Our Biggest Lesson Yet: Build To Code and Then Some | Building Our Off-Grid House (BY Hand)

#DIY #Offgrid #House #Build #Solar
Hey y'all, Justin and Lilly here,
This week we wrap up the Well Pump saga and restore continuous running water so we can get back to work on our off-grid house build.
Last week, we determined that our EG4 Solar Inverters were grounded due to a short circuit in the Well pump wire, somewhere underneath the ground. This left us with two options: dig up 200 feet of existing wire and try to repair the wire, or run a new wire.
Running the Well Pump off the generator at night has allowed us to have fresh water for us and the animals, cook and shower, and do a load of laundry. That is only a temporary solution though and we need to get the wire repaired permanently so we can focus on the house.
We dug our first trench by hand to save money, and direct buried the wire 24" Deep underground per code. For the sake of time, we decided to rent a trenching machine and run a new line. This time, we are paying extra to protect the wire by running it through 3/4" electrical conduit.
As usual, the whole family pitches in and we work together as a team to finish running the new wire and get the Well back up and running.
Of course, no project on the homestead would be complete without getting a machine stuck and this project is no exception. Justin got the trenches stuck and had to fire up the tractor and use the tractor backhoe to help free the trenches.
We also have a slight setback when uncovering the septic line. We accidently hit the 4 inch septic pipe too hard with a shovel which caused a hairline crack. That will be the next project on Justin's long to do list around the homestead.
The day goes by fast and we lost sunlight. Justin finishes up the electrical wiring at the breaker panel and manages to get the pump up and running just in time for the bed time routine.
After all the hard work, the last step is running caution tape and back filling the trench to cover up the conduit.
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[@billiehuskins8129]

You're good parents to let the boys get involved. It makes them feel worthwhile they will be a big help in just a few years

[@DIY_or_DIE]

That is the goal!

[@tacker77G]

Love the Mike Mulligan reference...my favorite book as a child...and I'm 65

[@DIY_or_DIE]

😄 we love that book and have read it to all our kids.

[@aaronwarner2762]

Putting the caution tape down first before final backfill was flipping brilliant!!! Gonna do that next time if there is one for me.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Hope you never have to do that haha

[@TopDedCenter1]

Dare I say it? ... 'WELL' done! :)

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Best comment!

[@joeclark9042]

Good job Josh I see you have a good little helper there with you he does a fine job he's going to be as smart as you when he gets older so keep up the good work brother you did good I wish I was there for a week to help you

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks, we really appreciate your support 🙏 We want our kids to be involved in the whole process so they can learn as we go 😊

[@LineUpTheStars]

Oh man, you guys really went through it! There’s nothing like losing power or water to keep you from home building. We know that “well” 😅😂

[@DIY_or_DIE]

At least we weren't in freezing temps!

[@LineUpTheStars]

@@DIY_or_DIE That does tend to make things feel a whole lot worse 😂

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Especially for a native Floridian 😄

[@Maxify08]

*Ya can't have too many supervisors. *I see that yours are about as skilled as most.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

😄

[@SunraeSkatimunggr]

Nothing like going without to make you appreciate what you have.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

You got that right!

[@robinpearson4583]

Guys, Its probably too late, but next time you have to feed mains cable through conduit, it would be much better to unroll the cable, rather than pulling the cable off in loops. Just a little tip for future wiring projects. Regards Robin.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks for the tip!

[@user-kf9fv1qj9u]

Great video

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks for joining us 😊

[@loucinci3922]

Super smart choice to run yellow caution tape on top of trench. Next time you dig there you will not have trouble. AWESOME!!

[@TheGuruStud]

Code is 50% bloat. Never.

[@curtisbartle4381]

Good Job My Tip Build Well House Wire A Light To The Pressure Switch That Way You Will Know When The Pump Is On

[@DIY_or_DIE]

That is a neat idea 💡

[@kennethhudson8013]

​@@DIY_or_DIEyou are in what state, sir?

[@loucinci3922]

Super Smart choice to rent the trencher. Save so much time. Nice fix.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

It was soo much faster than digging by hand haha

[@donaldfoltz4649]

Certainly glad you got that fixed, now on with the house!

