Hi, I'm in need of some help on the electrical to my home. Northern Wyoming.

I am installing a 200 amp service. Here is my plan...

For simplification... Power will come underground to the meter location at my shop, then go underground to the exterior disconnect on my house and then through a wall into my basement (4 feet below grade, 3 feet above grade) to the new house breaker box.

More specifically...
From the power pole, down with 4/0 4/0 4/0 aluminum URD USE XLP cable. This goes immediately into schedule 80 PVC and then 28 inches into the ground. Then direct bury for 24 feet. Then the wires go up schedule 80 into an outdoor Square D QO 200 amp meter socket with 8 spaces for the circuits for my shop. Then the 4/0 cables plus a #4 THWN go down schedule 80 PVC 28 inches into the ground. This is direct bury for 70 feet to my house. The wires come up Sched 80 PVC into a Square D 200 amp circuit breaker exterior disconnect and head down (but not into the ground) Sched 80 PVC and through a wall into my basement. Still in PVC, the wires head 15 feet into a Square D 200 amp load center. This new panel will be grounded and bonded by 8 foot rods and cold water supply line.
There will be 2 ground rods at the first meter socket/panel, and two between the exterior disconnect and my 30 space load center. Then I will re-energize my old 50 amp panel from the new one, and as the house gets re-wired, run all new wire to the new panel.

Do I have a good grasp on doing this project myself?

The #4 THWN wire is to separate the ground from the neutral from the meter to the house. Does this mean the new breaker box in my basement is to be treated as a sub panel and the meter/8 space breaker is the main panel?

The 200 amp panel in my basement seems to have the ground and neutral on the same bar with no easy way to separate them. Perhaps I need to buy a kit?

Thanks

The grounding/bonding need to go to the main disconnect at the house, not the panel.
Yes, you do need to separate the grounds and neutrals at the old house panel. Why are you keeping it in the first place? Why not just move the circuits to the new 200A panel? If you need more space just install a new sub-panel.
IMO keeping an old panel and re-feeding it is a cheesy way of doing it.

Also, why go direct burial for 24'?? Just run the conduit the whole way.

Thanks for your reply Stan,

You are right, will change my plan to conduit the wires the entire way. It's cheap protection..

I plan to eventually run all circuits to the new panel. Until I can afford the house rewire project, I need to have power run to the old panel. This way, I will have a new 200 amp panel to run new wires to, and in the meantime, keep electricity in the home.

The 1950's panel is in a poor location. My new panel will be located in the basement with room to work in/around. Instead of running bunches of wires (all house circuits) to the new panel, I'll just energize the old panel with a single cable. As I rewire the home, all new circuits will run to the new panel and the 1950 panel will be removed.

THANKS.
Emac

Are you planning to feed two locations off one POCO supply feeder?

If you are, that is not allowed. You can feed either your home or shop but not both.

If you feed your home, you can then set a panelboard in your shop and uses a four wire feed from the main panelboard to the panelboard in your shop. Or you can feed the panelboard in your shop and then feed your home off that panelboard.

Thanks Don! I am not an electrician, but I won't be working with any live wires! I just want to run the wires to save money!

Currently, the house is powered from overhead wires running into a 1950's 50 AMP panel. I have no power in my shop.

My plan is to run three wires from the power pole near the shop underground to an outdoor meter/breaker box. I will mount this meter/breaker box to the outside wall of the shop. This box has the meter socket and a 200 Amp main breaker and 8 slots for circuits. These circuits will feed electricity to the shop. Then I will run 4 wires from the lugs below the breaker busses underground to a 200 AMP panel in my basement. I might have to install a disconnect mounted to the exterior of the house as well, but I'd like not to since there is a disconnect on the shop.

In general, electricity will pass though the 200 Amp main breaker a the shop (but not a circuit of this load distribution center) and then to the 200 amp Load distribution center in my basement, where it will go to circuit breakers.

At least that is how I understand the wiring should go... What I am mostly unsure of is... Will the Meter/breaker box combo count as a main panel, making my basement panel a sub? Or, since there is not a circuit (besides the main 200 amp breaker) will the new basement panel not need the 4th wire?


SO... I will be feeding first the shop, then the house, but not through a circuit of the shop, rather connected directly to the two hot bus bars below the circuit slots. Does this make sense?

It is a violation of code to do it that way.

There are two correct ways. Use a larger Main service panelboard at the shop and run a feeder over to your home from the shop panelboard.

Or use a meter panel that can feed from the meter to both locations. I would see which the power company wants you to use and what the electrical inspectors will allow.