Does anyone know how to set a light post . it is going at the end of a driveway &what kindof pipe to putwirein
Question:
Answers:
Run a small 1" PVC pipe along the drive way and bury it under ground. If you wire it up properly you can use a neary by two prong socket.
If I may make a suggestion you may want to use a light sensor post this way it comes on automatically at Sunset and turns itself off at Sunrise.
Yep, nothing like doing it yourself!
An electrical contractor will charge $512 to install a light post up to 30 feet away from the house.
You can do the job for $195, saving 62 percent.
Instructions:
http://www.diyornot.com/sample/project.a...
http://www.ronhazelton.com/howto/lamp_po...
http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_c...
set it in concrete if it is too bulky, you can consider mm, battery operated lights and skip the wiring all together. Home depot can show you a lot of different things i'm sure.
You need to set the light post in concrete. You should use grey pvc pipe, which specifies that electricity is running through this pipe. Most codes recommend at least 18" under ground to protect this wiring from possibly being tilled or dug up by accident. I would recommend at least a 14/2 or better yet a 12/2 wire( standard house wire), since you will not have use a direct buriel cable with the pvc. Remember to glue the pvc pipe and it is very easy to cut with a hack saw blade.
Good Luck
1. Decide exactly where you want the post.
2.Start digging. Dig the hole for the post and a trench to the nearest outside wall of your house.As close to your breaker panel as possible.
3. If your codes allow and you KNOW that you will never dig next to your driveway you can get away with just burying 14/2 shielded cable (looks like dark grey romex.). Or you have to put in 1 1/2 CONDUIT PVC (again it's grey) Make sure you have no tight turns or it is very difficult to pull wire through a tight turn. In this case you have to use insulated unshielded cable and watertight connections. If you use just plain 14/2 romex you will run into heat problems.
4. Once it is all in place, look in your breaker panel(with the cover off)(it's just 4 screws)(If you are uncomfortable with live electricity call an ELECTRICIAN.) See if you have a 15 amp breaker without any wires going to it. Shut off main breaker.
Remove free 15 amp breaker. (Only touch the colored part)
Remove one of the small preforated rings at the top of the breaker box .
5. Find some way to get the wire to the breaker panel. (You only have to use the conduit outside the house.)
Place wire in a romex connector. clip in said conneter in the knockout ring . run wire down to new 15 amp GCFI Breaker
(Don't want to get electrocuted walking down the driveway)
Ready to go . If you don't want to wire in a switch just wire in a photo cell before the wire comes to the house.
Run PVC up into the bottom of the post. Take the PVC to the power source. Concrete around the post.
You must run the conduit for the electrical wire (or direct burial cable) before you set the post and secure it in place with concrete.
If you use PVC pipe, the recommended depth is 2 feet to prevent the pressure of any vehicle from damaging the wiring, and next to the driveway, you should expect a vehicle to accidentally run off the edge. (If you use RIGID CONDUIT, a heavy threaded steel pipe, you only have to bury it 6 inches.) You can use a flexible wiring 2 conductor with ground cable in a PVC sheath, but you must buy the one approved for direct burial, and it cannot be exposed to sunlight.
There are many benefits to using a pipe for the wire. You do not have to use the bulky 12/2 with ground, or 14/2 with ground. You can use individual wire conductors PVC plastic or plastic with a nylon coating single strand of wire). The pipe protects the wires better than the bulky flexible PVC sheath, like that used in walls (usually ROMEX) in the house, and all you will need is ½-inch pipe (conduit). Smaller pipe is less expensive and individual wires cool better than those in a sheath bundle do. Also, use the “ready-made” 45 and 90-degree conduit fittings to make any steep turns, but do not exceed an accumulation of 360 degrees of bend between any two-wire access (junction) boxes.
The light is a simple 2 wire (with ground) 120 volt circuit, just like a lamp you plug into the wall outlet in your house. You will only need three individual wires, a 120 volt power wire (black), a neutral wire (white) and a ground wire (green or bare). While 14 AWG (a wire rated for up to 15 amps) is large enough for most light circuits, many municipalities have banned anything smaller than 12 AWG (wire rated at least up to 20 amps), also for long distances, 12 AWG suffers less "voltage drop" then 14 AWG. It is always best to run the circuit for the light on a separate circuit originating at the breaker panel.
The best way to secure the pole in the ground is to use concrete in a 24-inch posthole. Wet concrete makes it difficult to keep the new post straight while the concrete hardens enough to hold it, unless you build a cumbersome support above the ground to hold the pole while the wet concrete hardens.
Unless you live in the desert, a great trick is to use dry concrete (sack mix). After you set the pole in the hole, use dry cement from the sack to fill the hole around the pole and tamp it in place to secure the pole, while it is level. It will stay level until it hardens. The dry cement will absorb moisture from the surrounding ground and cure automatically without pre-mixing the cement or adding water. It will actually cure harder than if mixed with water, and you will not have to worry about it being bumped "out of level", as you would with wet cement while you wait for it to harden.
More Related Questions & Answers...