Power to water well, long distance
I have a water well out in the middle of a pasture feeding a stock tank. Currently it has windmill on it, but I need to run electricity out there and put a pump in the well to increase the water output. The pump will be 1-1/2 hp 240v. If there’s any juice left over I might want to have a worklight and one 110 outlet near the well, but not required.
The well is 500′ away from the nearest power line and 1200′ away from the meter pole on my barn. I see 3 options:
1/ Run power 1200′ underground from the meter pole on my barn. I have a 200a service at this pole and only 100a feeding the barn. What size wire would I need to do this?
2/ The power company charges $1200 to jump power across the road and set a transformer and meter pole just inside my property line. From the new meter pole I could run about 420′ underground to the pump. What size wire would I need to do this?
3/ Alternately I could let the power company do the whole thing – $1200 to cross the road and another $2800 ($7/ft) to run overhead lines out to the well site and set the new meter pole right next to the well.
I suspect option 1 or 2 will be cheaper because I can do most of the work myself, but I’m looking for your expert advice.
Any other advice that I should consider when contemplating this type of work is also welcome.
Thanks for you help -
Unless you have priced underground cable lately, you will be in for a shock. Aside from the cost of the cable (and you will have to run a 4 wire cable in order to have 120 volts) you have to rent a ditch witch to dig with, spend a day riding the thing, and don’t forget voltage drop calculations.
Go with the POCO offer at $1200. It will be done right, probably in a day and you are done.
