Coyote Ridge FarmsWelcome To Our Rural Blog

Yesterday, Madison and I ran some 12-2 wiring from the hoop-house/high-tunnel yesterday.  I was worried, since it was only a partial roll of wire, if we would have enough to go from the service panel at the house to the inside of the hoop-house.  With only 2 feet of wire to spare, we made it.

While I still had a little daylight, I attached the surface-mount outlet to the 2″x6″ near the door.  A bit later, I attached the other end to the breaker, in the service panel.  Previously, we had about 200′ of extension cords.  I really didn’t like that idea.  Why the need for upgraded wiring?  This year, the high-tunnel didn’t blow down, so… this winter, we’re going to house the poultry, water-fowl and rabbits inside of it.  In order to keep fresh water in front of the poultry and ducks, we will need to run a heated water pan (or two) to keep the water from freezing.  On the days that we have sunlight, the temp in the structure gets nice and warm, but without… it doesn’t get above freezing.

We also run overhead lights in the high-tunnel.  Currently, we simply plug them into an outlet when we need them lit, but our plans are to wire them to a switch, for ease and convenience.

Related posts:

1. High-Tunnel Progress
2. It Was Nearly 120°F
3. Good News, Bad News
4. Frozen Water Pipes & Another Winter Storm Warning
5. Too Early To Think About Winter?