Pelican Parts Forums - I have the Pow-ah!

I think I've written here before about my issue with the power company about charging me $29 a month to have a meter on my detached garage. About a year ago I told them to stuff it and made plans to connect the garage to the house. I finished in May and just came across the photos, so here they are:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1321544809.jpg

Original service to the house

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1321544904.jpg

New house service. My electrician installed a new main panel outside the house and the old main panel inside the house and the old main panel in the garage became sub-panels.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1321544968.jpg

The old service to the garage - after I told the power company to stick it and they came and took their meter. :D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1321545071.jpg

The new service to the shop. I just shoved the old service cable into the trench for the conduit, so it looks a little funny here.

I ran 260 feet of 2" conduit in a 24" deep trench. I used a trencher but had to hand dig under 3 runs of the septic system and hand dig an area where I knew there was a direct buried wire. I ran aluminum cable through it, and we talked about so many l options I can't remember what size. I think we settled on 4/0. Whatever it was it worked out to 90 amps at a 2% voltage drop and I put in a 60 amp breaker. Running the wire was a huge pain. I got the mouse to go the whole length of the conduit with a light string, but the string wasn't strong enough to pull anything else through. After two days of trying fishing line etc I gave up and put a pull box halfway down the run. The run had a 45 and two 90s, but between them there was a 100 ft long, almost 90 degree curve - it was bend at about the limit of what I could bend the conduit. I think that is where all the resistance was.
Total cost $1185. Savings $29 a month. Payback time 40 months. Telling the power company to stick it was priceless.