wire

ssarkas

Member
Oct 9, 2007
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i need to buy 7 rolls of #10 wire to connect my house to power lines. im not there to shop for it. anyone know how much it cost per 500ft roll. also need to have transformer to drop 220 to110 made. electricion said 4200 per roll and 7000 for transformer. thanks in advance
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
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i need to buy 7 rolls of #10 wire to connect my house to power lines. im not there to shop for it. anyone know how much it cost per 500ft roll. also need to have transformer to drop 220 to110 made. electricion said 4200 per roll and 7000 for transformer. thanks in advance
I can't help you with the pricing of the wire. As far as the 220 to 110 goes, what I have usually seen if the utility has 220 volts at the pole, is that there are three wires. One is a neutral, which is tied to ground (0 volts) at the main distribution box. The other two are each 110 volts from the neutral and are 220 volts from each other. The distribution box is set up so that if you plug a circuit breaker for a 110 volt circuit into it the circuit is connected to the neutral and one of the 110 volt legs (a 110 volt output) and if you plug a circuit breaker for a 220 volt circuit into it the circuit is connected to each of the 110 volt legs (a 220 volt output). So there is no need for a transformer. I?m curious what kind of load this house is going to have with a #10 feed, and how far it is from the utility pole?
 

gandolf50

New member
Apr 17, 2011
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The load might be very important here. If you need 7 rolls of #10 and then assuming you are 1700 feet or more from the pole you are going to have one hell of a voltage drop. With all the other electric issues that come with being in the DRyou do onot need to add another one.
 
May 29, 2006
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My best guess is at least a dollar a foot and prob more. A half mile to the nearest pole? #10 wire won't do it. It sounds like a major investment. You'd need a transformer on your end of the line and real power lines with poles. You'd be better off spending the money on a good planta and it would be more reliable. I'd suggest you consult a pro from outside the DR before going any farther. That sounds like a recipe for a fire.
 

ssarkas

Member
Oct 9, 2007
120
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have generator. would like street power mostly for lighting. possibly a fridge. many houses in my area use this system for all power. also have inverter. if power charges it great, if not i can charge with generator. electrician said he can bring 220 and reduce it to 110. said power drop from 220 will still give full 110. hope its true
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
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I agree with what the other guys are saying here. What you are going to install is a "service drop", as per the NEC standards here in the US the smallest size conductor allowed is a #4AWG on a 100A service. I don't know what it is in DR but I would at least invest in #6AWG if possible, you can even get Triplex cable (SE Cable) which is a gray cable with wires inside. With a #10 your voltage drop would be pretty big and also the likely hood that you can exceed that ampere rating of the wire is also high.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
163
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have generator. would like street power mostly for lighting. possibly a fridge. many houses in my area use this system for all power. also have inverter. if power charges it great, if not i can charge with generator. electrician said he can bring 220 and reduce it to 110. said power drop from 220 will still give full 110. hope its true
How far is your house from the utility pole?
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
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about 1500 ft.
Wow, that's far (see above post #3). You can google electrical voltage drop to get a better understanding of what you are up against.

A few examples of the maximum distance using #10 wire while maintaing a voltage drop of 3% or less.


A maximum distance of 343.076 feet will limit the voltage drop to 3% or less with a #10 Copper conductor delivering 5.0 amps on a 120 volt system.

A maximum distance of 171.538 feet will limit the voltage drop to 3% or less with a #10 Copper conductor delivering 10.0 amps on a 120 volt system

For Engineering Information Only:

30.0 Amps Rated ampacity of selected conductor

1.1417 Ohms Resistance (Ohms per 1000 feet)

0.05 Ohms Reactance (Ohms per 1000 feet)

3.5999999999999996 volts maximum allowable voltage drop at 3%
0.9 Power Factor
 

ssarkas

Member
Oct 9, 2007
120
2
18
no air cond. need for tv,fan or two,low energy lights,battery charger on inverter,water pump once a week for30minutes,thats about it. can run generator for pump and charger if need be. wire is stolen to often to invest in more than i really need. would love to use 6or8 wire but its like dangling a long gold chain.
 

ssarkas

Member
Oct 9, 2007
120
2
18
if i bring 220 to house and reduce it to110 will it give me full110? i realize the220 will drop quite a bit but will i still have enough to get 110?
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
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if i bring 220 to house and reduce it to110 will it give me full110? i realize the220 will drop quite a bit but will i still have enough to get 110?
Not using #10 wire. I did a quick calculation using one of the online programs. You will have a 12% voltage drop with a 10 amp load using #10 wire. So feeding a transformer with 180 volts will not give you an output of 120 volts.
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
1,378
89
48
I think you should save the money for the wire, and keep doing what you are doing now. This project isn't going to improve anything for you without spending a lot more money than a few spools of #10 wire. I can't see the power company taking the line loss on their side of the meter. So you'd be paying for twice the electricity that you use, and maybe meters stolen off the pole.
 

gandolf50

New member
Apr 17, 2011
157
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If you are worried about the wire being stolen, is it possible to bury it? In a pipe would make it even harder to steal and is likely worth the extra money. There are transformers called "Buck Boost" used in situtions like yours. They have various taps to increase the volatage anywhere from 5% to 20% depending on what you need.
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
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yahoomail.com
Can you move your house closer to the main road?



I think that might be cheaper!
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hammerdown

Bronze
Apr 29, 2005
1,466
107
63
why not buy some pvc (for conduit) and bury the wire in the ground,

although ccccccccccccc has a pretty good idea....lol
 
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
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There are also voltage elevators. Not that expensive, depending on the load you need. I have seen them "elevate" voltage from 80V to 120V. costs about 5-7K pesos for a regular household.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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There are also voltage elevators. Not that expensive, depending on the load you need. I have seen them "elevate" voltage from 80V to 120V. costs about 5-7K pesos for a regular household.
Wouldn't that be a voltage regulator?
 

ssarkas

Member
Oct 9, 2007
120
2
18
i know it sounds crude but many houses have a big ball of bare copper wire hanging in a corner. is that the elevetor? i think i maybe i am confused between transformer and elevator.