# Just Starting a New Project



## SteveBayshore (Apr 7, 2013)

First order of PVC arrived, 8,000 feet. Starting first duct-bank. Hoping to have enough time to keep updating. Existing structure that you see is being demolished.


----------



## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

I was curious at first, the stuff in the ground looks white in the picture... these big construction projects are really neat.


----------



## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

Big Gulp cups work well as daily debris plugs.

Had a conduit that someone decided to glue a aluminum soda can into for kicks. He was stupid and bragged about it at the local bar. He got to pay for the incident. 

Good looking installation.


----------



## Buck Parrish Electric (Jan 8, 2021)

SWDweller said:


> Big Gulp cups work well as daily debris plugs.
> 
> Had a conduit that someone decided to glue a aluminum soda can into for kicks. He was stupid and bragged about it at the local bar. He got to pay for the incident.
> 
> Good looking installation.


Years ago a guy stubbed up 90s with nothing attached on both ends. The boss thought he had got a lot done that day.


----------



## gpop (May 14, 2018)

Our specs would have called for first corner and 18" above finished grade in pvc coated, 4" of 57 stone, 4" of sand compacted, staggered joints, 4/0 ground wire, another 4" of sand, buried pipe tape and compacted fill that passes a compaction test. Then we have to pull a mandrel while the inspector watches.

And they wonder why its so expensive to install underground.


----------



## SteveBayshore (Apr 7, 2013)

Trenches are back filled with crushed stone millings (dust) and compacted. Finished grade is 4' above what you see as grade now. Top of yellow concrete forms in the background will be finished grade. Grounding; so far we have (18) 3/4"x10' copper clad ground rods and home run ground cables as required by the plant OEM. Black lines on attached plan shows OEM requirements. They would not budge on their spec. Colors are my notes for the UFER system that we install for the site to connect to all of the pile caps, foundation rebar mats and equipment weld down plates in-bedded in the concrete. Have 4000' of 4/0 bare copper installed so far and just ordered another 1000', hopefully to finish the last foundation. Everything Cadwelded.


----------



## gpop (May 14, 2018)

That's a bunch of copper at least the print makes sense.
I have one coming up where they want a fence grounded to the same spec's as a sub station fence. No exposed conductors in the area just 2500' of chain link fence with 2 gates.

I tried to point out this is overkill but its what they want so its what they will get.


----------



## Slay301 (Apr 23, 2018)

gpop said:


> Our specs would have called for first corner and 18" above finished grade in pvc coated, 4" of 57 stone, 4" of sand compacted, staggered joints, 4/0 ground wire, another 4" of sand, buried pipe tape and compacted fill that passes a compaction test. Then we have to pull a mandrel while the inspector watches.
> 
> And they wonder why its so expensive to install underground.


That’s nuts


----------



## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

Sounds like someone does not understand grounding. I have seen and installed similar but in areas of granite and rock with very little soil. A good ground resistance test in the beginning can save several hundreds of pounds of bare copper in the ground. 
This kind of installation is very typical of an engineer that is seeking less than 5 ohms to ground.
Or as it is called on the prints locally performance grounding. 
One engineering firm puts out jobs for ground mounted transformers using pole mounted specs.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

SteveBayshore said:


> First order of PVC arrived, 8,000 feet. Starting first duct-bank. Hoping to have enough time to keep updating. Existing structure that you see is being demolished.
> View attachment 159485
> View attachment 159484


That duct bank is $100 per foot for just the PVC. That uses to be the price of rigid conduit.


----------



## SteveBayshore (Apr 7, 2013)

SWDweller said:


> Sounds like someone does not understand grounding. I have seen and installed similar but in areas of granite and rock with very little soil. A good ground resistance test in the beginning can save several hundreds of pounds of bare copper in the ground.
> This kind of installation is very typical of an engineer that is seeking less than 5 ohms to ground.
> Or as it is called on the prints locally performance grounding.
> One engineering firm puts out jobs for ground mounted transformers using pole mounted specs.


We welded the most of the 200+ pilings (12"x12" steel girders driven 85' down to bedrock) to the rebar in the poured concrete pile caps and foundations for our UFER grid. The OEM engineers would not accept that as a good enough system.


----------



## SteveBayshore (Apr 7, 2013)

Southeast Power said:


> That duct bank is $100 per foot for just the PVC. That uses to be the price of rigid conduit.


Don't remind me. When I started in 1971 PVC wasn't even in the NEC. Every project was rigid.
Eight of the ten 4" conduits will have 600 kCMIL copper conductors. I just paid close to $5.00 a foot for the 4/0, hate to think what the 600 are going to be.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

SteveBayshore said:


> Don't remind me. When I started in 1971 PVC wasn't even in the NEC. Every project was rigid.
> Eight of the ten 4" conduits will have 600 kCMIL copper conductors. I just paid close to $5.00 a foot for the 4/0, hate to think what the 600 are going to be.


I just paid $13.50 per foot for 500s, 600s are just under $17 per foot.


----------

