It’s been quite a while since the last update. Things have been so busy lately that I’ve put off updating for quite a few months now. Last week, between my normal job and property work, I put in over 90 hours for the week! Needless to say, there hasn’t been much time to devote to keeping this site up-to-date.
Partly it was also because the utility line installation was a long-term task. As this goes to print, there are still a few tasks remaining to complete. Back last summer in July, I started trenching for the utility lines. Starting from the water tank, I trenched down the water tank pad, across the round-a-bout, down a steep cut slope, across the pad, down the pad fill slope and then over to the nearest utility pole. All together it was about 600′ and took about 60 hours to trench. The ground was hard – I went thru 1 & 1/2 sets of cutting teeth on my 24″ bucket!
First, water lines were installed at the bottom of the trench. I installed a 2″ line for standard water usage and a 4″ line for fire supply. The fire supply line was mostly future thinking in case I install an accessory structure further away from the the water tank (every structure is required to have a fire supply in my county). I did, however install a couple tee-offs for 2-1/2″ fire riser valves.
The county fire department requires that we have at least a 4″ line going to a 4″ NH spigot with a reducer down to 2-1/2″. Earlier last year I found a used fire hydrant for sale for $160. Our local well pump repairman had a riser stand that fit the flange pattern of the hydrant. I was able to weld a 4″ pipe into the flange adapter and install the whole setup near the edge of the round-a-bout. All said and done, I was able to save a little bit over a stock 4″ valve and the hydrant looks far more “professional”.
Once the water lines were installed, I back-filled approximately 12″ of covering dirt and then installed the gas line and electrical conduit. Between where the house will be and the pump house, I installed 1″ conduit with #10 AWG wire cable for 220v for the pressure pump as well as an additional #10 AWG cable for 120v for miscellaneous electrical supply near the water tank as well as (presumably) future yard lighting and a gate opener.
The main electrical supply to the house consisted of three 350MCM aluminum conductors and a 1/0 aluminum ground conductor which required a minimum of a 3″ conduit and a pull-box mid-way. I fabricated the pull box from CMU blocks and poured a concrete top.
Selecting the correct electrical current supply rating for the house was a bit of a challenge in economics since the utility drop pole was located over 400 ft away. Eventually, I settled on a 125A supply at a 3% voltage drop – doable with the 350MCM aluminum conductors. The 350MCM wire can handle 200A with slightly less than a 6% drop, in the unlikely event that a very heavy load is used, so I purchased 200A-rated breakers for the main panel on the drop pole.
I just finished running the wire prior to leaving for North Carolina in October for a month. After I returned, much time was spent in other matters alluded to elsewhere for most of November. In December, I was able to run 1-1/4″ polyethylene gas line from the propane tank location down to the house. At only a 200 ft. run, the size is larger than it needs to be, but I wanted to be sure there was capacity for future expansion without needing a high pressure regulator.
For fittings and risers for the gas system, I used the Home-Flex brand. While they worked, I found it really difficult to stop all the leaks. The seal on the fittings seats against on the outer surface of the polyethylene pipe. Any scratches in the pipe virtually assures that there will be a leak in the system. At several places, I had to buff scratches out of the pipe around the seal areas by hand with a rag for hours before they would stop leaking! In case you’re wondering, yes the mechanical engineer in me was grumbling about bad design, but it worked in the end.
I was surprised to read in the UPC that it only calls out a positive pressure test using a pressure gauge to determine leakage. While I can understand the ease of this type of test, it isn’t an effective detection method for any but the largest leaks. The leakage rates from the scratches were so small that it took days to register a decrease on my pressure gauge. I ultimately tested all the connections with a bubble leak test which was also handy for diagnosing exactly which connection was at fault.
After installing the gas line, I called for an inspection from the County. The inspector came out in late December, noted a couple deficiencies that needed to be corrected (needed two ground rods instead of one) but signed off the work.
The back filling and compaction process lasted approximately six weeks into early February. I don’t have great memories of this step. Some areas, especially the slopes were not very accessible by tractor once the dirt was piled on either side which necessitated a lot of shovel work. Those 24″-wide trenches contain a lot of dirt!
Running the utilities was a lot of work but I’m thankful for the opportunity to be able to work with my hands and build something that will be useful long into the future (I hope). God is and has been good to me. He has blessed me very much to be able to work on land development!
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid...for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. - Deut. 31:6
