tips on upgrading electric and running misc wires under ground

[tstang90]

I have been lurking around here for the past 2 months.
I have a detached garage with a small amp box I am upgrading it to a 100amp so i need to run a new lead approx 75 feet from the box in the house into my sub panel in the garage.

I would also like to add a cable wire as well as a cat 5 for PC and one more wire for a phone alarm and intercom the alarm guy suggested i add this wire.
Do i run the electric and communication wires/cable in a seperate pvc tube??

I am puttin this into the ground so I need to dig a trench 18" deep correct??

My question is what kind of wire options do i have to do this? For 100 amp service what kind of wire do i run from the main house to my sub panel? I'll prob only use 60 amps but my buddy told me why not just put a 100 amp box in there and be done I guess I can always add outdoor lighting off that box.

The house is currently 200 amp so am I doing the right thing here? All I use out there is basic power tools( saw,drill ,etc) i run a 30 gallon compressor and a 110V lincoln mig welder once in a blue alomng with some new lighting.

The other concerns are the cat5 and phone/alarm wire. I was told to get a 16 or 18 strand??

Thanks for the help

 

[mrb]

for 100 amps, you need minimum #3 or #2 copper, or #1 AL. You can save a few bucks by dropping to 90 amps and using #2 AL. You need three of the conductors I mentioned (2 hots and a neutral) plus a ground, #8 copper minimum. Buy individual conductors, not triplex or quad or mobile home feeder, etc. Install the conduit and panel. pull a string through the conduit and use this to measure the length of wire you need (dont forget length for termination) more than one member here has come up a foot or two short on wire because they didnt use this method.

You need grounding electrode(s) at the garage, and bond the water pipe if applicable.

Run a conduit for the power, and a seperate one for the low voltage (i recommend 1-1/4in for the LV, 1" will work too).

Cat5 is cat5 (with the exception of 25 pair). Buy some direct burial rated cat5 and away you go. You want to use the DB cat5 because the conduit will eventually fill with water. Regular cat5 will work, but may have to be replaced in the future...

 

[dawg]

if your going through all the trouble why not put in 200 amp service to the garage>
eventually youll need it
I did that 4 yrs ago and didnt cost much more that 100 amp service.
that is if you got 200 amp service in your house.

 

[tstang90]

Thanks guys. 100 amp is more then Ill ever need out there 200 amp is alot of juice.

My confusion at this point is what to run for the telephone, alarm wire and still allow myself to have a few extra lines to add something in the event I need to. What kind of wire should i be lookin for for this?

And the CAT5 cable I run needs to be outdoor grade also? Dont you glue the joints on the conduit? I never did this but I assumed they got glued like a water pipe did to seal out water / moisture.

I wasnt aware that I could put a string in the conduit and pull the line thats a great idea and that way I dont waste power cable or most importantly come up short.

There is already a 30 amp box out there so id have to guess there is a ground rod somewhere. I have no water in the garage as its detached.
If no ground rod is present all i need to do is drive a rod into the earth?

 

[pattenp]

Thanks guys. 100 amp is more then Ill ever need out there 200 amp is alot of juice.

My confusion at this point is what to run for the telephone, alarm wire and still allow myself to have a few extra lines to add something in the event I need to. What kind of wire should i be lookin for for this?

And the CAT5 cable I run needs to be outdoor grade also? Dont you glue the joints on the conduit? I never did this but I assumed they got glued like a water pipe did to seal out water / moisture.

I wasnt aware that I could put a string in the conduit and pull the line thats a great idea and that way I dont waste power cable or most importantly come up short.

There is already a 30 amp box out there so id have to guess there is a ground rod somewhere. I have no water in the garage as its detached.
If no ground rod is present all i need to do is drive a rod into the earth?[/QUOTE]

Don't know what state or country you're in but don't bond the neutral and ground buss together at the subpanel and you need to put in 2 grounding rods at 6 ft apart from each other for the gounding of the subpanel.

 

[tstang90]

im in NY and thanks for the tip I have a buddy helping me who says he knows what to do I just liek to know and plan ahead. But i do need to do my leg work on the cat5 , telephone wire,tv co ax cable.

What guage wire would i need for a phone/alarm wire for a 75 foot run?
And does that need to be direct bury grade also??

 

[pattenp]

22 should be fine for phone and or alarm. The suggestion for direct bury even in conduit is because condesation builds up over time in the conduit which becomes standing water in low spots.

 

[mrb]

im in NY and thanks for the tip I have a buddy helping me who says he knows what to do I just liek to know and plan ahead. But i do need to do my leg work on the cat5 , telephone wire,tv co ax cable.

What guage wire would i need for a phone/alarm wire for a 75 foot run?
And does that need to be direct bury grade also??

cat5 is fine for phone, and most likely ok for the alarm too. run seperate cables (three -one for phone, one for alarm, one for computer network) you want these cables to be underground type even though they go in conduit. For television, you just need underground RG6.

 

[tstang90]

Thank you MRB.

I see now as Im searching the net they have solid stranded and shieled cat 5/
But not all of these are offered in direct bury. Id there a difference?

 

[pattenp]

You need to check the wiring requirement for the alarm. I believe typically 22 is required for alarm wiring. I don't know that CAT5 is 22.

 

[mrb]

Thank you MRB.

I see now as Im searching the net they have solid stranded and shieled cat 5/
But not all of these are offered in direct bury. Id there a difference?

solid. You dont want shielded cat5 pretty much ever. stranded is only for patch cables. Solid wire is what you install. if you dont want to spring for a whole box of underground cat5, let me know i think i have some on hand. i also have underground rg6.

 

[tstang90]

Thanks mrb. Ill PM ya.

 

[Gary S]

I ran a 1 1/4" conduit for my low voltage wires. Then I pulled Cat 5, a phone wire, a 12 conductor general purpose wire, and the camera cables for my security cameras in that conduit.
At the other side of the trench, I buried a 2" conduit for the AC.

 

[sberry]

Electric buried at 24 inches. And you need a ground rod, more wouldnt hurt.