Thanks all for the insight and advice! The electrician who's helped us out here before called back a minute ago and recommended this:

250MCM URD w/full size neutral
at least 2 1/2" PVC conduit

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

URD? Huh. sounds good. You could skip on the conduit then.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

I always use 12GA when installing new wiring, even if it is only going to be a 15A circuit.

Bigger conduits are better, more room is always a good thing.

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I noticed most lighter gauge wiring like fourteen and twelve gauge is coming in from China. The sheathing seems weak compared to earlier wire. The actual wire covering seems pretty tough though. I also remember the true romex. I finally got used to not having black tarred hands after a good days work.

Ground fault breakers on pretty well everything like in England. Probably will not occur here soon if ever as our general voltage of 110 is much lower than their 208.

As for wire size other than code. I examine the expected loads and lengths of run . I always try to minumise line losses where practical. So a lot of my runs are over code.
12/2 made it to 200.00 a roll here awhile ago before it dropped back.

Arc fault breakers are far more expensive in Canada. Or at least in my region. Siemens about 94.00 retail or 77.00 so called electricians pricing.

I am always buying them on american ebay now. Average cost about twenty-thirty dollars with shipping. Just split the difference from my cost to electricians local cost and resell to them.

This is pretty good for me presently as our code did not change to the newer arc breaker with the indicator. Next code changes here are still about three years out.

In fact I do not see csa approval on the newer type. I know they were mandatory in the states since Jan of 2008 I believe. Perhaps not all juristictions. Everyone is happy. Or at least my wallet is.

No I am not an electrician. Just wire my projects myself. A licenced electrician has to get me the wiring permits. Based on value of the job. Last house was four hundred and fifty. A few years ago it was about 50.00 locally. Progress.

When copper was so high switched over to aluminum wire for entrances . Did not like doing this. I just have to hope the no ox goes the distance. Corrosive seaside atmosphere prevails around here unfortunatly.

My take on this:

Use #3/0 copper - Rated 200 amperes for terminals rated 75C

(If your terminals are rated 60C, use #4/0 - 195 amperes at 60C)

200A through 275 feet of #3/0 gives a bit less that the 2% voltage drop allowed for feeders

Its still pretty easy to find USA made 12 and 14GA wire.....just get the real ROMEX brand, its still made here....the price reflects it! Worth it though. I don't want some China wire in my walls, yuck.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Sure you could buy the real romex and have American wire in your walls, but guranteed everthing else you buy will be made in china. I was looking at my motor mounts I bought yesterday. The actual mount says Germany on it stamped in it. The box says made In China. I thought Febi might actually be made in Germany but I guess not.

__________________
1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

Yeah I have noticed that some parts seem to be coming from china now, I will go straight to the dealer for those parts if that becomes the case. Especially for stuff like motor mounts. A plastic cover...probably not. But for important stuff I won't use made in China products.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Whether you're an Apprentice, Journeyman or Master Electrician, or perhaps you are already an experienced Licensed Electrical Contractor, the way to your financial success is through knowledge, and we are here to help you get it! Using the information provided on this site will make it easier for you to stay ahead of the game and your competition!

R Leo, while you are digging a trench it wont hurt to put some direct burial Cat5 in there for future data/phone.

I haven't seen any mention of how deep you need to bury the conduit. In PA I believe it needs to be at least 18" down.

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I wish I'd thought of that...it would have been a nice thing to have the added flexibility. The trench in question was backfilled about 2 months ago after installing an empty 2" electrical conduit for 'house-to-be' and a 1" water line. But, I have set up a couple of wireless networks out here for 'net access. A landline phone would be prohibitively expensive; we're 1/2 mile from the nearest phone line.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Randy, At Coyote Ridge Ranch I ran five 250' runs of 12/2 underground to my cabin 15 yrs ago. From the cabin it carries on to a concession stand and stage several hundred feet away. I see some voltage sag when it gets loud on stage otherwise its sufficient.

This was back when 12/2 was $22 an box.

$22/box?? Dirt was new then too...Jeez, 250' of 12/2 is practically $100 even with the prices off like they are now.

I did take advantage of the soft oil market and bought a lot of water line when I did that trenching. When the dust settled, I'd run a shade over 1300ft of water to various places on the farm.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Maybe $26.

Last underground run I did I used aluminum "Triplex" from the electric co-op. They loaded a huge spool on my truck and told me to keep track of how much I use and return whats left. He invoiced me for one cent /ft above their cost. Much cheaper than any other source.

Might be worth it to check with your electric provider.