My hunting camp electric service

medinaex.2@zoominternet.n

Hello all, new guy here to the forum. I was hoping someone could help with some information. Heres the senario,

I just purchased a piece of vacant land. It currently has a 100 amp service mounted on a utility pole. The previous owner would use it to power is trailer.

I would like to extend this service 325 feet to a spot where we want to build a cabin. I would like to either direct bury the new line or conduit is also an option. Whice ever is less expensive.

My question is what type of wire is acceptable for this purpose and how much loss in amperage would there be at 325 ft.

Thank you in advance for any information.
Glen

Speedy Petey

One big question is how far is it from this service pole to the nearest utility transformer?

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.

LawnGuyLandSparky

If you investigate further, it would probably be more practical to have 2 more poles set, and let the utility bring service closer to the site.

darren

The big fat wire, and you probably don't want pipe i think that would be a pain to pull in.

You would also have no loss on your amps but would happen is a voltage drop which you don't want.

medinaex.2@zoominternet.n

Lawnguy,

It's about $1000 per pole and i don't really want the poles. I would prefer underground. That way no one can tell there is a building back there. you won't see it from the road.

Speedy,

The transformer is on a pole within 50 feet of my service.

jrclen

Contact your utility about having them run a new underground service lateral from the existing transformer to the new location for your meter and service panel on the cabin. This is a pretty common request where I live.

I wouldn't want the ugly poles either.

Extending wires underground from the existing service panel would require 4/0 aluminum conductors. Those large wires will most likely present a serious connection problem at the existing service panel.

micromind

4/0 aluminum would be my choice also. You'd need two 4/0's, one 2/0 or 3/0 for the neutral, and one #2 for the ground. All of these wires are available in either direct-bury or the kind you pull in conduit.

If the 100 amp breaker won't accept a 4/0, there are ways to get it done, some of them even legal. lol.

Rob

Randell Tarin

I had an almost exact situation with my home.

We purchased land that was once a deer lease with nothing on it except a small portable building that was used for a hunting shack. It had electric service run from a pole with a transformer less than 100 ft away.

We wanted to build our cabin 300 feet away in the woods. And, as you experienced, the power company wanted to sell me extra poles AND cut down numerous trees to run a new line.

To preserve the natural landscape, we elected to go underground using direct burial cable set at a depth of 2 feet.

I replaced the existing pole and panel with a 200 AMP mobile home panel with pass-through lugs. We ran 3/0 Aluminum to a 200 AMP panel at the cabin. This fit the lugs by the way. The power company checked the voltage at the Main and at the cabin with a load on the line. I got better than 240 volts at each location.

I know in advance that there are arguements against Aluminum, but it was affordable AND what was recommended by my power company.

medinaex.2@zoominternet.n

Micromind, Randell, Jrclen , lawnguy,

Thank you for your advise, you have helped me out allot. I have an email in to the electric co-op to see what they suggest and get a rough budget. I am an excavator by trade so trenching won't be a problem. Hopefully it's acceptable to the co-op.

To JOBA whatever your name is, I hope your better at being an electrician that you are at psycho- analyzing people on internet forums. Your comments are unfounded and unwelcome.

Thanks to all others!

jrclen

Not to pick on your installation, I'm sure it is working fine, but:

Just so no one goes astray and gets an expensive installation red tagged by an inspector, 4/0 aluminum is the minimum size ungrounded conductors on a 200 amp feeder. Being forced to dig up and replace 600 feet of wire would ruin most peoples day.

jrclen

Let us know what you find out. Good luck.

Randell Tarin

The panel is rated at 200 AMPs. I never said I was pulling 200 AMPs. It's more like 150 AMPs. So, you're right; it works just fine.

The OP never said what his final load was going to be. THAT will determine the size of his conductor at 325 feet (not 600 feet).

J. V.

Am I missing something here? 4/0 AL conductors are the correct size for 200 amp service entrance cables, but are we not thinking about the distance. He may need larger conductors for 325 feet?
jrclen is right on this. Let POCO extend the service to the cabin location, then he can be sure 4/0 AL is the correct size for his 200 amp service.
POCO may even dig the trench and install the latteral for free. Or at a discount if he digs the trench.

medinaex.2@zoominternet.n

JV,

That would be sweet. I'll let you know what happens.

Speedy Petey

And unless the POCO owns, installed and maintains this laterla it IS still illegal and too small for a 200A service. I don't care what you are pulling right now.





NO, the final demand load determines the size of the service.
The size of the service will determine the size of the lateral.


325' is generally too far for "standard" sized (secondary voltage) service entrance conductors/laterals. 250' is usually the cutoff point.
Around here we would use 250MCM AL for a 200A service @ 325'.

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.