Wiring 240V pump
I’m working energy about 600ft on a 20A remoted circuit to a 240V, single section, 16A irrigation pump. Pondering I’ll use aluminum URD for direct burial.
I’ve run energy to sub panels earlier than, however by no means carried out an extended out of doors run on to a load.
When looking for cable, I can discover copper UF-B 6/2 w/ floor, however all of the aluminum URD is simply out there as triplex or quadruplex.
My query is, can I exploit triplex aluminum URD cable for this? Two wires as conductors, one as floor? Or do I would like a cable with designated floor?
Comments ( 6 )
You can use triplex. Ground lines don’t have to be as large as the current carrying conductors. Might check with the electrical supply house to see if they’ve got something like 2-2-6 with a smaller ground line to save a little money.
600ft… bury that shit deep or give it some protection, that seems like it’s asking to get cut someday unless it’s under a fence or something
So if I use 2-2-4 triplex can I use the yellow neutral wire as my ground?
Burying 24” and backfilling with some good fill dirt.
I don’t know about wire size on 600 feet. (I presume you’ve already got that covered) . I would use phasing tape on the yellow wire.. i.e. green electrical tape on both ends to designate ground.
You need at least a #4cu or #3al for your line to account for voltage drop at 600’. (Keep vdrop <3%) Ground wire should match the current on the line at 20a which is a #12cu or #10al. Your ground could always be larger if you are looking for a triplex cable. If you do grab a #4 triplex, just phase tape the 3rd wire green.
Not an expert but have you thought about voltage drop and cable losses on quite a long run? How often will it be running?
Thicker cables and or lower resistance copper will help with that. But its probably worth getting expert advice on what cable to use.