Direct bury vs Conduit???

[rsanter]

Conduit.
Always better. Better protected and if it ever needs to be replaced you can pull without digging up.
When you put the PVC conduit in you will want to install two spare empty one and one should be a 2” conduit.

What if you ever want to run compressed air over, cable, fiber optic, lazer data, etc

 

[Toomanytools?]

RD65: Don't think in terms of "I'm only running a light bulb and a grinder" plan for what you may have in the future. Also go conduit 2" minimum, use 90 degree sweeps and the less turns the better. You will be into $250+ with pipe, glue and any fittings you need.
If there is any chance you want cable or CAT running a second 1" or 3/4" is nice.

 

[BMWBOB]

E Washington here - My neighborhood has all buried power and it is a PITA! It is now almost 30 years old and we constantly have issues with shorts. The previous owner laid naked power out to my shop location (200'+) about 20 years ago and so far no problems, but we have a tremendous gopher/mole problem in this area and I'm sure it is just a matter of time before we have to dig it up.

One of the pesky critters even chewed a hole through one of my underground schedule 40 pvc irrigation pipes last summer!

 

[rd65]

RD65: Don't think in terms of "I'm only running a light bulb and a grinder" plan for what you may have in the future. Also go conduit 2" minimum, use 90 degree sweeps and the less turns the better. You will be into $250+ with pipe, glue and any fittings you need.
If there is any chance you want cable or CAT running a second 1" or 3/4" is nice.

So true, I think I am with the 100 amp panel. Possibly a larger air compressor and/or bigger welder later down the road. I don't think I will be running any CAT type wire but I may add an empty. While I have the trencher I will ditch for water.

 

[rd65]

This thread has brought a lot of useful information. Any ideas on wire type and size? I am most likely going with 2" conduit. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[pattenp]

For your distance and wanting 100A, I'd go with aluminum 2/0-2/0-2/0-1 Mobile Home Feeder(MHF) or individual conductors of the same size using aluminum XHHW-2. The XHHW-2 may be a few cents cheaper per foot and has a smaller diameter not being direct bury, and may be a little easier to pull through 2" conduit.

 

[Mr_fixit]

I
Can't plow conduit. I plowed in like 400' of phone line a week ago. Took maybe a half hour. I bet you couldn't even put the conduit together that fast.

Conduit CAN be plowed in, Phone company & cable company does it all the time. We call it innerduct.
Here's a video of 2"...

and another

 

[Pingel85]

We plow in regular sch 40 pvc conduit all the time. It just needs to be glued up the day prior and it holds up just fine.

 

[Stuart in MN]

There are flexible HDPE conduit systems you can plow in, but I can't say that I've ever seen one used.

I hadn't thought of HDPE but it could also be a good choice. It gets used all the time in commercial projects, but there's no reason not to use it for a residential application. You can get it with conductors already installed so they don't have to be pulled later - you plow in the HDPE and it's done in one operation. You'd have to price it out to see if that makes sense for your application.

 

[rlitman]

I hadn't thought of HDPE but it could also be a good choice. It gets used all the time in commercial projects, but there's no reason not to use it for a residential application. You can get it with conductors already installed so they don't have to be pulled later - you plow in the HDPE and it's done in one operation. You'd have to price it out to see if that makes sense for your application.

The benefit of PVC is the easy glue together construction.

HDPE requires welding, or stupidly expensive connectors. Welding is cheaper and more reliable in the long run for utility right of ways, but is way expensive for residential purposes.

Then again, we routinely discuss HDPE gas pipes here, so maybe one day HDPE conduit will be a bigger thing.

 

[m32825]

Our house was built in the early 80s. The run from the pole to the meter is buried... and there is PVC conduit. The wire is not inside the conduit, but it is in the same trench. Picturing a conversation something like this took place late on a Friday afternoon...

Boss: "You guys get the run from the pole to the house done?"
Crew: "Yep, sure did!"
Boss: "And you used PVC conduit, right?"
Crew: "Yep, it's in the hole with the wire!"

 

[Norcal]

Our house was built in the early 80s. The run from the pole to the meter is buried... and there is PVC conduit. The wire is not inside the conduit, but it is in the same trench. Picturing a conversation something like this took place late on a Friday afternoon...

Boss: "You guys get the run from the pole to the house done?"
Crew: "Yep, sure did!"
Boss: "And you used PVC conduit, right?"
Crew: "Yep, it's in the hole with the wire!"

And if the same crew was laying sod the crew leader would be yelling “Green Side Up, Green Side Up “ at the crew.

 

[m32825]

Boss: "You guys get the run from the pole to the house done?"
Crew: "Yep, sure did!"
Boss: "And you used PVC conduit, right?"
Crew: "Yep, it's in the hole with the wire!"

At least the PVC is on top of the wire... Kind of like really heavy duty "buried wire" warning tape...

 

[Stuart in MN]

The benefit of PVC is the easy glue together construction.

HDPE requires welding, or stupidly expensive connectors. Welding is cheaper and more reliable in the long run for utility right of ways, but is way expensive for residential purposes.

That depends on the length - in this case he's only going a couple hundred feet, so it could easily be done in a single run.

 

[rd65]

Conduit it is. 2" schedule 40. 80 was recommended but think I will go with 40. All stinkin day to trench that run. That machine liked to track left, that's the reason for the big adjustment. More rock than I anticipated. Copper wire was recommended due to smaller size. Any problems finding a 100 amp breaker that will take the aluminum wire my budget would like to run?

 

[mrobins297aaa]

Schedule 80 really?.....

I agree with conduit but I used direct burial. Mostly because I just had to many things to go around.

I'm 175' from the house with my barn.
I fused my panel at 100 amps and used 4 2/0 Al wires.

Another good idea if you plan on having any out door lights on your barn is to put in #14 3/wg direct burial cable so you can have 3 way switches at the house and barn so you can turn the outdoor flood lights on when you leave the barn and then turn them off when you get to the house.

I also added a pex cold water line to the trench so I could have water in the barn, I have a instant water heater in the barn so I can have hot water.
Also in the trench cat, cable and phone lines.

it's been installed 7 years and no problems so far.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

Conduit it is. 2" schedule 40. 80 was recommended but think I will go with 40. All stinkin day to trench that run. That machine liked to track left, that's the reason for the big adjustment. More rock than I anticipated. Copper wire was recommended due to smaller size. Any problems finding a 100 amp breaker that will take the aluminum wire my budget would like to run?

I have Siemens panels and that 2/0 al wire seem like that was the max for that 100 amp breaker

I'm talking about the 100 amp breaker in my house panel

 

[mike93lx]

Conduit it is. 2" schedule 40. 80 was recommended but think I will go with 40. All stinkin day to trench that run. That machine liked to track left, that's the reason for the big adjustment. More rock than I anticipated. Copper wire was recommended due to smaller size. Any problems finding a 100 amp breaker that will take the aluminum wire my budget would like to run?

Use 80 when you are out of the ground. 40 is fine below grade.

I believe 2/0 should fit in most 100a breakers. Just confirm with the particular breaker you are using.

No way i would pay the premium for copper on that long of a run. Just don't forget anti oxidation paste (noalox is one brand)

 

[Jim greengo]

Conduit, always conduit.

PVC is cheap. There is no reason not to use it.