New electric pedestal at home

valhalla360 wrote:
Another question, no one asked is what do you plan to run? If you won't be running the air/con, you can probably just run a 15-20amp line. You are limiting yourself but if you never plan to run any high amp appliances, why waste the money.

This was my thought exactly. I just keep mine plugged in with an extension cord year round. I keep it plugged in to keep the battery charged and to be able to start the fridge a couple days before we leave. People spending $200-300 dollars for a campground equivalent pedestal always amaze me. Unless you are running your AC, water heater, lights all the time, fridge and television... why do you need all that electricity? I know some people camp in their driveway... but for the cost of equipment, installation and then actual electric costs, it would be far cheaper to go to a campground...

Grit dog wrote:
Best to bury it a bit so if someone demos the concrete they don’t get a surprise. There are min bury requirements but I wouldn’t worry about it for residential under concrete.

I, on the other hand, would very much do my utmost to meet the code requirements. If building inspectors find that you haven't built to code, they generally can require that it be fixed before being used, which would be a big difficulty if it's under concrete.

The required burial depth may well be different for something going under a slab. At any rate, you're presumably going to be digging down a good big anyhow to put in proper footings etc. (I hope) so getting a trench for the conduit at the same time shouldn't be too burdensome.

It might be worth thinking about also putting in some piping for water, even if it doesn't get hooked up. A sewer connection likewise would be handy, but may be impractical to do economically if the land doesn't slope more or less ideally.

Best to bury it a bit so if someone demos the concrete they don’t get a surprise. There are min bury requirements but I wouldn’t worry about it for residential under concrete.

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I think I will need to run a 2" conduit with #10,8,&6 wire for what ever the current or future needs may be ;). Just kidding-was hoping(dreaming) I could get by with 10 wire, but have decided to go with 6. Don't plan on ever needing 50amp, as we just bought a new Class C, and neither I or DW care for class As, but who knows what the future holds. A 125' roll of 6 wire is only about $50 more at Lowes than 8-I just hate to work with wire that big :( . Next question is-this will all be under concrete, so could it lay on top of the ground(the conduit with wire inside)and pour the slab on top of it or should I dig a small trench to put it in. Gary

Don't forget, what ever you wind up using it needs to be sized to take into consideration the 30 to 50 additional feet of 10 ga power cord from the pedistal to the trailer breaker panel.

If you are barely getting 30 amps to the pedistal and you need 30 amps in the TT you are going to need heavier gage between the house and pedistal to compensate for the smaller trailer cord.

I used 50' for length since it sounds like you're coming off the shop sub panel to the side of the shop.
#6 for 50 A service, #10 for 30 A service.

larry cad wrote:

bob213 wrote:
According to what I read here #6 should be good for 100' at 30 amps.
RV Electric

It is interesting that the source you refer to actually recommends using #10 wire for the OP circuit.

"For most 120/240V systems using cables of adequate ampacity, voltage drop is not a concern unless cable lengths are well over a hundred feet."

The OP actually states his run will not exceed 100 ft. and will most likely be less than 100 ft.

Your recommendation for #6 would be fine, but would be unnecessarily expensive.

Maybe I read the chart differently than you but the way I read it #10 is good for 25 feet. And if it's in conduit it recommends going up a size. I understand this is not a NEC chart.

For 30 amps and 100 feet:

I would consider putting in a 50 amp outelt, you can still use 30 amp breakers but put in a 50 amp outlet...

WHY:
1: When it comes time to upgrade. ZERO COST
2: Electricians do not often mess up 50 amp installs.. Many stories about messed up 30's doing serious damage.

Rule of thumb is to pull wire that is over the typical ampacity of the circuit being established. AWG 6 will remove the possibility of voltage drop, allow for upgrade to 50 amp service, allow for other devices to be used besides the RV. The cost between AWG 8 and AWG 6 is not that great.
I'd suggest to really consider the advantages of a 50 amp service, whether you have a 30 amp pedestal box or not. You can install a 50 amp or even 75 amp loadcenter at the storage building and pull wire from that to your 30 amp box and other receptacles in the storage building, lights, etc. When I pulled #6 into my garage from the house, I bought a 75 amp load center at Home Depot for around $25. Breakers were an additional expense, of course, but I now have a well distributed electrical system for power tools, a welder, and my RV.

Good luck with the power!