>>I don't know what your building codes are like. But here regular wiring
can
>>be run to outbuildings in PVC conduit in a trench.
>Here, regular wiring can be run with what is basically underground-rated
>Romex. The stuff is gray instead of white, and says UG on it, I think.
I just went through this when I ran power to my detached garage. Romex
cables (two insulated wires with a third ground wire which can be bare or
insulated in a plastic sheath) for underground use are rated "UF" for
Underground Feed. For larger wire sizes individual underground wires can be
run as direct burial if the depth of burial is sufficient (somewhere around
2 feet). I ran 4 strands of 2 AWG (American Wire Gauge - the wire is about
3/8" or 7mm in diameter) USE (Underground Service Entrance) from a 100A
breaker in the house panel to a sub-panel in the garage. Now I can run that
220V 15A/leg air compressor, the welder (that I want to get), the table saw,
and just about anything else that isn't three phase. Of course, now I have
to wire the garage the rest of the way - it was wired from a single 12
gauge, 120V, 20A circuit. Of course we cut through the old wire while we
were trenching for the new wire so I had to live without any power in the
garage for about 3 weeks until I finished the new feed - withdrawal symptoms
were getting pretty intense!
It is quite interesting to hear about these types of practices in other
countries - talk about different approaches to the same problems!
Mark Watson
1956 Daimler Regency Mk II '104' undergoing an overly long restoration
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