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bjesse · May 7, 2008, 03:35 PM

I currently have a separate 200 amp box on my house that has been extended to the other side of the house through the attic and is stubbed out in a service box, and it appears to be a 4 wire URD cable.. I want to run it underground about 100 feet to a barn. Can someone please give me instructions on how to splice it together at the service pannel and give me recomndations on what type of panel to use at the barn? The panel will be on the exterior of the barn.

Thanks.

donf · May 7, 2008, 03:41 PM

200 amp service, no offense, but please call a licensed electrician. People can get very dead very fast if they do not know exactly what they are doing!

mr500 · May 7, 2008, 03:44 PM

Ok. So are you wanting to run the entire 200amps out to the barn?

If not

How many amps are you wanting to run the barn?

What all are you going to be using that you will need power?

Mike

bjesse · May 7, 2008, 03:58 PM

The original owner brought 400 amps in from the street and has 200 for the house, and intended on the other 200 to go to the barn for living quarters, shop, etc. I don't need anywhere close to that right now, but the way it was left in the junction box already it seemed the easiest thing to do.

mr500 · May 7, 2008, 04:08 PM

Yeah. 200 would be a lot. So how much do you want to run out the building? What all are you going to be using the bldg for ? Shop, storage, etc...

What's in the second svc panel with the feed? The one that is not being used now I mean. Does this box have a main breaker or anything in it? I mean is it a panel box that will allow you to add breakers etc..

bjesse · May 7, 2008, 06:10 PM

The entire 400 amps comes into a main box next to the garage and 200 of it is used there for the main house, well, etc. The remaining 200 passes through to another box mounted right next to it and contains one main 200 amp breaker. There are spaces to add additional. That is then fed up through the attic and down the opposite side of the house where it is stubbed out in a plain weather tight junction box. The cable has already been stripped back and splice adaptors have been put on each cable.

To the first poster - this is all shut off from the main house and already tied into the main, or I WOULD NOT be attempting this. I'm handy and build the buildings, but electrical is the one thing I've always stayed away from. It just seems straight forward to lay the new URD cable and hook into the existing adaptors on the house end, and a new service panel on the barn side. If I have to break it down to 100 amps I might be getting more involved than I want to.

mr500 · May 7, 2008, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by bjesse

The entire 400 amps comes into a main box next to the garage and 200 of it is used there for the main house, well, etc. The remaining 200 passes through to another box mounted right next to it and contains one main 200 amp breaker. There are spaces to add additional. That is then fed up through the attic and down the opposite side of the house where it is stubbed out in a plain weather tight junction box. The cable has already been stripped back and splice adaptors have been put on each cable.

If it were me, I would replace the junction box with a panel, and run out of that panel to the barn. As to how much power to run to the barn will depend on what all you will be running in the barn. Will it be a living quarters? Will it be a workshop? If its just a small shop, you might get by with running a 100amp service to it from the new panel that you replaced on the opposite side of your house. All you would need to do is put in a breaker at the new panel, and run your wire off that into the shed into possibly another sub panel. Then run your circuits off that in the barn.

But, I'm not an electrician so others hopefully will chime in and tell you what all you need. Not really un doable I don't think. I just ran power to the small 12x30 workshop I built. Just have to decide how much power you want IN the barn.