Installing electrical conduit and backfilling Trench. So close to being done with the solar project

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[@kd5inm]

Now use the tiller and bust up the soil and then pack it

[@randomposts5642]

Hey Evan, you should stop pointing out your mistakes, or your possible future mistakes! You are a very talented guy! You are working to forge a lifestyle that many of us wish we had the nerve to do. That means learning new skills and learning as you go. I’ve watched you fix tractors, fix hay equipment, install a fireplace in the barn, work problems with your pond, raise animals, clean barns, install a beautiful garden, etc. You make some mistakes because you have the guts to try! Keep up the great work! You’re a hero to countless armchair farmers!

[@nohphd]

Since you didn’t bury a sense wire in your trench, take an arial photo of the trench before the grass grows back in (including the house and shop in the frame) and print it out. At some point you (or your successors) are gonna want to know exactly where the buried conduit is and if there’s a paper copy in your important documents it’ll be great.

[@oxfletch]

Don't really need a sense wire if there's an electrical cable in there ... for water, yes.

[@gusfusses44]

you don't need an extra wire. the wire in the conduit works great for locating the conduit

[@nohphd]

@@gusfusses44 - Yeah, I made that argument recently with the permit inspector in my county. Guess who won the argument? I put in tracer cable 12” deep per spec…

[@gusfusses44]

@@nohphd If your AHJ requires it is a different argument. my comment wasn't addressing that. It isn't NEC for electrical conduit or at least it didn't used to be but it's definitely required for any fuel lines.

[@ourv9603]

Thats what I like about my clamshell bucket. When it is open I have a bulldozer blade. !

[@davidanderson2436]

If you can hard wire - hard wire - save Wifi for necessity - great video thanks

[@teenagefarmer]

Great work. Definitely think it was a good idea to run an extra conduit, while you were doing it. Looking forward to seeing what's next keep it up

[@bryanfunk4548]

Have your bucket filled with soil for wheel packing . Pump the water out of the trench before backfilling .

[@Flowing23]

Great work 👍👍

[@larrysmith2481]

What I say when I over fill is "It is Plumb...Plumb Full".

[@harlonlantz4094]

Evan, I think I would take up some of the porch boards to run the wire's, just a thought.👍👏❤️🙏

[@jvin248]

I like how easy that backhoe removal is.

[@howdyshaun6139]

Maybe could have backed in with the tiller and minced the dirt before pushing it in to break it up a bit? Looks like it worked out okay either way.

[@greghamann2099]

I never thought that this was achievable but you did it. I am so impressed.

[@duaneklein4924]

Looking good! Are you able to unscrew deck boards so you don’t have to crawl under your porch or are they nailed down? Sure love your little farmstead! You and Rebecca have such a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing it all with us. Great job!

[@gerardcudmore1556]

That was what I was going to suggest also .Lot easier then trying to get under.

[@Roxyboarder419]

I also came here to suggest removing deck boards.

[@gitatit4046]

@@Roxyboarder419 My thoughts as well. But he will likely remove the deck boards when he finds that copperhead under there anyway - from the bottom side.

[@bevnelson3678]

Awesome Even your getting it sorted all most done.

[@leol1682]

Very good job Evan you no wathe your doing man .have good evening .

[@Dan-qy1rg]

Good job on the back filling, I like the idea of using the red hazard tape a foot above the power line, good idea. Thanks Evan, have a good night.

[@ourv9603]

You should make a vid where you go over to your Dads show us around & intro your Dad to us. !

[@devanhedden777]

I worked as a residential electrician for 10+ years and have army crawled under many porches running conduit. It's not a fun job but will be well worth the time and effort. Beware of snakes and spiders this time of year! Love watching your videos keep up the good work.

[@sylviaprudhomme5417]

That was a big job. But you never stop😊😊😊p

[@paddyfitzpatrick4491]

Nice job, we done a similar one about 4 weeks ago using same size of conduit. Ours was for a fibre cable running from the phone company pole up the lane to the house it's about 180 metres. I installed an 8mm rope as I went and two inspection chambers about every 60 metres. Didn't think of the tape though that was a good idea. The lane seems to have settled now and we plan to finish it of with light stone and quarry dust rolled in.

[@douglasgatian1401]

good electrician always run spares!

[@realamerican6101]

I use a battery powered gas pump for my riding tracker when the gas can is to heavy.

[@jamesmorrison1884]

Looks great Evan have a good day.

