Sugar House Feed Wire Size

[Amber Gold]

I'm running a permanent feed to the sugar house. The run is about 100' through a basement and into conduit where it'll travel underground to the SH. It needs to be sized for 100 amps at 220V. What size wire do I need to run and are there any special requirements on the wire?

Thanks

[maplwrks]

A #2 urd wire will do you.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Bigger is better so No 2 is nice. Now the fun part. By code trenching depth is the key. Direct bury wire layed bare is deeper that direct bury inside a conduit so check the codes and then go from there. My sap shack is under wired because I only wanted lights now I have all kinds of loads on the system. I also layed it thru the woods and 22 years later is under 6" of sticks and leaves:) You will want 4 wires 3 #2s and 1 #4 extra ground coated and you will want a ground on the breaker box with a ground rod at the sap shack.

[Daryl]

While you are at it, put a 2nd 4" conduit to run water, phone, TV cable, or any thing else in the future. Some day you will be glad you did it now.

[brookledge]

In most cases when you go to the supply store to get the wire just tell them the lengthand the amperage you will be rated for and they will tell you exactly what you need. It is a good check if you have calculated it yourself.
Better to double check it then undersize it
keith

[Thad Blaisdell]

I would run a 200 amp service. The cost is minimal and then it will always be there.

[red maples]

While your at it... call the electric company and have them put a separate tranformer at the pole nearest to your house. or a mobile mini electric booster station. don't need a phone cable just a wireless off the house will do or cell if you get reception. don't need a cable just a wireless router. sorry just adding to the madness!!1:lol: :lol:

[Amber Gold]

Does the cable need to be direct burial?

My house currently has a 100 amp service, if needed it will be getting upgraded next season. With my current electrical needs in the SH, I should be fine. If I got to a 600 RO and/or an HE evap. that, I'll need to upgrade the house service. Even with those changes, will I need more than a 100 amp feed to the SH? The remainder of the load is lighting, filter press, heater, pump, and misc. items.

I'm considering running a shielded telephone cable in the same conduit. Are there any issues with this?

[red maples]

when you run a wire underground how far down does it need to be? Or is thecode different from town to town? Or is there sort of a standard?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Depends on the wire and if its in a conduit. Plus when using direct bury soil type is also a factor you cant bury it in gravel without shielding.

[Thad Blaisdell]

Call your power company they will tell you everything you need to know about burying your service.

Amber.... run a wire big enough to do the 200 amp service. Even if all you do now is put in 100 amp box. will save your arse in the end.

You can always run a seperate service to your house and then connect to that wire. Not sure of the situation of your house service but if you do it right this time then it will save you a ton down the road.

[PATheron]

Ive kind of gone through this electical thing with my stuff too. I started out with a 100 amp. It was fine with my 600 cdl and the 5 hp ring pump and lights and such initially. Once I bought my second ro and the 10 hp vac pump it wouldnt do it anymore. So I guess what Im saying is if you plan on ever having more than a 600 ro and a 5hp pump and some misc probly should do a 200. Like thad said at least run the 4/0 service in the ground if you plan to get bigger. I ended up doing a 400 amp service with 350mcm copper. I figured the biggest equipment I would ever want to have could be two 1800gph ro's plus my other stuff and thats what it would take to do it. 100 amps wont go very far with all the motor loads. Theron

[Amber Gold]

Being on the coast of NH, there aren't a lot of maples. I'll be lucky if I can hit 2000 taps, so I don't think I'll need anything larger than a 600 RO. The largest pump I have draws 6 amps and will only be in service if I get the woods behind my house back, which isn't looking good.

I was looking at a wire chart and it said #4 wire is good for 104 amps and #2 for 138 amps. So if I run a #2 wire, I should be good for better than 100 amps.Are these numbers correct?

[PATheron]

Josh- I would consult with a local eletrician before you do the work. Generally a 100 amp service is #2 wire. 200 amp is 4/0 hotlegs with a 2/0 neutral. You want to make sure things are right for safety sake and also you have a lot of money in the shed so you want to make sure things are proper. Nobody uses #4 wire anymore for services. That was installed in the old days as a 60 amp service and was generally copper wire. Theron

[brookledge]

Josh
Before I had a RO my sugarhouse was subfed from my parents house. When I looked into the cost of a seperate 200 amps service and the cost of it I decided I was better off upgrading my parents to a 200 amp service and then subfeeding 100 amps to the sugarhouse. I have a 600 RO and vac. pump along with other pumps, press,blower,lights, etc I'm drawing 60-70 amps all the time. So plan on a minimum of 100 amps. I feel the easiest way to determine your wire size is tell your supplier the length and the amperage like 100 and they will tell you exactly what you need. If you want to calculate it your self do that but compare it to what your supplier says and see if you are both the same. Double checking is the safest way to do it.
keith

[Amber Gold]

Thanks for the input.

I have an electrician friend who will be helping with the install, but he's been slow getting back to me with a wire size which is why I posted the question here. Things are getting cold here and I'm getting concerned about getting the feed in the ground before frost sets in.

Keith, I have a 100 amp service which feeds the house. The plan is to run the permanent SH feed this year and upgrade the house feed to 200 amps next year.