I'm switching from a 100 to a 200 amp service. I'm going to lay new cable from the meter, 185 feet, underground, to the entrance of the house. I have a retired city electrical inspector (I'm out in the county where no inspections are required) that is going to do the connections and some inside work. He told me the other day that I needed to use #2 copper cable unless it was over 200 feet and then would have to go to #3 (or vice versa -- that's not the question) in schedule 80 EIGHTY!!! pipe. The question is, why copper instead of aluminum and why in the world he call for schedule 80??? I have cattle trucks, loaded 18 wheelers, run over schedule
40 all day long and never have a crack. The original wire is not in any pipe at all.If left to my own devices I'd just run 185 feet of whatever size cable required with no pipe. Is this guy doing some overkill here just to be on the safe side?