[@mattpeacock5208]

That is VERY SMART! Once you've cut a trench, put in an extra conduit! Everytime, that will become usefull and if you don't you'll wish you did!

[@jakeschisler7525]

At tsc you can buy adapter fittings for the diesel can. On my tractor the tank is behind the seat so i use 2 sections of the pipe instead of a funnel.

[@troykelso]

Man, as soon as TYM moves the 2515's loader control to the fender, I'm in.

[@lymanharrold166]

Enjoyed your choice of background music while you were backfilling the trench.

[@shakes7333]

Being theres that much water in the ground and being close to your shop you may want to consider putting in a drain tile.

[@jja2085]

Well done,now I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

[@totherarf]

"Being done" with something has more than one meaning! I take it you meant that it was nearly complete? ;o)

[@steveb4992]

Great work as always! Can’t wait to see how the solar goes after using it a while!

[@paulborgmann6453]

Awesome video

[@miguelavelasquez8056]

Looks good Evan you did a great job on the back fill what looks to be the hardest part of the project is being under your porch be safe under there thanks for sharing

[@williamlillibridge6055]

Doing an Outstanding job, keep up the good work and keep all the great videos coming. A big thank you, from Casey Illinois.

[@Me-ov9nw]

Great goal accomplished!🎉

[@teenagefarmer]

3:32 there goes 20 dollars 😂😂 I do that all the time it seems like .

[@hombredeacero3131]

Nice job

[@nativeindian8672]

Use the tiller to break up clods hum

[@jimmykinsey9899]

i did something similar to that a few years ago and took an ariel photo with my drone and filed it so i would know exactly where i dug. just a thought

[@cooldog60]

You should have that tape about 6 inches down. When you have it that deep good chance you will be ripping up the conduit.

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Some people put the cable before clueing the pipes together

[@rogerr1296]

I don't know if my situation was different but, when I trenched for water and electricity to my shop, I had a low area close to the shop that ran about 30 or so feet and filled with water as quick as I dug it. After laying the conduit and pipe, I just pushed dirt in thinking it wouldn't be an issue but, man, it took quite a while for it to dry out and it was nothing short of a major sink hold for the longest time.

[@maryadams5898]

Way to go on the caution tape, I have made mention on several other people's vlogs that locate wires or caution tape would be good when future digging in the areas is needed. One's memory can only go so far.

[@davidkraft3690]

You are doing a GREAT job with bthis Solar install. Goor idea the warning tape. could save future grief . Also the spare conduit. - cheep insurance!

[@michaelharris1486]

Not sure why you did not fish the wire through the conduit before you laid it in the ground. Anxious to see how you do it. Also that is a great idea to run an extra conduit for future wiring. Thanks for video.

[@CountryViewAcres]

The conduit isn't finished, once it is complete at both ends I will pull it in. It won't be a big deal to pull it in. The conduit is oversized for 100 amp wire.

[@karenspeer7378]

So Exciting!! You are almost done!! Have a Great Evening!! 😀🌻

[@johnzink3309]

Thx

[@bobkelly2447]

I have never seen such clay before ! you have an abundance of clay there ! and clay is a commodity that is highly sought after ! I remember one patch of clay in our dirt road as a kid on the ranch that had a 5'x5' patch of white clay I dug up a 5 gal bucket full of it and screened it real good and made all kinds of clay things and took them to school and fired them there ! it was unique ! HA ! right there by the trench is a real good patch ! I wounder how much you could get for selling it by the pound ? it is rare to have such a good clay source ! hard to grow things in it though but you could dig it all up sell it and replace it with good soil ! HA!

[@harveystephens6115]

Cap 1” conduit at barn. Really don’t have to glue just put on all way. Keep water out of conduit

[@mattbenkovitz4970]

That caution tape in the trench is a great idea!👍

[@gbentley8176]

All the best jobs are in crawl spaces!! Good luck and thank you for posting. Love the way you chaps call soil dirt, too/ Best from green and wet UK.

[@geraldperez5985]

Hope you put a pull string in that 1 inch conduit.

[@andrewl7467]

When you were talking about your tape I was thinking to go to the compost pile and put a layer of heavy dark soil. That would be a good marker also. I bet you will be happy to have the other pipe in the ground.

[@derekadams729]

Hey Evan. I would have put a Rabbit wire in the conduit pipe for pulling the wires through. Great idea with the warning tape 1 foot above. Good job.

