Pool equipment main wiring repair- solid or stranded

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CJadamec said:
Code will not allow for thhn out of conduit or a cable tray. I know where you are coming from thinking it doesn't need it but code requirers it.
Also with a run of 270 feet to get a 60 amp run with a voltage drop of less than 3% you are looking at #2 wire. The best you can get with #6 wire is 40 amps which is a marginal at best 4.4% voltage drop for a 270 foot one way run. As it is you should have had #8 wire for 110v/20amps at a run that long. 12 gauge gives a voltage drop of almost 18% for a 270 foot run at 110v/20amps.
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They were all on 20 amp breakers, but none of them were drawing anywhere near that. The biggest load was the main pump at I think 8.4 amps on high. The 200ft run would keep it at a lower voltage drop. I'll see how much #4 and #2 are tomorrow. If it's not too much more, I may up the size; otherwise I guess I'll just de-rate it to 40 amps. It would be nice to have the available power to put in a heat pump if I wanted one day.


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I just had an epiphany! I've got a 50amp box on the outside of my house where the previous owner had a hot tub installed. It's run off the main panel board that is closer to the pool, and its run under the house through 1.5" conduit. Half my work may already be done for me. I'm not sure what size wire it is because I couldn't read anything on it, but whoever did it actually cared about what they were doing vs the pool electrician. The big conduit going into the ground in the other picture where I showed the condulet that was buried is from this box. Here's the inside.
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I guess it could be either #6 or #8.


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I just opened the main panel board in the house to see what size wire went to the hot tub panel. It is a white jacketed NM cable, so there must be a junction box somewhere where it splices to the thhn in the outside box. When I was in the attic earlier I saw a large white jacketed NM cable, so I bet that's it. It doesn't go under the house. It runs up through the attic, then goes down the wall to the crawl space and goes outside through the conduit. I couldn't tell the wire size from the wires in the panel. It has 7 strands, but 6&8 both have 7 strands. I'll go back up in the attic tomorrow to verify that the cable I saw is the correct one, and see what size it is.


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I went to my old employer and bought 200ft of 1.5" pvc conduit today. I'll try running it in the next couple days, then go back and get the wire. I'm gonna de-rate the sub panel to 40amps. It would be just over $100 to go up to #4, and about $250 to get to #2. I'll never need the extra ampacity, so I feel comfortable with 40 amps. If I decide to add any heating apparatus, it will be solar. If/when I sell the house, the next owner will have the option of solar or natural gas heater. If they want a heat pump, they can deal with larger wire run.

This option ended up being about $80 more than tying in to the existing hot tub box, but I wanted to leave that open in the off chance we ever get a hot tub.

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Sounds like a solid plan. A 40amp 220v service is nice upgrade to what you had previously.

Its a pain the wire run is so long but the larger heat pumps really pull some higher amperage which makes staying ahead of the voltage drop get spendy.
 
I told my wife what was going on, and she didn't really want to hear all the details, she just said take care of it. So she was in for a little shock the day before yesterday when I cut a hole in the wall to run the conduit into the subpanel.
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Yesterday I got the conduit in the crawl space finished up and got it started outside.
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Now I've just gotta dig a 180ft trench a foot and a half deep.


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Two Thoughts :

My wife still complains about the fact that I cut holes in the dining room wall to reroute power for the outdoor dining area and kitchen. They were only there for about a month.

Second

Yea that has to be a minimum of 18 inches below finish grade. More is better. And better yet go have 5 yards of sand delivered. Compactable sand. When you backfiill the trench cover the conduit with six inches of sand. That serves two purposes. First it keeps rocks and stuff away from your conduit and allows mechanical compacting without worrying about whats on the conduit. Second from now on you will know if you hit sand in the backyard you need to stop and proceed with caution.
 
You aint done with that hole yet? Some kinda slacker this guy is. Along with the sand idea warning tape in the trench is also a good idea buried about halfway between the conduit and finished grade. The code stuff is red and about 4 inches wide. Its helpful to save an expensive oops moment in a few years.
 

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Being on midnights right now has hindered my progress. Couple hours a day is all I get. Also have to go nice and slow on this portion. My main power is here, and a phone line is somewhere. I don't use it, so I'm not too worried about it. I did get a little ahead of myself and cut my cable line that was about 3 inches down. I've got a jumper wire nutted in until they can run a new drop. It's surprisingly faster than it has been of late. Crazy stuff.


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I built my house while working nights (1800-0600) for a year. Surprising how much you can get done but it turns you into a zombie after a while. Hopefully when they did the main power they put down the warning strip. Also when I did my utility power it had to be min 36 inches down dunno if that is code in your neck of the woods.
 
CJadamec said:
You aint done with that hole yet? Some kinda slacker this guy is. Along with the sand idea warning tape in the trench is also a good idea buried about halfway between the conduit and finished grade. The code stuff is red and about 4 inches wide. Its helpful to save an expensive oops moment in a few years.
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What about sand, then gravel, then warning tape? Nothing like rocks to say "whoa!".


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When it comes to a 180 foot trench some people look at it and say meh 6 inches is enough who will ever know. It's shocking what some people will do with electrical.

As for adding a layer of gravel it will probably just lead to a noticeable surface depression on top of the trench in a year or to as the soil compacts into all the gaps in the gravel. The sand layer and the tape should be plenty. Being down a solid 18 inches prevents most people from even getting close to it.

Im very lucky and have access to the backhoe that is in my pool build photos. My in-laws own it and it's amazing the projects you are willing to tackle with one of those things at your disposal.
 
A backhoe, trencher, or mini excavator would definitely make this more pleasant. Until I ripped out something important. I found a drain line that appears to come from the old garage that is now the living room.
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Once I get this thing down to the proper depths, you have to try to dig that deep. Two solid shovel fulls down wouldn't hit it. Maybe three would. I'll do the sand and caution tape. I hate pine trees. Almost every single shovel full of dirt hit a root. Had to take the ax out there to clear them out.


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CJadamec said:
A pick axe is worth every penny when trenching thru roots and rocks. Looks like you are well on your way.
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I bought a pick mattock before I ever started. I used it to bust through the cinder block to run the conduit to the outside. I broke the surface with the shovel, and will use it around where the utilities are then I'll switch to the new mattock.


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