William Hartmann
Owner
Third generation. Walks most new jobs himself, and still answers calls from farms his grandfather wired.
Farm electricians · Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Power for the whole farm, wired around your chores.
Hartmann Farm Electric wires milk houses, grain bins, livestock barns and farmhouses. We plan outages around milking, and we book bin and dryer work before the first load comes in.
What are you running?
The family
Three generations on Lancaster County farms
We started with milk house lights and barn fans for the neighbors. Grain bins came next, then the dryers that go with them.
Today sixteen of us run the trucks and the shop. We still walk the barn with you, write the plan down before we start, and turn the power off only when you say it is a good time.
Barns, bins, shops and farmhouses
Wiring made for wet, dusty and corrosive buildings
A labeled panel and a one-page drawing when we leave
William Hartmann
Owner
Farm calendar
A year on the farm, in wiring
What we check and when, so the work lands before the season does. Move any of it to fit your schedule.
- January – February
Winter checks
Heat tape on water lines, milk house and bulk tank heaters, and a test run of the generator and its transfer switch.
- March – April
Before the fields open
Ventilation fans and controllers checked before the first warm week, manure pump and agitator wiring, and shop circuits for planting season.
- May – June
When the heat comes early
Fan, soaker and curtain controls, and the new circuits for the equipment you added over the winter.
- July – August
Get the bins ready
Motor starters, disconnects and aeration fans on every bin, dryer, leg and auger. Book now to be on the schedule before the first load.
- September – October
Harvest
Dryer, leg and auger trouble goes to the front of the schedule. Text a photo of the control panel and we call you back.
- November – December
After harvest
Generator service and transfer switch checks before the cold, then the projects that waited for winter.
How pricing works on a farm
Farm jobs are priced from a walk-through, not from a phone call. Here is what moves the number.
What decides the price
How far the building is from the service pole or meter, whether the wire runs overhead or underground, and the size and phase of the motors.
The length of the run and whether it is trenched or overhead
Single-phase or three-phase power at the site
Motor sizes, and which ones have to start and stop together
Permit and inspection fees, passed through to you
Whether the electric utility has to set or move equipment
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
The estimate names each building, each circuit and the materials we plan to use. It leaves out the utility's own charges and repairs to concrete, walls and paint.
Included: our labor, wire, conduit, boxes, breakers and controls
Left out: what the electric utility charges
Left out: concrete, drywall and paint repairs
Good for the number of days written on it
What happens at the visit
One of us walks the barn, bin or shop with you, checks the panel and the run to each building, and takes photos. There is a visit fee. It is credited to the work if you book it, and we tell you the amount when you call.
We ask when milking and feeding happen
We don't price hidden wiring from the doorway
After hours
Call the shop number and leave a message if no one picks up. The on-call electrician checks it. A call outside the hours on this site is billed at an after-hours rate, and we tell you the rate before we drive out.
When you get the number
In writing, after the walk-through and before any work starts. Most jobs are one price for the written scope. Work we find inside a wall is quoted as a change, in writing, before we do it.
Work like ours
Barns, bins and shops
Sample photos. Add your own jobs and sort them by kind.
Showing 8 of 8
Sample photos.
How a job goes
From the first call to power on
Every farm job follows the same six steps, and you know the outage window before it starts.
- 01
Step 1: You call or text
Tell us the building and what is wrong or new. A photo of the panel or a motor nameplate saves a trip.
- 02
Step 2: We walk it with you
At a time that fits chores. We look at the service, the run to each building and the loads on it.
- 03
Step 3: You get it in writing
The estimate names each building and circuit, and the outage window we need.
- 04
Step 4: Permit and utility
Where a permit is required we apply for it. If the electric utility has to disconnect or set a meter, we schedule that too.
- 05
Step 5: The work, around milking
Power comes off for as short a time as the job allows, and never without telling you the window first.
- 06
Step 6: Inspection and walk-through
We set up the inspection, test each circuit with you, and leave a labeled panel and a one-page drawing.
Who picks up
Sixteen of us, and four who run the work
The crew is in the barns most days. These four are who you will talk to.
Theresa Hartmann
Office and scheduling
Books the walk-throughs, the outages and the harvest schedule. Call her first.
Felix Hartmann
Lead electrician, grain and dairy
Bins, dryers, milking systems and the controls that run them.
Juliana Keller
Controls and ventilation lead
Barn fans, ventilation controllers and generator transfer switches.
Heard at the barn door
“Our fan controller quit in a hot week. Juliana traced it to a bad sensor, swapped it, and showed my son how to read the display. The bill matched the estimate.”
Ronald E.Dairy farm near Ephrata · barn fan controller
“They wired a new dryer and two bins before harvest, and put every disconnect on a one-page drawing. The power was off for half a morning, not a day.”
Rebecca S.Grain farm near Manheim · dryer and bin hookup
“I had a PTO generator and no safe way to connect it. They put in a transfer switch and an inlet at the barn and showed me which circuits run on it.”
Brian Z.Hog barns near Lititz · transfer switch and inlet
“A new panel for the house and a subpanel for the shop. They called the utility, set the shutoff for a morning I picked, and told me how long it would last.”
Nancy W.Farmhouse and shop near Leola · panel and subpanel
Sample reviews.
Where we work
Lancaster County and the farms next to it
Our trucks start in Lancaster and cover the county's farm country, plus the edges of Lebanon, Chester and Berks counties.
Lancaster County
- Lancaster
- Lititz
- Manheim
- Elizabethtown
- Mount Joy
- Ephrata
- Akron
- Bowmansville
- New Holland
- Leola
- Strasburg
- Quarryville
- Millersville
- Christiana
Lebanon County
- Lebanon
- Annville
- Myerstown
Chester County
- Honey Brook
- Atglen
Berks County
- Reinholds
We don't take jobs west of the Susquehanna River or north of Interstate 78. Our trucks start in Lancaster, and we'd rather say so than book a visit we can't keep.
ZIP codes: 17601, 17602, 17603, 17543, 17545, 17022, 17552, 17522, 17501, 17517, 17557, 17540, 17579, 17566, 17551, 17509, 17042, 17078, 17067, 19344, 19310, 19549
Questions from the barn
Can you work without shutting the barn down?
Often. We run new wire and build new circuits while the old ones stay live, then make the connection in one short outage. We agree on the window with you first, around milking and feeding.
Do you do emergency work after hours?
Call the shop number. After hours it goes to a message the on-call electrician checks, and an after-hours call is billed at a rate we tell you before we drive out. If a building is on fire, call 911 first.
Do I need a permit, and who gets it?
Where the work needs a permit, we apply for it and set up the inspection with your township's inspection agency. Which jobs need one depends on the township, and we tell you at the walk-through.
Are you licensed?
Pennsylvania doesn't issue a statewide electrician's license, though some cities and townships do. Our state contractor registration and our insurance are listed at the bottom of every page. Ask which local licenses your job needs.
Can you test for stray voltage?
Yes. We measure at the stalls, waterers and feeders and trace the reading to its source. If it is coming from the electric utility's side, we tell you and help you take the readings to them.
How do I send a photo?
Text a picture of the panel, a motor nameplate or the control box to (717) 555-0101. It often saves a trip.
Book a farm visit
Tell us about the building
Theresa calls back at the next opening to find a time between chores. We answer from 6:30 a.m., Monday to Friday.
Call or text(717) 555-0101
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 6:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed