Temporary service being setup for cabin

Howdy, Hopefully I can explain this properly...we are in the pre build stages of having a 40 x 16 cabin built on our lake property. The cabin is one that can be hauled and delivered however due to the location and terrain, it's being built on location.
In speaking with the power company rep, once I told them it was a normally prefabbed unit but was being built and set permanent, they said they won't do a permanent service drop and it will be a temp service, however it can remain forever as far as they are concerned. ....so it will most likely be a 100 amp temp drop to a pole on the lot. I had planned for 100 amp conventional electric inside the cabin but unless I win my plea this friday, it's gonna be temp.
How can I go about plugging in my cabin so to speak? Is there a 100 amp receptacle I can put on the post and then plug into when we are there to supply 100 amps to a normal breaker. .sub panel inside the cabin? I need a few circuits so I want to retain an array of breakers. Anyone dealt with this mess before? I really need to know my options before I meet with them Friday in case this is a deal breaker.
thanks for your time!

 

Welcome to the forums.

The power company won't supply power directly to your house but they'll give you power on a pole. That should work ok.

You would have the meter and a 100A disconnect on the pole. You can run from there underground in PVC to your cabin where you have a sub panel.

 

For my cable from cabin am I just connecting to the output of the disconnect then?

 

Yes......... that is correct.

 

Mobile homes are set up that way, with the meter and disconnect on the pole. Technically your place will be set up as a "mobile" home, since it really was originally intended to be that. You won't win an appeal, and the set up is perfectly normal.

 

This is a completely normal service installation method. I'm sure they mean it's a pedestal service mounted to a permanent pole, not a temp service which is installed for a few months on a construction site usually mounted on a fence post or tripod of 2x4s. Once the service is set on the pole or pedestal, you can run 100A 4 wire mobile home feeder cable (MHF) underground from the pole to the main panel in the house. The cable should be 24" deep if directly buried or 18" deep if pulled through 2" PVC conduit. At the very least conduit sleeves must be used from the bottom of the trench up to the panels for protection of the cable. You will need ground rods driven at the pole/pedestal and at the house, bonded to the ground bars of the respective panels with bare #6 copper wire. The "main" panel inside the house will need to have electrically and physically separate ground and neutral bars which may require buying a ground bar kit and removing a bonding screw or strap from the neutral bar.

 

Not an electrician but,

Wouldnt two rods be a saftey hazard? Isnt one only needed at the main drop?

And since the drop is bonded the panel in the house does not get bonded.

Not sure if you said bond both in one sentence above. But then state to remove from house panel here.. Just asking is all

And woulnt you treat this as a manufactured home? Like a travel trailer say?

 

You need one grounding system per building / foundation which are bonded to the ground bar in the building's main panel. In this case, the pole counts as a foundation for the service main panel and meter. I assume since this cabin is built on site it will have some sort of foundation which means it should have it's own ground rod as well. If it is something floating like a travel trailer you would not necessarily need a ground rod at the mooring location, but it also couldn't hurt.

The bond between the neutral and ground, which I think you were referring to, happens only in the first panel after the meter. In this case that should be in the 100A disconnect on the pole. All the panels after that one need 4 wire feeds and separated ground and neutral bars.

 

Thanks for all the input guys, this now sounds like it will be wired the same as my subpanel in my shop then for the most part. I was wondering in reference to the disconnect having a ground that had been mentioned...is that normal for them to have a ground lug I can run bare copper off of to the rod or do I need to plan on some reworking to make that part happen.

I also have about 120 feet of tri-plex that was feeding my house before the power company put up the wiring for 200 amp service. The power guys dropped the line and asked if I wanted it so being the pack rat that I am, I said sure. My wife wanted to roll it up and with the aluminum "support" wire, it wouldn't roll up well so she literally spent 2 hrs unrolling and separating the wires and rolling them up neatly....good wife there! I was pretty happy with it as it was in a big mess lol. So, assuming that wire is in good shape, which it appeared to be but I would want to inspect it before hand, is there any reason I can't use it to supply my panel and also use out on the "temp service" pole for Power folks to connect to? I would be running it in conduit under ground.

 

The old triplex is pretty much only good as scrap metal at this point. If rebraided it could be used for an outdoor overhead main service only. Usually the power company supplies this. The feed between the panel and the cabin must be 4 wires and cannot have a bare neutral. MHF - mobile home feeder is really the ideal product in this case. It can be used underground, above ground, indoors and out.

 

OK, thanks! I will check into the MHF once I get the info from the power folks Friday. This actually had me kinda torqued at first but honestly I am not worried so much at this point, actually makes the wiring to the panel in the cabin easier as far as trying to deal with wiring and conduit and can on the outside wall etc. This will keep me from putting mast thru the roof and a couple other appealing things and I can lock out the power when we arent around so other than the suckage of having a 4 foot hole augered out in the rocky ass ground, I think this is gonna be just fine.

 

Howdy gang, Well I am happy to say we got our pedestal built, can installed and conduit trenched and cable pulled and most important of all....we passed inspection for the power companies side. I do have a quick question in regards to using MHF cable. We have 200 amp to the can, and a 200 amp panel that goes into cabin. It had been suggested by a friend that I run 4/0 4/0 2/0 #2 from cabin to pedestal but I am quickly discovering that combo is very hard to find in my area, what I find is 4/0 4/0 2/0 #4. Would it be acceptable for me to go with the URD with #4 as opposed to the #2? If not then I am going to need to get a separate #2 cable and run it with the URD.

 

Glad to hear it's coming along well. Either 4/0-4/0-2/0-4 or 4/0-4/0-4/0-2/0 would be the correct size for a 200A feeder from the can to the building panel. Take note however that URD cannot enter a building unless it also has an RHW rating. Plain URD is outdoor, underground use only. Other cable types like MHF can enter the building.

 

I suspect I misspoke there...the 4/0 4/0 2/0 -4 is MHF. Thanks for the info! I am not sure why my electrician friend said to use the #2 for ground, maybe just overkill.

 

I have one more question that I need to pose for my own sanity. My install uses a can and main combo on a pedestal outside. I got word today that the power company has hooked their side up so I am live to the meter now. I have not ran from the main to the cabin yet which I don't see as an issue since I have a main breaker in that can but I'm seeking assurance. ...that neutral bar is running from their meter side and down into my side...do I need to perform my wire hookup in any certain order? Ground and neutral first etc? I assume with all things being correct on a new install and the main being off, I just need to be smart enough not to let a wire get away from me and get into the top part of the box where it's hot or touch the input lugs on my main breaker etc.
Looks like I am dang near having power to the cabin here pretty quick like. I sure appreciate everyone's patience and guidance with helping. The Internet is a wonderful thing when used correctly lol.

 

You don't need to hookup the wires in any particular order. Yes just be careful not to touch any exposed live parts. The power company should have sealed the meter portion of the box when they hooked up, so avoid the lugs on the hot side of the main breaker.