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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,273
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Tesla Offline OP
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpSHUgK4Yg0

The above Utube -- I hope the link works -- shows how to improvise a Service repair when no-one is looking.

Some techniques might be NEC violations. shocked

Opinions?



Tesla
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Joined: Apr 2002
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From a two man crew to three, then four.

Nice tool to remove a service head & re-install it.

Def not the smartest, but they do have xxlls.


John
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,273
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Tesla Offline OP
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Stripping a hot Service drop with a metallic razor knife -- depending upon a blue latex glove as your primary dielectric... shocked


Tesla
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,273
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Tesla Offline OP
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Beyond that, what's the point of working a Service hot when the Poco is absolutely going to have to come out and reinspect the meter pan and set a new meter?

Why not just cut the Service Drop conductors -- on the load side of the 'bugs.' -- Safety them off, one by one from an insulated platform with appropriate PPE.

The Poco can be notified to remove their meter.

More and more Poco's are getting very picky about them. (This digital age and all of that.)

As for the rest of the Service panel -- it's a total mess. It looks like some clown had shifted all of the loads to the A leg.

There appears to be a free hanging 2-pole breaker inside the panel.

The intergity of the drop is obviously shot.

All of the work appears to be completely unlicensed craft.

frown


Tesla
Joined: Jul 2004
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G
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My bet is he never said anything to the PoCo and just hoped they did not notice the seal was cut. They probably got a power failure warning when he unplugged the meter but if it was back on fairly quickly they might have just written it off to a glitch.
After his new panel gets a little dust on it he might call in and say some kids were fooling with his meter and the seal seems to be damaged.

If they do not think there was any power theft, I doubt they care.

I watched a licensed guy replace a meter pan hot a year or so ago right next door. When I asked if he should call FPL he just blew me off as being some ignorant homeowner, bothering a "professional" at work.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Apr 2002
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Since the meter has damage, The 'a' phase terminal block is new, and 'red', and the seal being cut may be noticed....

When the POCO trouble guy arrives for the 'partial outage' the HO/tenant better have a good story, or show the video.



John
Joined: Jul 2001
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JBD Offline
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Originally Posted by gfretwell
They probably got a power failure warning when he unplugged the meter but if it was back on fairly quickly they might have just written it off to a glitch.

The meter was pulled sometime during the previous night. The smart meter has been out of service for hours.

Joined: Jul 2001
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J
JBD Offline
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Originally Posted by Tesla
Some techniques might be NEC violations.


I see a plethora of OSHA and NFPA70E violations.

Which NEC ones did you see?
Maybe the weather head, but there is not enough detail.

Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 265
W
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All 3 or 4 or however many took part in this circus should be thrown out of the gene pool, so as to avoid producing any more idiots. Sometimes live work can not be avoided, this was not one of those times!


Jimmy

Life is tough, Life is tougher when you are stupid
Joined: Jun 2004
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Tesla Offline OP
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JBD...

I would think that having a 2-pole breaker hanging loose inside the Service panel was a Code violation.

It should be on the rails or completely removed and the conductors safetied off.

The dead front for the Service panel looks to be missing -- and I'd bet large that it does not have the appropriate KO fillers.

The weatherhead looks profoundly abused by the crew. Busting out NEMA components and then cobbling them back together violates their listing. It's not a listed product when you've hacked it to pieces -- literally -- and then fudged its re-assembly.

The fundamental integrity of the Service drop is shot. Eyeballing the riser drop for dielectric quality does not get 'er done. I would always presume that hidden damage to the insulation has risen far up the conductors -- as the heat starts from the inside out.

Since the conductors are always metal -- with a fantastic tendency to conduct heat, too -- I'm compelled to assume that the conductors got plenty toasty right up until they passed into free air. In sum, I'd deem the riser conductors as shot, the meter pan as shot, the weatherhead as shot, the meter as shot... I'd even worry about the bugs. The offending current was passing IN FRONT OF THE OCPD.

Who really knows how intense the peak arc was?

Putting damaged gear back into service means putting unlisted gear into service. Installing unlisted gear is an NEC no-no. No item retains its listing after suffering obvious significant damage.

Arc damage IS serious damage.... It's at the top of anyone's list. eek

The 'looted breakers' in the Service panel are suggestive of major malfunctions across the entire residence. It looks like the entire zone has been hacked to pieces.

Darwin has their number -- and is just waiting for them to pick up the phone.


Tesla
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