I want to run electricity about 1/2 mile from the main...How do I do it?
Answers:
2640' of #12 awg on 20 aqmp drops about 85 volts
480 volt 20 amp needs1/0
240 volt 20 amp needs 4/0
Other answers:
Ask the power company.
Ask the power company.
Call the power company, They have to install it. At little or no charge.
use a drop cord
A half mile of 220 volt run through 12 gauge should still sustain 100 amp service.
220 and a half mile of cable. Don't tell anyone what you are doing! ; )
Look toward the future. Go for 440
you will have a voltage drop, depending on the lenght of the line and the section of the wire. you better run higher voltage and transform it, if you can. I dont have the formulas at the moment, but you can easly find it in internet. Good luck.
The best thing to do is call an electrician. However, Yes voltage drop is a concern. 240 would require a larger wire size, but 480 would most likely require a transformer on the load end of the run. personally, I would run the 480 using a slightly larger wire size to allow for greater ampacity. this would allow for future expansion. As for wire size, get a copy of the 2005 National electrical codebook. It is quite difficult to understand, but it is well worth the effort. It contains tables for wire size, proper installation, and methods for installation. By the way, number 12 wire will NOT by any means handle 100 amps!! Please feel free to email me. Most answers above are wrong.
ONLY $3 per foot? Go with them! I'll avoid the actual math but think on this. Price the wire guage you need (I'll use the other persons research 4/0 for example). I believe it is over $2 a foot for standard and well over $6 fer foot for direct burial cable. The standard will require PVC pipe ran the distance and will also need at least 3 conductors(line, neutral, and ground) that is a mile and a half of wire to buy. Now how much is it to dig the trench? $18 per foot is cheap. A back hoe is $700 per day and this length i will guess take a min of 3 days. 2 days to run the pipe, and another 2 days to backfill. Or just 5 days for DB cable. Now who is goin to run the back hoe? Some guy $200 per day. If you were to pipe it then once the pipe is in then you need to pull the wire, buy a rope that will hold a min of 4 tons. Etc etc etc..... The list is longer but you get the point. Hire it out. Install a subpanel at the furthest point and you can do the work from there for future expansions.
stop asking stupid question oh yeah i'm reporting you