Running Triplex indoors

[fred.flintstone]

Just curious. I want to run power to a trailer house that I use for storage. The nearest building is the barn. I'll be putting a post next to the trailer and run triplex from barn to that post. But the breaker box is on the opposite side of the barn. The barn is 60 feet long, so that means at least 75 feet with the run from ceiling to the box, plus connection ends. That heavy cable is not cheap. I have enough (used but good) triplex to go from the pole to the barn, and all the way thru the barn to the breaker box. Is there any reason *not* to use the triplex indoors? (I can run it thru gray plastic PVC conduit indoors). That way I wontr even have to splice it at the top of the barn, just connect it to the building via an insulator, and run the rest thru the wall and in to the barn, with a weather head and drop loop to keep water from following the wires inside.

I've never seen it used indoors, but it should be just as good (if not better) than heavy duty romex type cable or single wires inside conduit.

[RBM]

To some degree, it could be, but it can't be run in walls, or touch the structure or pipes. If you're using it as a feeder, you'll also need an insulated neutral, even outdoors

[TimR]

I don't know code.

I do know that when triplex has been yanked off my house by a storm and/or tree limbs it did considerable damage. I'd be careful where I routed it inside the barn and how I connected it and managed strain relief.

[Randy333]

Most tri-plex is small, they down size the conductors and up the amperage because they are conductors in free air to cool them. Not allowed at all indoors IIRC. If you do use it, rate them as if it were aluminum "romex".

Remove 333 to reply. Randy

[fred.flintstone]

That's odd. My farm as well as every other farm in the area has triplex used as a feeder and the neutral is bare.

Unless I'm not understanding your use of the word "feeder". What I have (and mostly all farms), is this. The pole transformer has large triplex that goes to another pole. It enters conduit and goes down the pole to a meter is on that pole. Below the meter is a box with the MAIN disconnects for the entire farm, and includes a grounding rod. Wires then run up the pole again, in another conduit. From there, several overhead triplex cables go to different buildings. Each building has it's own main disconnect as well as the smaller breakers. In my case, there are four overhead cables coming from that meter pole. 1. The house, 2. the main barn 3. the garage, which also sub-feeds to a smaller barn and a work-shed 4. goes to a pole that used to feed a grain bin. That bin has been removed, but the wires go to a small outdoor breaker box on the pole with a GFI outlet under it (used in winter for a livestock tank heater).

None of these overhead triplex cables have insulated neutrals.

Of course, this is old wiring. The most recent was installed in the

1990's, some is older. There were actually two more overhead cables when I bought this farm. They were just dead ended, because they fed buildings that had been demolished. The power company said they had to be disconnected at the meter pole. Since they were being disconnected, I removed them from the poles. (that is the wire I now have to be used).

Every farm has a similar setup around here..... Of course I suppose these are "grandfathered" older systems. Seems all the new farms put all the wiring underground now....

[gfretwell]

You are right, this is a new rule. There is nothing wrong with the may poles you have at a farm but they changed 250.32(B) and require a 4 wire feeder to remote building.

It could be argued that this is not a building fed by another building so 250.32 (B) does not apply.

Just be sure you create a good grounding electrode system at the barn. If you are building the barn, use a Ufer ground. Bond to the rebar in the footing and the floor. Bring out a #4 solid and attach that to your disconnect grounding bus.

[fred.flintstone]

That's what I plan to do. Put the pole by the trailer, install a disconect box, ground rods, and 240 outlet as they do at all trailer parks. This was not meant to be a costly operation, simply for a storage trailer.

[Evan]

Why not locate this "storage trailer" near the pole with the breaker box already on it where the "grain bin" used to be ?

Hmm, then you need no new feeder wires and would just be reconfiguring the outlets from that existing breaker box...

That sounds to be the cheapest option to me but other than being informed of your situation by the brief descriptions you have offered here it is difficult to tell if this solution would best fullfill your needs...

[fred.flintstone]

Good idea, but the trailer is already set on blocks and all of that. Plus that spot where the grain bin used to be, becomes a steep hill right behind where the bin was, and in front of it, is the roadway to the property and neighbors place (shared road). There's just not enough room there. Thanks.

[Evan]

Ah, so this is more of coping with a project begun without planning and your seeking support for your idea to redneck engineer it together at the location where the trailer has already been located, rather than asking or thinking about where it could go with a small bit of forethought... Gotcha...