Running electric into pole barn.

[duckkilla]

I'm in the process of building a pole barn. Shell is up, floor is going to be cement, but has not been poured yet (so just dirt floor for the moment). Eventually will have 4" thick cement.

Electric needs to be run from pole into building. I was planning on doing that underground, by burying a PVC pipe to run the line through. How deep do I need to dig that trench for the PVC pipe?

Thanks.

Steve

 

[strnge]

I would say 12-18 inches.

You have to clear anything that would be staked in to the ground.

 

[FFRKing]

Depends on your local code. In Kansas it has to be 18 inches if in conduit. I would bury it as deep as possible so if you do anything in the future, like a water line, sprinkler system, etc.

Chris

 

[pattenp]

NEC 300.5. Nonmetallic raceway 18" of cover. Note "cover", does not mean to bottom of trench.

 

[Aceman]

NEC 300.5. Nonmetallic raceway 18" of cover. Note "cover", does not mean to bottom of trench.

Adding to this, if it passes under a driveway or any area with vehicle traffic it will need to have 24" of cover.

Stub your conduit up through the floor under where the panel will be. If the building has any sort of footing, have them stub a piece of rebar up under or as near as possible to the panel also. This is a ufer ground. If it's just a slab on grade, then don't worry about it. You will have to drive rods instead.

What I"ll usually do in this case is drive the rods in the ditch beside the conduit. I use #4 bare copper for the rods. Take the other end of the wire and tape it to the side of the conduit you stubbed up with enough slack coiled up to reach the panel when it's installed.

Here's a pic to show what I'm talking about, you can see the rebar stubbed up also for the ufer ground.

 

[pattenp]

If the drive/parking area is One/Two family dwelling use then the cover only needs to be 18" min. Commercial/Public streets and parking areas is 24" min.

Adding to this, if it passes under a driveway or any area with vehicle traffic it will need to have 24" of cover.

 

[rockwithjason]

Nice stub work ace. Its been a while since i have done anu honest ditch work

As for the trench i usually dig them 24 in deep. That is enough to make up for any irregularities in the grade and good for even the largest conduits. You might want to add some spares for future needs

 

[Aceman]

If the drive/parking area is One/Two family dwelling use then the cover only needs to be 18" min. Commercial/Public streets and parking areas is 24" min.

You're right, my mistake. I should've looked that one up first....

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Use larger than needed conduit. You may end up using larger than expected wire. Use long sweep elbows at the foundation and pole and stub up the conduit so it comes up in the wall or as noted, directly under the panel.

Charles

 

[48windsor]

like Rockwithjason said , good advice . use bigger than needed or stub a spare for the future . You will be glad you did . If you never need it fine but in case you do the work is already done. Especially if concrete will be poured over.
Long sweeps is good advice too .
good luck

 

[James-W]

Can you run an underground service cable yourself? The reason I ask is, a buddy of mine is helping his son buy a house here in town and it only has a 60 amp above ground service. He is having a 200 amp underground service put in and he was told the power company has to do it. My buddy can have a master electrician mount the service meter base and all the other stuff on the house end and hook up the 200 amp breaker panel, but the power company has to run the underground cable from the street to the house.

It is certainly possible this is something applicable to only our local codes, but as far as I know running a service cable has always been done by the power company, at least around here anyway.

 

[pattenp]

You are correct when it comes to a main service, but I assumed this topic is about running a feeder from a meter combo panel that's on a pole to the barn.

Can you run an underground service cable yourself? The reason I ask is, a buddy of mine is helping his son buy a house here in town and it only has a 60 amp above ground service. He is having a 200 amp underground service put in and he was told the power company has to do it. My buddy can have a master electrician mount the service meter base and all the other stuff on the house end and hook up the 200 amp breaker panel, but the power company has to run the underground cable from the street to the house.

It is certainly possible this is something applicable to only our local codes, but as far as I know running a service cable has always been done by the power company, at least around here anyway.

 

[James-W]

You are correct when it comes to a main service, but I assumed this topic is about running a feeder from a meter combo panel that's on a pole to the barn.

You may be right, I am only guessing here, but from he said in his opening post, it sounded to me like he was running a new service. He said in his opening post, "Electric needs to be run from pole into building" so I took that to mean from the main power lines to his building. But again, I am not sure exactly what he is doing so it is hard to say for sure if it is a new service or if he is running a line from his main house electrical service.