want to run ~175 feet of wire underground.


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Old 12-17-10, 01:51 AM
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want to run ~175 feet of wire underground.

I thought a good christmas present for my parents would be to bring power down to their gate and setup a sensor to tell them when people are down there, and so they can get an automatic gate opener at some point.

That said, what's the best way to go about it? I've run wire with my grandpa who was an electrician before, but we ran all our underground stuff through pipe. Can I just bury some submersible wire?

Also, what's the best way to tackle the sensor? Wireless? Any reccomendations?


Thanks for your input.
 
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Old 12-17-10, 04:10 AM
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Wireless sensors are readily available, and would probably be the best, since you would also have to bury a signal wire for a wired unit. You'll need to figure the amperage draw of the gate opener and oversize slightly the UF cable you use to account for voltage drop. You will need to bury the UF according to local codes, which will probably dictate 24". If you decide to run it all in conduit (preferred), you can use individual THWN wires, and depending on the size of conduit you can run more than one circuit. Here, again, oversize things for future expansion needs. With conduit, once it is buried and of a good size, you can expand later if you wanted to run another circuit even further down the line.
 
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Old 12-17-10, 05:50 AM
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I'd agree, wireless is a much easier solution. I've used these before, though it was only about 100' away. You'd have read the documentation or confirm with the manufacturer that it'll work that far away.
Web Catalog - Dakota Alert Wireless Security Equipment

As Chandler stated, if you do decide to run power down there, you'd probably want to bury two conduits, one for power and one for whatever signal wire you end up using. You may also want to consider running 3 conductors (plus ground) so you can end up with full-time power as well as a switched run if you want to include a light that goes on and off at day/night.

They do also sell solar charged battery operated gate openers, again another way to not have to trench that far.
 
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Old 12-17-10, 05:29 PM
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I think I'd also investigate whether the local AHJ and power company would allow you to have a separate service at the gate location. Might also be nice for future lighting at the gate.
 
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Old 12-17-10, 05:55 PM
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I personally am leery of the distance claims made by the manufacturer's of wireless equipment. For the most part their claims are under ideal line-of-sight conditions with new batteries and such. Add in a window or door, used batteries and extraneous electrical noise and the distance suddenly drops off precipitously. Further, I don't know of any wireless devices that even state a range more than 150 feet.

CasualJoe has a good idea but with many utilities this would entail another billing account and be subject to minimum billing costs. Over several years the total cost may well surpass the initial cost of running power from the house.

I would run two fairly large conduits, at least one inch PVC, and use one for power and the second for communications. You could have an automatic alert when someone drives up, a pushbutton to initiate an alert or an intercom, either telephone-type or weatherproof speaker. To overcome voltage drop you could utilize a pair of small transformers to boost the voltage at the house and then lower it at the gate. This could give you all kinds of options including remote-controlled lighting, power gate operator, receptacle for yard tools or holiday lighting or other uses.
 
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Old 12-17-10, 07:18 PM
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Who would want a meter or a breaker panel at the end of the Driveway?
 
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Old 12-17-10, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Justin Smith
Who would want a meter or a breaker panel at the end of the Driveway?
Because when the driveway is 175 feet long it may be cheaper then 175 feet of wire from the house.
 
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Old 12-18-10, 04:40 AM
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If I chose to do something like that, I'd put in a separate meter/box because my driveway is 1/4 mile long, and as Ray says, cabling is expensive, plus 1/4 mile would probably require upsizing for voltage drop, conduit for protection, and junctions along the way, that, as you know must be exposed.
 
 

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