underground service entrance question

Posted by bill allemann on November 18, 2006, 4:24 pm

I have a property with 2 buildings, and I want to eventually eliminate some
old overhead service drops that pass the rear building to the front one.
There is a meter on the rear building where I can add more for the front
services, and for appearance, etc, I would like to run the new services
underground. I was thinking of using PVC (UPVC?) conduit and ordinary cable
in them. I didn't want to involve a contractor and permits yet, because
just burying the conduit for now would allow some other work to proceed.

I was wondering if it is a good practice to have some gradient so the
conduit couldn't fill with water if a leak developed?

Thanks, Bill

Posted by SteveF on November 18, 2006, 5:34 pm

>I have a property with 2 buildings, and I want to eventually eliminate some
>old overhead service drops that pass the rear building to the front one.
> There is a meter on the rear building where I can add more for the front
> services, and for appearance, etc, I would like to run the new services
> underground. I was thinking of using PVC (UPVC?) conduit and ordinary
> cable in them. I didn't want to involve a contractor and permits yet,
> because just burying the conduit for now would allow some other work to
> proceed.
> I was wondering if it is a good practice to have some gradient so the
> conduit couldn't fill with water if a leak developed?
> Thanks, Bill

It's going to get water in it because of condensation. When I ran conduit
for a hot tub my electrician buddy told me you can't use "ordinary" jacketed
cable and to run individual conductors because of the water. Unless you
seal the ends any that gets in will evaporate out. The other option is
direct burial cable.

Not sure why you don't want to get permits yet because one of the
inspections is to make sure the conduit is buried to the correct depth,
generally at least 18". Which means you are going to have to dig out all
the dirt a second time to prove it's at least the required depth. You can
always (at least in this county) get the electrical underground inspection
done, hook things up and then get the others later.

You might want to call your local electrical inspectors and have a chat
about what you want to do and how to best proceed so you don't wind up
redoing a bunch of work later.

Steve.

Posted by bill allemann on November 18, 2006, 7:50 pm

Good idea. I'll check with the building dept to see if they have a separate
permit
for the underground. I'm going to have slabs, etc over them, so I don't
want any problems later.
Thanks,
Bill

> It's going to get water in it because of condensation. When I ran conduit
> for a hot tub my electrician buddy told me you can't use "ordinary"
> jacketed cable and to run individual conductors because of the water.
> Unless you seal the ends any that gets in will evaporate out. The other
> option is direct burial cable.
> Not sure why you don't want to get permits yet because one of the
> inspections is to make sure the conduit is buried to the correct depth,
> generally at least 18". Which means you are going to have to dig out all
> the dirt a second time to prove it's at least the required depth. You can
> always (at least in this county) get the electrical underground inspection
> done, hook things up and then get the others later.
> You might want to call your local electrical inspectors and have a chat
> about what you want to do and how to best proceed so you don't wind up
> redoing a bunch of work later.
> Steve.
>

Posted by The Other Funk on November 19, 2006, 8:18 am

Finding the keyboard operational
bill allemann entered:

>> It's going to get water in it because of condensation. When I ran
>> conduit for a hot tub my electrician buddy told me you can't use
>> "ordinary" jacketed cable and to run individual conductors because
>> of the water. Unless you seal the ends any that gets in will
>> evaporate out. The other option is direct burial cable.
>> Not sure why you don't want to get permits yet because one of the
>> inspections is to make sure the conduit is buried to the correct
>> depth, generally at least 18". Which means you are going to have to
>> dig out all the dirt a second time to prove it's at least the
>> required depth. You can always (at least in this county) get the
>> electrical underground inspection done, hook things up and then get
>> the others later. You might want to call your local electrical inspectors
>> and have a
>> chat about what you want to do and how to best proceed so you don't
>> wind up redoing a bunch of work later.
>> Steve.

> Good idea. I'll check with the building dept to see if they have a
> separate permit
> for the underground. I'm going to have slabs, etc over them, so I
> don't want any problems later.
> Thanks,
> Bill

I don't see why delaying talking to the Building Dept. is ever a good idea.
It just might save you an expensive mistake.
You said that the meter is a the rear building and you want to bury the
power to the front building. The last time I did something like this,
Public Service inspected up to the panel not just the meter so they might be
involved too. It wouldn't hurt to ask.
Around here permits can stay open for a year so delaying filing for one
isn't a problem. If they are issued a the begining of a job and they can be
modfied later if needed.
Bob

Posted by Bill on November 19, 2006, 1:05 pm

People are forever having plans to build something in the future, but for
right now just running the utility conduits.

So it would not be an unusual request to have just your empty conduits
inspected. Be sure to tell them in advance what you want to do and be sure
your sizes, depth of burial, and specification of conduit are OK.

Don't cover the trench until inspected. Have the writing on the conduit
facing up so they can see you are using the correct specification of
conduit. And might need to run a single electrical wire along with the
conduit so it can be located in the future. In some cases it would need
concrete poured over it. So best to check in advance about what is required.

Best to take pictures of the area to your meeting with the building
inspector along with a lot layout and a rough drawing of what you want to
do. Then he can "see" exactly what you plan to do and "see" the area.

Before digging, call a locate service so they can mark any existing buried
lines. This is usually free. (Don't want to dig into a natural gas line!)

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