Electrical Question
 

I am going to start building a kid's treehouse/archery deerstand. I am thinking about running electrical to the tree.

I have a breaker box 350-450' feet away. It has at least one empty spot and it was for an inground pool (that no longer exists) and some outdoor lighting.

I am not planning on more than a 15 amp breaker as it will just be a light or two, an outlet and possibly setting up a deer surveillance system.

Any input on the size of wire I need or anything else? I am planning on burying the wire from the outdoor shed (where the breaker box is) to the treehouse.

Its a long feed but if you are not powering anything like a motor or something affected by a voltage drop the loss from distance will probably just make the bulb dimmer. If it gets too hot it will break the breaker.

I'm not an electrician so those who know more than I will correct as needed.

I would do this instead...Wire it with an outlet or two, perhaps a light socket, and wire it all to a male lead out of the side wall. This way you can run an extension cord to the old pool outlet when needed. I doubt doing a permanent wire job would pass any sort of legal codes.

Breakers don't sense voltage drop, only over-current. As far as voltage drop, just follow the tables for wire thickness over the length of run for the required current and you'll be fine.

Use a ground fault breaker for that application if you do it in any fashion like you mention. Reduces the risk to the children.

Or give then something to do by installing 12 volt stuff and a battery charger somewhere for them to charge up some form of battery to power the low voltage system. Led forms of lighting for example will last quite a time on a small motorcycle or lawn tractor battery. Because of the acid risk I would make up a NiCad pack for recharging over an acid based battery.

In this part of the country (lightning capital of the universe) I would get the shivers from any of those wired suggestions. I would use something like Barry's suggestion or a local solar panel. But MN isn't FL

Years ago, when we built the house I put in a long run of wire and water pipe out to the "back 40". Hooked up the water, but never got around to the electricity. A few years later , a tree that it passed by was struck. Blew up the pipe and fried the wire. Thankfully my procrastination saved the day. The wire is still there, in pieces...

This makes much more sense.;)

So are the kids your excuse to put up a deer stand, or will this be genuinely multi-purpose ;)?

the closest wire size calculator I can find (Electrician Continuing Education) says to use 10awg - I said that the run was 500ft. 10awg should also supply you well if you put an outlet and ever want to plug in something big (fan, power tools, space heater etc...) - you know that you will :)

look for "outdoor" and "direct bury" ratings on things- they should last longer.

And know that you are indeed rednecking this, be careful as the years go on, keep your eye on the terminations etc...

Mike Holt Enterprises Home - real electricians hang out there, if you want some better advice :)

-John

minnesota.yes it's for deer!kids come second.from what i have heard for every 100 ft you need to drop a gauge.but your not running much for power so i would say 10 gauge should do ya.go rent a trencher and you can have it trenched in a couple hours or so.BUT be sure to have a locate done to check for any underground gas lines,electric,etc.it is the law no matter where you live.and believe me you DO NOT want to hit a fiber optic cable.buddy hit one about 10 yrs ago and is still paying for it.

THIS!

And check code before you do anything. If you do go with wired power definitely use a GFCI even if code doesn't require it. You don't want you or yours to become crispy critters.

Thanks for all the replies.

First, yes it is a true multifunctional purpose of kids and deer hunting. I have been promising my 7 year old a tree house for a few years and I want to build a better stand so 2 in 1. He does come sit with me sometimes when I go hunting in the back yard so it would be both anyways! Right?

Second, solar is out as it is in a well forested area. I don't want to deal with a battery, the whole point is to make something permanent.

Third, I was planning on renting a trencher. I already know where the underground stuff is. I had geothermal put in two years ago. I am a bit rural so I don't have much. Definitely will use a GFCI outlet. I paced it off and got 163 paces. I figure about 2.5 feet per pace so that puts it at just over 400' which sounds about right. I figured 10 gauge would handle it but I just wanted to be certain I couldn't use a lower gauge. I will head over to the suggested forum.

Multiple smaller wires are sometimes cheaper than a singular heavy wire. It is something to think about if you find a great deal, improvise.

If you hook in an RV receptacle you might later find it useful.

Any chance you might put a future outbuilding along the line?

What else might be useful in that trench?

400 feet of 10 gauge UF is going to cost you a fortune (almost $500.).

Are you sure you need 15 amps............reducing that number a bit would allow you to go down to 12 guage............quite a bit of a saving.

It all depends what you intend to run in the tree house.

I had a thought to run 12 volt. Could have some batteries staying topped off so you could have more amperage when you want it. 14 gauge would probably work for that. Less health hazard. Could also have a small solar panel keeping them topped off during sunny periods. I had friends in the hills who used 12 volt lights and appliances back when - just dispensed with the whole inverter thing which saps energy. I'd bet there's still a good market for those things.