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Yes, we are glad to move back to the house build! Hopefully bo more surprises for a while 😄

[@AdamDeLay07]

You made the right call getting the trencher instead of using the backhoe. Significantly faster and much smaller of a trench. Conduit just makes things so much simpler in the long run. Good call! Thanks for sharing! FLOORS NEXT!!!!

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Yes! We are so ready to see the floors going up!

[@RickMatheny-yi4pg]

As we go through this life we will have problems come up, but with some sort of knowledge and experience we will make it. God bless your family.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

God is good, we are very blessed, thanks! 😊

[@paulharbron5235]

Hey guys, great job getting things sorted, renting the trencher made WAY more sense! Good to see the kids watching and learning, building life skills for sure 🙂 Awesome job, stay safe

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks for joining us 😊

[@andrewpowell6457]

I'm glad you got the wire run & water working again. Greetings to you all from Wellington New Zealand.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Greetings, how is the weather in New Zealand? Thanks for watching 😊

[@andrewpowell6457]

Turned very autumn we never seem to get a gentle end to summer

[@goodole1usa]

I think I would've gone to a larger conduit and put a pull cord in for future changes. Also added a 12" junction box and inserted a service loop.

[@IXISSV]

Great job 👍🍻 that trenching machine is cool 😁 i hate working with solid copper cable, such a pain to bend in to shape! But you did a great job with cable stripper tool 👍 See you next time 😁😉

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks for joining us 😊 yes, that trenching machine was amazing and worked so fast!

[@daddio7249]

Things you need, a step bit set and a knock out hole punch set. Great for enlarging holes and adding holes to electrical boxes. I love to dig with a backhoe so I would have used that but the trencher did make less of a mess to fix up.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Haha I love digging with the backhoe too...but for the tight spaces and cleanup it was worth renting the trenches. Also, I'd never used a trenches before so I was really excited to try it out and of course it worked amazing (except for getting stuck lol)

[@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837]

Great job guys ! You had some good tools for the job & lots of helpers :) nice to have that water " one of the most important things we need to run a house ! I am 100% off grid for 10 years hot water & a flush toilet are awesome :)

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Yes, we are very blessed! That is so awesome to hear you are living completely off grid! Idk how you survive the cold up there 🥶

[@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837]

Thanks ! It's really not as bad as most people think lol, Just learning how to prepare for the weather or how to dress in layers , If you get a chance to check out more of my video's you will see how I do things to make life easier !@@DIY_or_DIE

[@pappys-tinkering9300]

The tool you needed for that hole is a set of Greenlee Knockout punches. Problem is the homeowner rarely has a use for them, I sold the ones I had on Ebay.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

That is neat, yes I can see how that would be helpful! Thanks for the tip 👍

[@user-jy2vf6ym5l]

You need a captive air style pressure tank. Make sure you keep checking the air charge in the tank or you could burn up your well pump

[@DIY_or_DIE]

What is a captive air tank and how would I know if we have one or not?

[@vidili68]

Hi there Good job have good day and happy day be safe.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks!

[@pierrelareau6149]

Good call on the conduit!

[@DIY_or_DIE]

😄 don't want to have to do that again...

[@flowerstone]

You mentioned building to code and then some. Great! A lot of people don’t realize that code is there to keep things from falling down or burning down. But you can always make things better and should. 😊 Great job. Except for wrapping the ground wire the wrong direction on the screw. You should go back and correct that. 😏

[@loucinci3922]

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks!

[@jerrystout3032]

Great Job guys!

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks!

[@gilbertanthony7016]

Awesome work love it 😊😊

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Thanks for joining us 😊

[@alteredperceptions8841]

It may seem like common sense for you... i have done plumbing and laid pipes into trenches 20 years, and never thought of putting caution tape in the trench over the pipe. Thanks for the share!

[@DIY_or_DIE]

I learned that from reading the code book...I spend too much time there 😄

[@robertsmith3518]

Hint… to remove wire from a coil ,start from the center ,never the outside .

