Underground electric/drainage question

[ovrszd]

The Google is your friend. ;-)
conduit size chart
Having linked that, if you're diy-ing, go up a size or two in conduit size. You'll thank me later.

Awesome!!! I'm saving that!!!! Thanks!!!!

 

[KillerBeagle]

There is also a free Android app from Southwire called Conduit Fill Calculator that is very handy.

 

[Gord Baker]

It is useless to add another drain device. Your trench, properly dug with stone above and below approved conduit and hazard tape laid on is sufficient. Most local codes require an Electrical Inspector to view the tape before backfill. Don't try to fool him!
Being in Refinery and Chemical plants for over 40 years as Inspector I have never seen 3 or 5" pipe.

 

[Tony H]

I have hard clay issues.. I bought Direct Bury wire. Ran it in schedule 40 electrical gray. Glued each belled end. Direct Bury alone should be good bit with all the shale in soil, I wanted extra protection.

 

[Bentrim]

Interesting how different municipalities set up different requirements. Here in SE pa there are two electric companies that serve the same area, one a co-op and the other a "city" electric company. The co-op requires 4" pvc from pole to meter base. The city electric wants the wire buried direct with 4" of screenings over and below, they claim if conduit is used the wire may overheat! By the way they also require horns on the meter socket. When we were setting homes always had to know which electric serviced the area.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Every power company be it co-op, IOU, or municipality will have standards that they go by and usually will be different with the exception of co-op's, most of their specs are the same about everywhere you go from pole framing to underground service specs, around here it's pretty standard for a single phase residential service under 100' to be pulled in to 2&1/2" schedule 40 PVC, anything over 100' goes in 3". They make conduit sealing kits that can be used to help keep the water the gets into conduit at the joints from spilling into your meter can if it's downhill from the transformer. I also realize a lot of this was not the OP's question but since it came up I figured I would add a little information. To the OP as long as the power company has no objection to what goes in their ROW there should be no reason for you to be able to do what you want.

 

[LD1]

It is useless to add another drain device. Your trench, properly dug with stone above and below approved conduit and hazard tape laid on is sufficient. Most local codes require an Electrical Inspector to view the tape before backfill. Don't try to fool him!
Being in Refinery and Chemical plants for over 40 years as Inspector I have never seen 3 or 5" pipe.

"Another" drain device?

Are you implying the conduit is a drain device that is gonna dry his soggy ground on the surface?

WHY is everyone reading this as an electrical service install thread and trying to answer questions that were not asked?

This is a thread with a question about drainage. Not electric.

I wonder if the OP said this was gonna be a waterline install.....and asked if he could lay drainage tile in the same trench....if this would have turned into a pex vs pvc vs PE pipe thread....or whether copper pipe can be direct buried? And what the best way to connect PE pipe is, barb fittings and clamps? Sharkbite type? Compression? Socket welded?

 

[JRH02]

I haven't read through 5 pages on this....

All I have to say is gravity wins. The moisture/water will go to whatever void it can find to gather. Why the heck would you have a tile above what you are trying to protect? You go under what you are trying to protect to drain off excess and saturation. That still doesn't solve a moisture problem. You are seriously going to use a corrosive material in a saturated condition? Maybe you should run the metal conduit through the PVC? And that in a continuous culvert? Maybe then fill the whole run with concrete? Run forced air through the conduit to evaporate any water?

I don't want to be mean but if you are asking these questions you aren't the one to be making the decisions regardless of codes, inspections and best practices.

 

[LD1]

I haven't read through 5 pages on this....

All I have to say is gravity wins. The moisture/water will go to whatever void it can find to gather. Why the heck would you have a tile above what you are trying to protect? You go under what you are trying to protect to drain off excess and saturation. That still doesn't solve a moisture problem. You are seriously going to use a corrosive material in a saturated condition? Maybe you should run the metal conduit through the PVC? And that in a continuous culvert? Maybe then fill the whole run with concrete? Run forced air through the conduit to evaporate any water?

I don't want to be mean but if you are asking these questions you aren't the one to be making the decisions regardless of codes, inspections and best practices.

Perhaps the time it took you to type the reply would have been better spent reading the posts you chose not to read. He never mentioned metal conduit. In fact he said he already has 4" pvc. You would also know that he is not concerned with moisture in the conduit so your silly comment about blowing air thru it has no merit.

He is simply trying to dry a wet area of ground that ALSO happens to be having electric service ran thru it. And wondering the feasibility of using the same trench to kill two birds with one stone....and if feasible....the ideal location within the trench for said drainage tile.

If you didn't want to be mean....you would have read the thread and understood what the op was asking....rather than make snide and irrelevant comments.

 

[dlctcg]

@LD1 - Thank you for responding to this prior to me.... I would have not said it better... or nicer... You sir are appreciated...

