300 amp service

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Oakey

Oakey

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New Jersey
I am doing a 300 amp service on a new home.
The same customer also wants a 100 amp underground to his workshop, (about 175ft). Any suggestions about how to do this and 300 amp service tips/pricing would be REALLY appreciated. Last time I did one was years ago for my old boss. Pls come thru for me guys!
 
Oakey said:
I am doing a 300 amp service on a new home.
The same customer also wants a 100 amp underground to his workshop, (about 175ft). Any suggestions about how to do this and 300 amp service tips/pricing would be REALLY appreciated. Last time I did one was years ago for my old boss. Pls come thru for me guys!
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Well just sub feed the workshop from main panel. Figure material and labor and you should be good. Not hard.
 
What cut of the profit do I get?

First off 300 is an odd size for a residential service, why not a 320/400 with 2 200 mains? Then two subs for however many spaces you think you need, but why not 2 42's? (One for equipment and a 100 sub from that to the workshop. The other for lighting and outlet loads)

Personally I would make sure that you remove the digging from your contract - "Trenching by others i.e. NIC" Then specify that trenching be done to your specifications - "All trenches must be straight from point to point, >12" wide, and min. 40" in depth with sand bedding min. 4". (depth of finished trench 36"min.) See attached site plan (Page#) and review the following list of trenches required." Blah, blah blah... That gets you out of the digging variable.

Other than that it's a service like all the others.... (Well except for 250.32 and other applicable codes.)
 
e57 said:
What cut of the profit do I get?



Personally I would make sure that you remove the digging from your contract - "Trenching by others i.e. NIC" Then specify that trenching be done to your specifications - "All trenches must be straight from point to point, >12" wide, and min. 40" in depth with sand bedding min. 4". (depth of finished trench 36"min.) See attached site plan (Page#) and review the following list of trenches required." Blah, blah blah... That gets you out of the digging variable.
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Greater than 12 inches wide and 40 inches deep...you will not see to many trenches like that in lower NY, the expense for that size trench to run 1 raceway is extreme and here would most likely knock any contractor out of the bidding process for that job.
 
Good tip on the 400 I'll check it out. Is it possible to run the 100 amp to the garage out of the meter pan or I just makiing my like difficult..again
 
Oakey said:
Is it possible to run the 100 amp to the garage out of the meter pan or I just makiing my like difficult..again
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Sure, it's possible. This size meter can normally has (or can accomodate) double hole lugs. You'd just run 200 into the house, and 100 out to the garage. If I was doing it, I'd probably just set two, 200's in the house, and subfeed 100 out to the garage. I see this as providing the most flexibility for not much cost adder.
 
Oakey said:
Thx md!. Can I do 2-200's on a 300 amp main?
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On a 300 amp main what? If you're thinking of setting a 320 amp main disco, forget about it. You'll price yourself right out of the job. Run two seperate 200 amp cables or conductors in conduit to the meter can from each 200 amp rated regular panel. Take advantage of the 6 disconnect rule (in this case, two disconnects) and save a pile of dough. Also, get this "300 amp service" stuff out of your head, because what you're building is a 320 service, sometimes called a 320/400 amp service.
 
How about get the 320/400 meter pan installed, run the load side into a trough, and from there run a SE cable or conduit to a 200 amp panel in the house, and run a 1 1/4" pvc over to the garage. I always do it this way, and here we usually need to use disco's between the trough and panel, local juristiction, but im sure you'll be fine.
 
jamesguy10 said:
How about get the 320/400 meter pan installed, run the load side into a trough,...
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For the price of the trough and the bugs, you could have already gotten a panel and had more "slots" to boot. I guess it's just another approach, no better or no worse... just different.
 
