- Messages
- 11,642
- Location
- Constantine, MI
I bit the bullet and purchased the cable and dug the trench. Hard work! I had to do the entire trench by hand as I was not sure where any underground wiring might be. Good thing I did as I discovered a couple of runs I had no idea existed and the current supply to the shop was not where I expected. There might have been a lamp post or something in the front of the house at one time. Might need to do a bit more research. Turns out the current feed to the garage is buried only 6" down! I checked around and 18" is the minimum, so I went 20" just to be sure. I protected the cable from the bottom of the trench to where it enters the building with 2" PVC conduit.
This pic shows the old and new service cables.
I purchased direct bury mobile home feed cable and the cost was reasonable, less than $100. Rob, I thought about running cat6 but the wireless signal to the shop is strong so decided not to. As for smoke alarms, we are installing a security system in the house that is totally wireless. I'll be installing a door sensor and motion detector in the shop as well as a smoke detector.
The soil around here has a lot of stones, most the size of potatoes, that make digging a bit of a chore. Took two days to do the digging and lay the cable. Going out later this morning to finish filling in the trench.
Next step is to firm up the connection date with the electrician. He'll be installing a breaker panel just below the meter with two 100a breakers, one feeding the house, one for the shop. Once I have the date I'll know when I have to install the panel in the shop. Has to be done within a day of each other as the sewage pump runs off a breaker in the shop. Why they did that I am not sure, but I don't want it to be down too long.
This pic shows the old and new service cables.
I purchased direct bury mobile home feed cable and the cost was reasonable, less than $100. Rob, I thought about running cat6 but the wireless signal to the shop is strong so decided not to. As for smoke alarms, we are installing a security system in the house that is totally wireless. I'll be installing a door sensor and motion detector in the shop as well as a smoke detector.
The soil around here has a lot of stones, most the size of potatoes, that make digging a bit of a chore. Took two days to do the digging and lay the cable. Going out later this morning to finish filling in the trench.
Next step is to firm up the connection date with the electrician. He'll be installing a breaker panel just below the meter with two 100a breakers, one feeding the house, one for the shop. Once I have the date I'll know when I have to install the panel in the shop. Has to be done within a day of each other as the sewage pump runs off a breaker in the shop. Why they did that I am not sure, but I don't want it to be down too long.
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