 

[LD1]

@LD1 - Thank you for responding to this prior to me.... I would have not said it better... or nicer... You sir are appreciated...

This whole thread is just mind boggling.

Why everyone thinks he is asking for electrical advise is beyond me.

 

[bigtiller]

This whole thread is just mind boggling.

Why everyone thinks he is asking for electrical advise is beyond me.

Everyone? Well, it does seam like electric got more attention than drainage, but...

I thought post #15 and a few others were helpful concerning drainage tile placement.

 

[ovrszd]

Perhaps the time it took you to type the reply would have been better spent reading the posts you chose not to read. He never mentioned metal conduit. In fact he said he already has 4" pvc. You would also know that he is not concerned with moisture in the conduit so your silly comment about blowing air thru it has no merit.

He is simply trying to dry a wet area of ground that ALSO happens to be having electric service ran thru it. And wondering the feasibility of using the same trench to kill two birds with one stone....and if feasible....the ideal location within the trench for said drainage tile.

If you didn't want to be mean....you would have read the thread and understood what the op was asking....rather than make snide and irrelevant comments.

This one really has you worked up doesn't it.

 

[LouNY]

What the OP has proposed will work,
my preference would have been to place the drain tile first in ditch so it was the lowest.
Of course that also requires a deeper ditch to keep the 36" of cover over the conduit,
it would mean an almost 48" ditch to do the job.
Four foot trenchers are harder to find then three footers, cost more and take more time to ditch.

 

[coobie]

I thought the national code required metal conduit, but in any case the conduit should be sitting on and covered with #2 crushed rock and then cloth and hazard tape and then the top soil so that anyone digging will hit the rock and see the tape before they hit a live wire. The rock will act as a French drain and keep water out of the conduit.

Not true schedule 40 or80 grey plastic pipe from my experience ..I am a retired electric lineman whatever you do I am not a big fan of stacking one utility on top of another just in case you have some type of fault.

 

[coobie]

This is hilarious. Out of all these answers only about two or three people actually understood the question. Poor OP.

Walk us threw the process then Oh great one.

 

[yanmars]

To answer Chuckacon's questions. The 36 inch depth for the PVC for the electric is what the power company requires. From the transformer to the meter panel (if that is correct terminology) is 50 feet. From there it splits (so I only have one meter and base rate of $40 a month instead of two meters and $80 a month). The power company thought that was the way to go. From the split to the main building to the west is 188 feet, to the other ag building to the east is also 188 feet.
They require grey Schedule 40 of 3 inch from the transformer to the meter. I did not really see a specification from the meter to the buildings on PVC. Any reason white could not be substituted as the power company says their responsibility as I understand it ends at the meter? Thereafter it is on me for repair, maintenance etc. Of course the caution tape would be placed over all the PVC.

I really was only asking initially about water drainage for the general area, not really for the electric line itself. Some of the responses brought up this new question of mine. If appropriate I could list it separately under a new heading.

 

[lman]

What did the electric company say about your idea? It sounds like you want to run pipe above the cable that they are responsible for, so they should have some input.

 

[yanmars]

I have not yet had a chance to meet with them.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

To answer Chuckacon's questions. The 36 inch depth for the PVC for the electric is what the power company requires. From the transformer to the meter panel (if that is correct terminology) is 50 feet. From there it splits (so I only have one meter and base rate of $40 a month instead of two meters and $80 a month). The power company thought that was the way to go. From the split to the main building to the west is 188 feet, to the other ag building to the east is also 188 feet.
They require grey Schedule 40 of 3 inch from the transformer to the meter. I did not really see a specification from the meter to the buildings on PVC. Any reason white could not be substituted as the power company says their responsibility as I understand it ends at the meter? Thereafter it is on me for repair, maintenance etc. Of course the caution tape would be placed over all the PVC.

I really was only asking initially about water drainage for the general area, not really for the electric line itself. Some of the responses brought up this new question of mine. If appropriate I could list it separately under a new heading.

To answer Chuckacon's questions. The 36 inch depth for the PVC for the electric is what the power company requires. From the transformer to the meter panel (if that is correct terminology) is 50 feet. From there it splits (so I only have one meter and base rate of $40 a month instead of two meters and $80 a month). The power company thought that was the way to go. From the split to the main building to the west is 188 feet, to the other ag building to the east is also 188 feet.
They require grey Schedule 40 of 3 inch from the transformer to the meter. I did not really see a specification from the meter to the buildings on PVC. Any reason white could not be substituted as the power company says their responsibility as I understand it ends at the meter? Thereafter it is on me for repair, maintenance etc. Of course the caution tape would be placed over all the PVC.

I really was only asking initially about water drainage for the general area, not really for the electric line itself. Some of the responses brought up this new question of mine. If appropriate I could list it separately under a new heading.

Surely you don't mean substituting white PVC instead of gray PVC to install electric in on your side of the meter.