anyone run electric to their coop? How hard is it to do?

[thetajmahalcoop]

I had a nice new coop built out back this summer and am wondering how hard it is to run electric out there? I live in a log cabin and have an electrical outlet outside the back door, I've just been running a cord out there all winter which is less than ideal I know I know. I'll have someone do it for me come spring time but am just wondering how much work that is and how long it will take someone to do? one day? more? I have underground electric and know nothing about that type of stuff, can anyone give me a rough idea of how it would get done? Thanks in advance!

 

[Chickenaddict]

I don't realy have a clue as to how hard it is but I imagine you would have to dig a trench in the ground from the house to the coop. I did mine the way you are now with just a cord running from the outside of the house to the back patio where the coop is. We will be building a new coop out back and plan on running electricity out to it too.

 

[KMHunter]

I will keep an eye on this thread too. My dad is going to help me run eclectricity to my coop and shed this summer. He is an electrician, and said it is easy. But I don't know how it's done other than you connect a cable to the box and dig a trench up to where you want it, then put in an outlet somewhere.

 

[Briyon]

It is not hard at all. I ran electric to mine when I just had the foundation done. I have two outlets and a light in my coop. If you are having someone do it you can probably save quite a bit of the expense by digging the trench yourself (check your local codes for how deep it should be buried) and buying the romex (I would run 10/2 romex) and running it from the house out to the coop. Make sure you leave enough wire at the coop and at the house. If an electrician just has to come out and drill a couple holes and hook up to an existing line or run a separate circuit it shouldn't cost too much money. You may want to have an electrician come out, tell you how they would hook in, tell them you will do the trenching and get the wire and have them give you an estimate. A licensed electrician can also tell you how deep you need to bury the wire. Typically it is a minimum of 18 inches deep.

Brian

 

[Opa]

Quote:
Obviously you will need to dig a trench but it doesn't need to be very deep of wide. You can purchase a wire that is called direct burial that can be placed directly into the trench. However, the best method and safest would be to use PVC electrical conduit. It comes in 10' lengths and a variety of sizes. 1/2 " would be sufficent for your needs. You should also purchase elbows and fitting to fascilitat taking it from the ground into your building. The instead of using romex wiring you would use 3 stranded wires in different colors (positive, neutral, ground). Additionally, you will find it easier to slide the wires through the conduit if you install wire before joining.

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

wow i speak two languages but apparently I need to learn a third... "electrinese" LOL! thanks for the replys, we have a friend who's a jack of all trades, funny enough his name IS jack..but working with electricity is his specialty, so knowing the above stuff helps! Thanks! now about running warm water and a 24 continuous live camera feed out there............. ;-)

 

[B'villechicken]

The underground wire is called UF wire. Home Depot/Lowe's carries it in various sizes (gauges). You will need to tell your "Jack" what you are planning to run from the electric in your coop. He can tell you what size to buy. The hard labor is the most costly of any job. He can tell you where and how deep to dig the trench and come by to hook up both ends saving you alot in terms of money. If you already have an outside outlet, he may be able to tap into that depending on the amount of electric you need. Hope this helps & good luck. David

 

[QuailHollow]

.... We have electricity run to our coops. The main line comes into our first coop from the garage. After that, it splits to the other coops via conduit and extention cords. Very safe, I know!

Talk to DH! lol

ETA: DH did this. I have no idea about terms and such. I take care of the birds. He takes care of my complaints.

(That's how I got my freeze-proof hydrant, too!)

 

[wood&feathers]

All great advice. Something you can do for now to protect your wire is run it through plastic pipe or old garden hose. I know extension cords can take a beating on the ground, especially when we can't see them in the snow. The old hose is tougher to use, since the pull string is harder to fish through and its hard to get the plug to feed unless yours is removable.

 

[CARS]

You talk about wanting water and close-circuit t.v. out there... Now is the time to do it. Your trench will just have to be a bit bigger and deeper than it would for electrical only.

I like the idea of running it in conduit. You could always fish additional wires (circuits) in the future. In fact, I am sure electrical code will require you to have one circuit for outlets and a separate one for the lights. Don't underestimate how much power you will need. Assume that you are going to double your capacity NOW and it will save you headaches down the road.

You can let Jack do all the work, but I would have it inspected. Wouldn't be good if your insurance company inspected or worse, had to do a fire claim and your electrical is all botched together causing them to drop the claim.