Help

Help

Thx for replying to my post MD your input is especially well valued and respected .
Let me understand what you are saying..
Install 4 inch underground to a 320/400 meter pan, then 2 seperate runs inside the house to 2-200 regular main breaker panels? I am understanding with this scenario I need no disconnect outside as long as the runs are straight in. No ct cabinet is involved at all..Learning more everyday
 
jamesguy10 said:
How about get the 320/400 meter pan installed, run the load side into a trough, and from there run a SE cable or conduit to a 200 amp panel in the house, and run a 1 1/4" pvc over to the garage. I always do it this way, and here we usually need to use disco's between the trough and panel, local juristiction, but im sure you'll be fine.
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I believe I have seen it done this way also. Are you saying place a trough outside, bug off to the 2 locations and place a 200 main panel inside ? Just out of curiosity would I also need a disconnect for the garage also at this point?
 
Oakey said:
Install 4 inch underground to a 320/400 meter pan, then 2 seperate runs inside the house to 2-200 regular main breaker panels? I am understanding with this scenario I need no disconnect outside as long as the runs are straight in. No ct cabinet is involved at all..Learning more everyday
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Yup, that's what I'm saying. I'm not sure if you need 4" for the lateral, but your POCO might have rules on that. Truthfully, I'm not even sure if the 320 cans have a 4" knockout. I think they stop at 3", but I could be wrong. Yeah, I was saying to run two runs of 200 to two indoor panels. Same rules as any other service, except you're running two runs out to the meter can. Jamesguy was giving you another option of running a heavy feed from the laod side to a gutter inside, and drop out of that gutter to one or several panels. You can do that if you want to, but that's more how you'd approach light commercial and not really a resi type installation, in my opinion. If you said that this was a commercial install, my advice would be different, and I'd probably push for the trough type installation, and probably also advise to put a 400 amp main disco ahead of the trough. You can do that too, but it just gets way more expensive than most resi customers are willing to pay for.
 
Pierre C Belarge said:
Greater than 12 inches wide and 40 inches deep...you will not see to many trenches like that in lower NY, the expense for that size trench to run 1 raceway is extreme and here would most likely knock any contractor out of the bidding process for that job.
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It is not uncommon to request trenches wider or deeper, the example given was just a generalization. The example given was to take the digging variable out of the contract price, so as to remove the risk of loosing money on it. Then you are just bidding on the conduit and cabling. :wink:
 
Marc, most 320/400 meter mains have a 4". Personally an all-in-one is the way to go, as it would save a lot of hassle on the grounding and bonding - just my opinion though... Slap it on the wall - with some help of course it's gonna be heavy - and hook it up.
 
e57 said:
Personally an all-in-one is the way to go, .
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I think it's a geographic preference. As soon as you recommended an all in one (meter-main), I could have guessed one of two areas of the country where you operate. I guess one thing we can learn from this thread is that there's many compliant ways to approach the same installation. The budget, the type of occupancy, the amount of real estate available for electrical equipment, and any future plans all play a role in determining what equipment and methods you use. If I wanted a 320 all in one in my area, that would probably be a 2 week lead time to come from Milbank, as I'm nearly certain it's not in stock anywhere around here. I suspect that if I operated in Arizona, for instance, I could pick one up at the supply house.
 
e57 said:
as it would save a lot of hassle on the grounding and bonding.
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Before I ask about the grounding and bonding let me explain something.
I have had my license for 4 years now with 20 years experience and have only taken on jobs that I knew I could do quickly and get out fast. Bills ain't getting paid that way. This has limited my learning and hindered me a LOT. I have recently taken on a builder who has thrown everything at me I could imagine. Hence where I am today ..instead of pricing and getting it done, I am sitting here on a beautiful Sunday wondering. My way of catching up, or torturing myself I guess. No whining just explaining
Now how do I ground this service :grin: and thx for the patience
 
Oakey said:
Now how do I ground this service :grin: and thx for the patience
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Have you resolved an installation method yet? Exactly how you build this service, among all the compliant options, dictates how you'd approach the grounding situation for the most part. It's not especially complicated in any event, but you just have to pick a method first.
 
Is this installation in New Jersey? Who is the POCO? Before you start considering any of these service options you should check with the POCO. They may have restrictions on the size of service you're permitted to install based on your electrical demand.
 
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