Running electric to outside barrel pond

[jtfoxman]

Hey everyone. I am thinking of installing a small barrel pond off to the side of our patio and I am in need of some electrical advise.
I am going to have a small pump and 1 light to power. I have a circuit that powers my basement which is a light and 1 GFCI outlet with nothing plugged into it.
Would I be able to continue this circuit to the outside and place a outside GFCI on the end of it? I would run the wire underground (18'') for about 10' using pvc conduit and 14/2 outdoor wire. Would this be sufficient? How high would the outlet have to be off the ground? I live in PA so I get a fair amount of snow each year which sometimes can be up to 2'.
Also a quick question about the pump and light power cord. Do I run this underground also until it reaches the outlet or can I bury it under mulch?
I am comfortable with the electrical work I am just not sure of the right way of doing it.
Thanks

[HayZee518]

Use 14/2 UF which is for direct burial. You don't need it in conduit except for mechanical protection where you make your riser or where you come out of the ground to where you penetrate thehouse. Generally you use rigid conduit for the riser about 18 inches above ground. anything longer I'd say pound a 4X4 post into the ground and fasten the pipe to it.

[jtfoxman]

Thanks for the advise.
So all I really need for the conduit is a piecesof the rigid for where the wire goes into the house and a piece where it will come out of the ground to the outlet. That's great. Everything else with my plan is ok then, except for the 14/2 uf I need.

[kactuskid]

If the cable you run from inside the house is attached to the LOAD side of the basement GFCI then there is no need for an exterior GFCI cause the line is already protected by the interior GFCI. And this allows you to use UF cable buried at only 18" deep. But, if the power cable is not fed from the LOAD side of the interior GFCI then this cable is required to be buried 30" deep and a GFCI receptacle installed at the pond location.

If you do install UF then both ends of the cable need to be sleeved with conduit. I would really suggest using PVC conduit instead of Ridgid. This ridgid conduit is not the same as regular EMT metal conduit, it is way different. Regular EMT cannot be used for this.

As Hazy says, the receptacle needs to be mounted 18" above ground level in a waterproof outdoor box and then a "while in use" box needs to be installed ontop of the box to ensure water doesn't penetrate it. Here's a link that'll show you what they look like, they're sold at Home Depot.
http://www.leviton.com/sections/prod...ts/s5c12p7.htm

You can use a piece of pressure treated 2x4 for the stake. but one end should be placed in a coffee can and then filled with concrete and then buried to give it stability so it doesn't topple over. This should be placed within 4 feet of the pond so the cords can easily reach it. And don't bury the pump or lamp cords in the earth, under mulch should be fine.

You'll need to call your diggers hotline so your utilities can be flagged prior to digging.

Here's another link that may help you out, though the buriel depths on this link are not correct. In fact you should really contact your local inspection office to find out the local requirments.

http://www.dulley.com/diy/dw107.htm

[jtfoxman]

I am not sure if the gfci in the basement is hooked up to the load side or not but i can change it so that it is not so the outside cable is. I really do not want to go down 30". I have the gfci outlets so i might just use them anyway even if i don't have to, no harm. I was thinking about extending the line into my gazebo so I can drop a light in there. Would that need any special considerations?
Thanks for all your help.

[kactuskid]

I'm not sure your really understand what I'm trying to say. First off, all of your receptacles in the unfinished side of your basement MUST be GFCI protected. You need to leave them that way. There are 8 holes on the back of a GFCI receptacle. Four are the LOAD side holes and 4 are the LINE side holes. Anything ran off the LINE side is unprotected and anything ran off the LOAD side is protected.

On the LOAD side of it, 2 holes can be used for onward power to your other basement receptacles and the other two holes can be used to feed power out to your pond. Here's a link that explains how to protect downline receptalces:
http://danswiringpage.com/gfci.htm

Now, if you connect the pond wiring to the LOAD side of this inside GFCI then you only need to dig down 18" to bury your UF cable. This is allowed cause the cable will be GFCI protected for it's entire run. And then a regular receptacle should be used on the post at the pond.

IF you choose to instead run unprotected power out to the pond using UF cable, then you must bury the UF cable 30" in the ground and install a GFCI receptacle on the post at the pond. In this case it would be easier to use pvc conduit and bury it 18" and install THHN/THWN wires instead.

For your light at the gazebo, you'll need to use the receptacle box at the pond as a junction box and run your cable from there to the gazebo, then install a switch box before the light. I would defninatly use pvc conduit for this so the wires are protected and not subjected to being hit when above ground.

[jtfoxman]

I understood what you were were saying. What I was trying to type, while at work, is can I still use the gfci outlets outside even if they are run off the load side.

[kactuskid]

can I still use the gfci outlets outside even if they are run off the load side.

No, you don't want to do this. Doubling up like this will cause false tripping to occur. But if you want to have the test/reset option out at the pond then you can provide power to the outside circuit by connecting the wires on the LINE side of the basement GFCI and then install your GFCI receptacles outside with the incomming power connected to the LINE side of the GFCI. But by doing this you will either have to install the UF cable 30" in the ground or install pvc conduit with THHN/THWN wires buried at 18" deep.

Does that make it more clear? Ask back if you need more clarification, sometimes the rules can be pretty confusing.

You should also add up the total load that's gonna be on this circuit and make sure it doesn't exceed the breakers rating. A 15 amp circuit is rated for 1800 watts max and 2400 watts max for a 20 amp circuit.

[jtfoxman]

Clear as day now. Ok, I'll just use normal outlets in weatherproof boxes run off the load side.
I only have a few single bulb lights and actually 2 outlets off this circuit now, 20amp. Only the lights are used. I will only be adding a pump, a fan and a outlet onto this circuit. Much less than the 2400 max.
Thanks for clarifying all your info. I appreciate it.