[@andyrobinson339]

Agree...and why would he not have pulled the wire through before burying the conduit? That way if he had any trouble he wouldn't have to dig the whole thing up? Crazy.

[@bobjoncas2814]

..GOOD JOB, KEEP SAFE...

[@davidgetchell3633]

Good day Evan, can you lift some of the deck boards so you can do the wiring without crawling under the deck ??

[@nirvanadev]

good lord , it's like the panama canal , you exaggerated it a little, lol

[@davidlopez9323]

Make sure u drop tape to warn there is electric when some one digs again!!

[@cgjamma]

Great work!

[@edsecorr7812]

Great job looking great keep up the good work love your videos thank you

[@jamesbyrne5734]

Have to say that’s a strong little tractor. Would be very happy to have one of those around the house . 🤗. Re laying conduit , I probably would have pull a draw rope through it as I assembled it and a spare rope with the cable later . And maybe a four inch spare conduit . 🤔. Maybe overkill but better than digging again . Great job digging for a first timer 👍🏻👍🏻

[@ronaldclemons5520]

Looking good🙂

[@marydanen5220]

Great job😉

[@ianhaggart1438]

Well done sir... lovely work as usual. Stay safe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@scottbalak7123]

that was really smart to put that second conduit. Nothing worse than having to dig it up again. I did a water line last year and had do go down 5'. Like you, I also used the tractor tire to compact the wet soil and I think it compressed it by about a foot. Little scary but it's effective.

[@henrymorgan3982]

Good job! Might be "easier" to take some slats off that deck to get the conduit connected to the house. Looks like fun otherwise!

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

Because you are planning to till the garden, why not clean the manure off that slab at the lower level of the barn and dump it right on your garden? The tiller will break the manure up real nice and combine it with the soil. Kill two birds with one stone! 😊

[@darrylhayes9066]

nice job Evan

[@rypkepaulusma]

Nice job. You might want to cover the conduit on top at the polebarn to prevent water raining into it. Ready for the next video!

[@w056007568]

I think that it would be most interesting to know eventually how much all this process has cost (because I think most folks are frightened to death of the initial capital costs and poor % return on capital) and are somewhat dubious about what the savings and/or income are say per month for a whole year as the panels output will fall significantly in the winter months and expenses (electricity usage) will rise at the same time. Afterall I suspect that many folks can see the benefit of a tractor driven generator when you lose power on those few occasions per year

[@glennstatham960]

Maybe next time you need to backfill a trench, rather than picking up dirt and trying to tip it into the trench, go to the other side of the trench and 'pull' dirt in with the back of the bucket?

[@jahn9960]

Paint your electrical conduit black going up the shop. It would blend in nicely and look like a gutter.

[@jameswalker4536]

I would make a rough drawing of the trench with measurements so would know exactly where it is! The caution tape is a great idea to keep anyone from digging thru it.

[@imhere9745Elaine]

Evan why not remove some of the boards on the porch do your work and replace the board's when you're finished with the installation!👍💕

[@stevendarden5026]

My Koiti tractor I dont have to remove anything to install the backhoe!! Just pull two pins. !

[@dyslexicsheeple931]

I used to do cable installation in my younger years. We would always put a rope or wire through the conduit to attach the cable for easier pulling. Unsure if you already did that before burying the conduit. Good luck in getting the wire from the barn to the house. Solar is the way to go for energy.

[@cousinrustyyall3071]

A shop vac will suck twine through, then just pull a pull-cable through with the twine.

[@mikeharris2985]

Use the backhoe to pack the back field

[@tylerbarrett6652]

Progress progress... nice to see another thing checked off your list. I'm eager to see you make the connection and then finish out the workshop area... you were planning on a butcher/shop canning kitchen area? Can't wait to see what you come up with!

[@bobkelly2447]

Hay Evan ! when your trying to get your wires through the 2" conduit use the shop vac and suck a small rope through the conduit first...and then attach the rope to the wires rather than try using a long fish tape.... a small ball that fits inside the 2" conduit will work real good for that... just drill a hole through the ball and stick the rope through and then tie a big knot on that end and then suck the ball through.... alot easier than trying to PUSH a fish tape through or wire.... pulling works alot better for long runs like you have.... just a thought !

[@CountryViewAcres]

i have shown the shopvac trick before, when I ran power to the workshop.