[@garyprice5951]

Have a party and invite the viewers for help on the big projects I'm sure u can get a few to make it faster and easier.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

😄

[@loucinci3922]

NO! you connected the ground in the wrong direction. You want the wire loop in the direction left-to-right. As you tighten the screw it will wrap the wire. When you go opposite, the wire is pushed out. Ugh...Kinda like wrapping teflon tape counter clockwise on threads - the tape unwraps as you tighten. You know this. Sorry to call it out.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Haha, kudos to you! you are the second person with superb attention to detail who noticed which direction I installed the wire loop 😉

[@moirani2021]

🌷🌻🌹

[@waderue]

ya it was a thing lay another line and you're a great dad and why because when I was young I got to work with my dad and it was hard work but it was some of the best times growing up were spent with dad showing me how to do it and how to fix it and he made to be the man I am today and I remember my first time I got help him was rebuilding the motor out 145 versatile tractors over the winter it was awesome and after school and weekends I was there help him and I miss him I lost him when 18 and there not a day that goes that I don't wish I could call on phone hey dad love you and just want talk so yes teach the kids, never wait until they older I was 10 I think when I was learning how to overhaul that motor

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Wow, what a powerful testimony to your father! Thanks for sharing your story and joining us on our adventure 😀

[@margarita8442]

pump to a storage tank during the day

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Yes, our RV has a fresh water storage tank that we utilized.

[@flowerstone]

What state are you building in? Looks a lot like eastern Oregon.

[@loucinci3922]

So...what happened to the cracked 4" PVC?

[@DIY_or_DIE]

We didn't include that in this video but I patched it up.

[@jerrystott7780]

I'm wondering why you rented a trencher instead of using the backhoe? Have a great day.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Backhoe bucket is 16" wide and I only needed a couple inches for the electrical conduit. The tractor is much bigger and there were a couple tight spaces. Lastly, I was worried about the roots from a couple tree stumps. The trenches is designed to cut through those but with the backhoe it could have been a lot messier. I also think the trenches went faster than if I had tried the bucket.

[@robertkaro6424]

You didn't need a 3 wire with ground feeding the pressure switch....2 wire with ground would have worked and then you could have used 1/2" flexible conduit conduit and wouldn't have required enlarging the hole in the pressure switch

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Yeah, you are right, but I was thinking it might be handy if I want to add a light or something in the future.

[@robertkaro6424]

That's good thinking but you could have left the 3wire in the junction box on on the post and went with 2 wire from there....also you might cover that pressure switch with a plastic pail....it's not a weatherproof switch....and plug the holes in the back of the pump controller box to keep insects and water out of it.....

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Yes, very good ideas 👍

[@robertkaro6424]

also if you add a light or 120 volt recept out there and share the same feeder from the 2 pole breaker you will need a separate disconnect for the well .......if you cord and plug the well that would be okay....as long as the recept. for the well has a weatherproof in use cover.... @@DIY_or_DIE

[@DIY_or_DIE]

@@robertkaro6424 good to know, thanks!

[@doncaranci2547]

You put the ground wire around the screw in the wrong direction OOPs

[@DIY_or_DIE]

what exactly is the problem?

[@doncaranci2547]

@@DIY_or_DIEThe way you hooked the grounding wires around the screw. It should always be put around the screw the other way so when you tighten the grounding screw the wire cant bulge out

[@doncaranci2547]

@@DIY_or_DIE www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=grounding+wire+direction

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Hmm, I see that is a home depot link...if you think that is a code violation please cite the code reference. I'm aware of the recommended way to loop a wire, but as far as I'm aware, it's not "wrong" as long as the wire is secure and the screw is properly tightened.

[@doncaranci2547]

@@DIY_or_DIEProbably not a code violation just a safer way to make sure the wire stays where it is

[@jwfinley7808]

Tell him NO even wild animals teach their young,

[@ConcreteLand]

Your normal speaking voice when talking to husband or kids is very nice. When you do your narration, not so much. Not being a dick, just sayin.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

Be nice or I'm going to do Elmo next time

[@ConcreteLand]

@@DIY_or_DIE I’m willing to give that a listen.

[@DIY_or_DIE]

😄