Shop's gonna be done in the not too distant future and I obviously want to run electric out there. I'm going to have an electrician do the actual electrical work because I don't feel confident enough for something like this. My question is - has anyone ever rented a trencher and done something like this. I'm in the midwest where it freezes, and the run is probably something like 400-500 feet. Any advice and insight is appreciated.
Rent a skid w a trencher. Don't hit the septic.
Shoulda just asked the builders to bring one....They've got a skid here right now. Ive got a shed with a line already run to it, and was going to just continue that line to the shop. Is there any reason not to do that? Can you pull too much current through a line?
>Can you pull too much current through a line?
Easily. Your shed's service is probably fed by a single 110V/15A breaker, because it probably doesn't need to do much more than light the shed. If you're planning to have a semi-serious workshop, you'll probably want at least a 220V/60A sub-panel, depending on what kind of equipment you want to run and whether you want it heated/cooled.
Yeah, that's what a quick google told me too. I should probably do my research over the winter and be prepared to know exactly what I want for summer next year. I've got 220v welding equipment and a compressor. I'm also going to have an automotive lift in here that will also run off that voltage, so I'd need at minimum 3 220v outlets.
Why does this building have horizontal studs?
Are you looking at the bottom of the trusses?
Appreciate it. I don't care much about spending an afternoon or two doing it being that this will be something I have and use for the next 30 years, but 14-18 hours to trench it wouldn't be a task to envy. Other guy suggested a skid, so I guess it comes down to a matter of price. I was planning on running the entire thing through conduit anyway, and there's no code out here in nowhere'sville Indiana, or if there is, no one's going to bother inspecting it. Was the one you rented one of the 18" yellow ones they have out front at home depot?
I think he's looking at the girts.
If it can dig 24" down, it should be able to do what it needs to do; just watch out for anything you'd be crossing.
However, I'd suggest asking your electrician what conduit he needs you to run. If you tell him what panel size you need he can probably tell you what he needs to run to get it there. Because you're running it several hundred feet, you're probably going to need to have it slightly upsized. You may also not want to run it straight to the workshop, because there may be other things in the way and having the service with a 90-degree bend may be better than trenching through your septic or pool pump line. It'd suck if you trenched in 2" diameter conduit only for him to say you need 3".
Good food for thought. Thank you. The septic is actually under the pool house (genius, I know...) So there's no real risk of that, but your point about asking the electrician preferred conduit size is a very good one. I'm targeting spring '24 so I'll have some time to learn on my own as well...just so I sound less stupid
The trencher I rented claimed it was a 4ft trencher, as in if you had the blade turned all the way down you'd touch the earth 4 ft down. Once you account for the hard dirt I have here in CO and all the turns and shit, I'd say my trench averages about 2 1/2 ft, with a few patches higher/lower.
Have you looked into direct burial cable? I was set to do conduit for the whole run but it ended up being cheaper to have the guys at the shop cut me the right length 1/0 cables.
FWIW on my ~200ft of cable I lost just a couple volts, but definitely ask the electrician all the sizes of shit.
Oh and ask about ground requirements in your area, not sure if it was specific to my site, but apparently 'every panel past the first point of disconnect needs two sources of ground'. This led to me pounding a grounding rod in near my shed as well as running a ground cable all the way back to my main panel..
>i lost a couple volts
voltage drop depends on draw. musta only been charging the milwakee
>the very state of diy
These horizontal studs. Surely it's not great for load bearing. In Bongland we have 600mm or 400mm centre vertical studs
If you're talking about the one in the foreground, that's just going to hold up a steel canopy with a poured patio bit for some lawn furniture etc...there's no load on it.
The more I look into this, the more I should consult a pro. I'm not planning on running a business, I just have a few 80's and 90s era vehicles that I like to work on, and plan on always having a project of some type going. I'd like to get better at welding and for me a 60-80 gallon compressor is required for paint work and a lift is required because one day I will be old(er than I already am). I'm jealous of that trencher...do you guys just have tthat on the property?
>I'm jealous of that trencher...do you guys just have tthat on the property?
Yeah i purchased it a few years back and have done a couple projects with it and have several more planned for it in the future when i get to them. Trenching is expensive to hire done, so it has already paid for itself within the first two projects.
That is a post frame building. Those aren't studs, they're girts. They aren't structural, they just provide a nailing surface for the steel panels. In post-frame all the load is supported by the vertical columns on huge footings. Cost effective and very stable as long as the columns (anything from 6x6 to 12x12 SYP or engineered on 16 to 26" concrete footings) are set correctly. Very common in the US for agricultural buildings, workshops, etc. Since no foundation, you can leave a dirt floor, gravel, or have a floating slab.
Just did a 100 amp panel 200' from our house here in CO, I can answer whatever questions you might have but I'm not an actual electrician, although I did take some guidance from a buddy of mine who does this kinda shit for Tesla customers.
Trenching:
I rented one of those little walk-behind POS's from home depot, took me 6-7 hours to do the run. 'code' says you need to be at least 2 feet below the ground, and if you're getting this trench inspected make sure you don't fill it in until that guy inspects it. You'll also probably need conduit for the bits that come up from the ground and into your panel on either end, as well as these ground expansion joint things. something something schedule 80 sun resistant grey shit
What part of CO? I'm in the southeastern part. Hate what this state has become. I'd almost rather be a part of Oklahoma or Kansas anymore...
I’m a trench b***h and stumper… I highly recommend Nebraska to any place in Kansas… however Eerie Kansas isn’t too bad! I currently live in the eastern part of Nebraska and you have some real wholesome people here that enjoy farming and hunting.
Near Parker-ish, grew up here in the 90s and it's crazy to see how many 'that used to be all field's I keep blurting out. I've lived other places though and still feel like this is the most homey.
I would probably run at least 100 amp to your workshop and maybe even 200 amp if you really plan on doing some serious work out there. I ran 200 amp to the shop at my house and did a subpanel from there with 100 amps to my chicken coop. Lol. Someday I plan on putting another little building up close to there though with several deep freezers and maybe some meat cutting equipment and a cooler so I can butcher my own beef, so I wanted to run enough extra power to future proof for that...
On the other hand at my big farm shop (50'x100' with a 25'x100' lean to off the back side) that my dad and I put up in 1999 only has 100amps running to it and I will need to upgrade it to a 200amp service someday. Luckily my old man did use a 200amp main panel, so I will just need to run new wire from there to a new main at the pole. The way it is now is kinda fricky, but I think it can be fixed fairly easily. I definitely need to upgrade though because if I am welding and the air compressor kicks on it dims the power pretty badly.
The 200 amp service I ran to the shop at my house was sourced from an electrician and I believe it was a mobile home feeder. I put it in the gray PVC conduit. The 100 amp subpanel run to my chicken coop I got from a local irrigation company that puts up center pivot sprinklers. They order it from their supplier and it was much cheaper, and also direct bury in it's own flexible ABS looking conduit. Much easier to use the direct bury stuff. Where it came up out of the ground on each end I did stuff it into a gray PVC conduit so I could use the LB fittings and punch through the wall into the electrical panel for a clean install.
Pic rel is my little Ditch Witch 2300 trencher that I used. It will go 5' deep and 4 or 5" wide.
>The 200 amp service I ran to the shop at my house was sourced from an electrician and I believe it was a mobile home feeder.
Worked great for my shop. ALWAYS allow for expansion.