18"
deep (that much i know (legal stuff)).
Is there a wire that can be used or do you have to use conduit?
************************************************** *********

A few years ago I ran 220V power to a garage I built 150 feet from the
house. I used #4 copper stranded wire and ran it through 2 inch pvc, in
which I sealed all joints just as if it were going to carry water.

Another thought: I used the same ditch to run a 3/4 inch pvc for water and
ran a phone cable as well. Phone company gave me the underground wire they
use.

All works fine.

Bob

Mr Overkill writes;

I had an electrical contractor who owed me a big favor, so I had 2"
conduit run 240' with 4-0 aluminum wire to a sub panel. I can weld, &
run pretty much anything else at the same time.
While the trench was open, we ran water to the shop, and had the
trencher guy run to the car port, the street, the watering trough, and
the far cross fence and ran water there as well.

if you run conduit put a extra empty one too, for future use.

its cheap and saves digging

Lots of good ideas here and I'll add one mo

Run a separate circuit for the lights, either from the house or from an
auxiliary breaker box in the barn. Just like in a workshop with power
tools, you don't want a heater or a tool or other device plunging you
into darkness when it trips the breaker. For safety reasons, always put
the lights on a circuit that is separate from something that is more
likely to trip a breaker.



Harry wrote:
Hello,

How do you run a wire from the house to the barn for electricity?
I want it to go underground. So far the trench had to be dug 18"
deep (that much i know (legal stuff)).
Is there a wire that can be used or do you have to use conduit?
If you can use a wire, can you run the part that is in the house
with normal wire and at the outside point change to outside wire?
Are there special connection for this change? Is the outside wire
a great deal more expensive, as i suspect?

wrote:
if you run conduit put a extra empty one too, for future use.

its cheap and saves digging

When I did this I ran 2 strings through the line so I'd have something
to pull the future wire with. I also used a larger conduit than needed.

On 16 Dec 2006 07:09:38 -0800, "
wrote:

if you run conduit put a extra empty one too, for future use.

its cheap and saves digging


Is there any rule about putting wire and waterlines in the
same tube?

"cas" wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
if you run conduit put a extra empty one too, for future use.

its cheap and saves digging

When I did this I ran 2 strings through the line so I'd have something
to pull the future wire with. I also used a larger conduit than needed.


Excellent advice.

I have several houses with strings running from here to there as the case
might be. Someday someone is really going to appreciate them or think I was
a total nutcase.


Colbyt

"Goedjn" wrote in message
...
On 16 Dec 2006 07:09:38 -0800, "
wrote:

if you run conduit put a extra empty one too, for future use.

its cheap and saves digging


Is there any rule about putting wire and waterlines in the
same tube?


Tube or trench?

It has been 20 years and time or your codes may be different. I put water,
gas and electric in the same trench. As I recall it now water and gas were
at the bottom with a few inches of fill and then the UF cable. Whatever I
did then was 100% legal at the time.

Colbyt

Goedjn wrote:
On 16 Dec 2006 07:09:38 -0800, "
wrote:

if you run conduit put a extra empty one too, for future use.

its cheap and saves digging


Is there any rule about putting wire and waterlines in the
same tube?

not same conduit just same trench

I think it was "Colbyt" who stated:

I have several houses with strings running from here to there as the case
might be. Someday someone is really going to appreciate them or think I was
a total nutcase.

Those are NOT mutually exclusive notions . . . .

--
"Trust me, there is NO way to nonchalantly conceal the fact that you have a
power tool in your head, no matter what you do." -- El Gato

On 16 Dec 2006 06:53:06 -0800, "Eric in North TX"
wrote:


Mr Overkill writes;

I had an electrical contractor who owed me a big favor, so I had 2"
conduit run 240' with 4-0 aluminum wire to a sub panel. I can weld, &
run pretty much anything else at the same time.
While the trench was open, we ran water to the shop, and had the
trencher guy run to the car port, the street, the watering trough, and
the far cross fence and ran water there as well.

I bet that cost a bundle