[@bobkelly2447]

@@CountryViewAcres LOL maybe that's where I heard about it ! HA ! cuz I've watched all your video's 2 or 3 times.... just waiting for the ones on the D-17 I love old tractors !

[@jdgibs3446]

Just thinking, a drone video of the electrical ditch may also be beneficial ? Looks good. Glad that you got it in...

[@jvin248]

I like your idea of caution tape over the conduit. Did you run paracord through the conduit to make it easy to chase wires back and forth (for now and the future)? Like one of those old time city clothes lines run between buildings.

[@jimjasper9314]

Take a few deck boards up and lay the pipe so you don’t need to crawl under it.

[@thtadthtshldntbe]

use your air compressor to blow out that line in case your joint seals on that conduit were not 100%. With the dirt back, the ground water should average out pretty soon to keep any future seepage at bay.

[@jeremycraddock4108]

With all that water in the trench yo maybe should have dug another trench down toward the pond and put in drainage.

[@waynemoureau5154]

It always takes more dirt to fill a hole or trench then what you take out.

[@tonytango6676]

Note that RJ 45 network cable is generally good for only 100 yards. I cannot tell if you are near that limit or not.

[@nohphd]

This 100 meter distance is strictly true in a shared broadcast network environment. Since modern routers are all switched Ethernet instead of shared, this rule is immaterial. Attenuation now becomes the distance limiting factor. More concerning is running Ethernet parallel to power cables. If the power is DC, no problem. If AC, then at the very least use shielded Ethernet cable. Even better would be to use fiber optics. At the apparent distances, multimode fiber optic is fine.

[@corydriver7634]

If I remember correctly I think he said in a previous video the distance was a little over 100 feet.

[@CountryViewAcres]

It ended up being 105 feet long trench

[@nohphd]

@@CountryViewAcres - at 105 feet plus say 20 feet extra on either end, you could use Cat5/6/whatever if you go the RJ45 route. Honestly, I’d just use a WiFi extender unless the shop construction causes problems. You can get 500 Mbps (simplex) throughput with WiFi. That being said, for ‘cable in the conduit,’ I’d be concerned again with inductive noise from the parallel power cable if the power cable is carrying AC. Also, over the long run, if any moisture gets into the conduit you could have corrosion-based failure with copper network media. Finally, copper media exposes you to some potential ground loop problems and a tiny lightning vulnerability. For cable in the conduit I’d personally go with MMF (multimode fiber) even though upfront the costs are higher and matching the MMF ends with optical ports on your end devices is a massive PITA. I’m using Mikrotex devices because of reasonable device costs, good tech support and a wide variety of interface availability including various MMF connector types. You might need a network weenie assist you configuring the Mikrotek devices though. They are made in Latvia, not Russia.

[@tonymcveigh8789]

You should add some Gypsum to the clay

[@mikeduda3173]

Evan, instead of climbing under the porch to finish running the conduit, why not just unscrew 3 or four deck boards and work from the top. Just a thought

[@CountryViewAcres]

The deck was built before the walls. I think some of the screws are covered.

[@dylanvanduzer1302]

When are you going to finish the allis chamber tractor

[@CountryViewAcres]

@@dylanvanduzer1302 not sure. Whenever I get free time.

[@jimg8218]

How long will it take to break ecen on your complere solar project before you really start saving ?

[@tonymcveigh8789]

Undo the floor boards make it easier

[@sandypratt8951]

❤️👍👍👍

[@philswords6390]

Was porch deck nailed or screwed. Might unscrew a few boards. Screws are easier removed than nails in my mind.

[@jimbo16720]

Could never figure out why you don't pull the wire before you bury the conduit incase you have trouble.

[@andyrobinson339]

Because "common sense" is neither!

[@barrytipton1179]

This information is too late now . In Uk in 1990s thousands of miles of cable for tv and internet etc were fitted they used bury the conduit with cheap polypropylene rope to make it easier pull cable through I got loads free they only used it one time gave my farmer friends plenty. I still got a bit knocking about

[@patrickwiklund2039]

👍

[@andyshap]

I haven't seen the dogs in quite a few videos, are they ok?

[@lawrencelipon8673]

👍👍👍👍👍👌

[@Billelwick]

Why don’t you put a pull cord in the conduit for later add on wires?

[@MRcrem1]

When you’re all done, could you do a estimated pay back. How long to break even?

[@CountryViewAcres]

I will, once I see the true performance of the solar panels.