Pulling Wire Through Conduit

[crokett™]

I am going to pull power to my shed. Since it will serve as a shop of sorts for a while it will most likely be a 15A and a 20A circuit. I may also just do a 30A with a fuse box in the shed. I will have to do some digging to bury the conduit. My future shop will have 50A service and the conduit it for it needs to follow the same route around the garage, at which point it will branch off. I'd like to bury at least conduit for it. Aside from using larger conduit and putting in a pull string is there anything else I need to do to now make it easier to pull the wiring later? I also considered pulling 50A to the shed and then extending it later but that seems overkill.

[Herb G]

Pull all you need at one time. If you use drag line to pull wire in later, you will definitely cut into the existing wire with the drag line.
It happens every time. The drag line gets twisted as it goes in & you'll be pulling wire thru existing wire. The drag line acts like a saw blade.
You'll end up with dead shorts from wires touching each other where they got stripped by the drag line.

[brianwelch]

May make sense to pull wire you anticipate for the next shed now. Cu will probably not come down in price, and you may end up wasting the wire used for the temp shed. Check local code for depth of bury and marking requirements. Minimize changes in direction and make sure you install a large enough conduit...If you intend to bring low voltage wiring (cable/internet), use a separate conduit...
Best

[Bob10]

pull large wire to a sub panel if you see anything else for this space in the future it will save you time and future trouble. I have never heard of anyone wishing they went smaller on electrical supply

[TDKPE]

The NEC only allows one circuit to an outbuilding, and a 120/240V multi-wire branch circuit counts as one. As does a subpanel feeder. So, as Bob suggested, run what you need in the future to your building, and tap off that for the new one. Also, and someone check me on this, I don't believe it's legal to run conductors for a third building through the second building without stopping, except under very specific conditions. So you're supposed to run the third building off a panel in the second, which runs off a panel in the first, which happens to be your house.

[MarkSingleton]

TDKPE said:

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The NEC only allows one circuit to an outbuilding, and a 120/240V multi-wire branch circuit counts as one. As does a subpanel feeder. So, as Bob suggested, run what you need in the future to your building, and tap off that for the new one. Also, and someone check me on this, I don't believe it's legal to run conductors for a third building through the second building without stopping, except under very specific conditions. So you're supposed to run the third building off a panel in the second, which runs off a panel in the first, which happens to be your house.

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That is the way I did mine. Out from the house to the shop subpanel. Out of that to the patio subpanel.

And yes, I put the wire in as I laid the conduit. MUCH easier. You will kick yourself later if you don't do it now.

Coincidentally, and to further prove my point, I assisted a friend recently, in pulling wire. Several months after the conduit was installed underground. NOT fun. We got it done, but the job was unneeded, knowing as I did, that it could have been SO much easier.....

[Mr_Mike]

My thought is to pull something rated at 60 amps to the shed and use a sub-panel as suggested.

At the same time, while the trench is open, deadhead a separate conduit for the new shop. I'd not daisy chain from the shed to the shop. Later, you can excavate the end of the conduit and continue.

I also agree with the idea of separate conduits for data or low voltage. So, my trench would have 4 conduits. Conduit is cheap.

[meackerman]

and yellow caution tape in the trench, less you pull up the conduit with a backhoe at some later date.....DAMHIKT.

[crokett™]

Mr_Mike said:

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My thought is to pull something rated at 60 amps to the shed and use a sub-panel as suggested.

At the same time, while the trench is open, deadhead a separate conduit for the new shop. I'd not daisy chain from the shed to the shop. Later, you can excavate the end of the conduit and continue.

I also agree with the idea of separate conduits for data or low voltage. So, my trench would have 4 conduits. Conduit is cheap.

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A suggestion here was pull what I need for the shop to the shed, coil up the wire and stick it under the shed. when I build the shop, trench it over to the shop. Its sort of the long way round but I might do that. I don't want to daisy chain either, and -famous last words - will never need more than 1 or 2 20A circuits in the shed. Aside from I prefer direct runs where possible, adding a panel to the shed means ground rod, etc and turns what is supposed to be a relatively simple project into something more complicated. I'm less concerned about cost, moreso about time.

[Bob10]

Grounding rod can get done pretty quick if you have access to a larger hammer drill.