# Whoopsidoodles!



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Todays emergency call:


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## Chrisibew440 (Sep 13, 2013)

Is that tri plex through that lb?


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## mf5504 (Apr 18, 2014)

Wow!!

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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

what hit that to make it break?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

papaotis said:


> what hit that to make it break?


A car mirror. What was left of it was in the driveway. The HO thinks is was their daughter's ex-boyfriend. Happened about 3:30 last night. POCO disconnected 'em at the pole.


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

must be closer to the ground than it looks!


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

papaotis said:


> must be closer to the ground than it looks!


The LB was about 36" up.


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## mf5504 (Apr 18, 2014)

That's a nice little job!!

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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

mf5504 said:


> That's a nice little job!!
> 
> Sent from my VIVO 4.8 HD using Tapatalk


$14 for an SLB, grounding bushing and a comp. connector. About 18' of #4 from stock. Nice little money-maker for a couple hour's work.


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

get em when you can!


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

papaotis said:


> get em when you can!


The nice thing about this one is it was super-smooth. Got the call about 10AM. Half-hour drive there, looked it over. A couple calls to POCO and AHJ and a trip to the SH about half a mile away.

Didn't start working on it until 11:30 as POCO has that stupid barrel lock on it. Drove out of driveway about 12:45.


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## Chrisibew440 (Sep 13, 2013)

Chrisibew440 said:


> Is that tri plex through that lb?


So it was tri plex?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Chrisibew440 said:


> So it was tri plex?



No. It didn't have a steel carrier in the bare. It was just al. wire.


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## Chrisibew440 (Sep 13, 2013)

480sparky said:


> No. It didn't have a steel carrier in the bare. It was just al. wire.


Thanks for changing that.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

480sparky said:


> The LB was about 36" up.


So those aren't bricks they're cinderblocks.


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## BuzzKill (Oct 27, 2008)

no after pics?
good thing you had a little slack for the comp. conn.?


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## Bkessler (Feb 14, 2007)

papaotis said:


> must be closer to the ground than it looks!


It's six bricks up.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

LARMGUY said:


> So those aren't bricks they're cinderblocks.


Not 8x8x16 CMUs. Bricks.

What the relevance is I know not.


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## mf5504 (Apr 18, 2014)

What do u charge for something like that, in your area?

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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

As an emergency job... , as long as meter, main breaker lugs are not damaged $550 including reconnect temp


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Is this the part where I make fun of conduit being used to _prevent_ physical damage...?


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

This is the part where I make fun of not putting a meter/main unit outside the house so that a main overcurrent / short circuit protective device would have opened making the fix for this a snap, much like just replacing a cut branch circuit wire, and not requiring the poco to have attended the fiesta.


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## A Little Short (Nov 11, 2010)

macmikeman said:


> This is the part where I make fun of not putting a meter/main unit outside the house so that a main overcurrent / short circuit protective device would have opened making the fix for this a snap, much like just replacing a cut branch circuit wire, and not requiring the poco to have attended the fiesta.


I agree (I think) but man, if I hadn't read who wrote this I would have thought it was CS!:laughing::jester:


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

A Little Short said:


> I agree (I think) but man, if I hadn't read who wrote this I would have thought it was CS!:laughing::jester:


I splashed coffee on my laptop keyboard a week or so ago. Followed emergency protocol but ever since the cursor jumps around like crazy, z is next to impossible as is punctuation and to make a cap the shift key on left side doesn't work at all so I had to relearn to type by hitting caps lock on and off ......


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## mf5504 (Apr 18, 2014)

What state are you located?

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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

Iowa, like the best state ever


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## mf5504 (Apr 18, 2014)

Lol

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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> This is the part where I make fun of not putting a meter/main unit outside the house so that a main overcurrent / short circuit protective device would have opened making the fix for this a snap, much like just replacing a cut branch circuit wire, and not requiring the poco to have attended the fiesta.



Wow. Like an hour of labor is too much.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

It ain't the labor , I don't like the idea of coming into a dwelling with unprotected conductors. I'm not comfortable with it cause I am not used to it for other than maybe some bigger buildings I have worked on. I did a bit of it in Florida when I was a young kid in FPL territory, but it just don't seem natural now and it is definitely not allowed for houses here. Main breaker goes outside and is part of the can that houses the meter socket. So the only unprotected stuff is in that can or in the service drop coming into it. Just makes better sense.


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## Chrisibew440 (Sep 13, 2013)

Ok. I give up. I can't hold it anymore! 

WHOOPSIEDOODLES????? 
Really? I guess.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> It ain't the labor , I don't like the idea of coming into a dwelling with unprotected conductors. I'm not comfortable with it cause I am not used to it for other than maybe some bigger buildings I have worked on. I did a bit of it in Florida when I was a young kid in FPL territory, but it just don't seem natural now and it is definitely not allowed for houses here. Main breaker goes outside and is part of the can that houses the meter socket. So the only unprotected stuff is in that can or in the service drop coming into it. Just makes better sense.


It's just what you get used to. There's millions of houses with mains in the basements or garages or whatnot, and Fox News isn't claiming it's killing hundreds every year.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> It ain't the labor , I don't like the idea of coming into a dwelling with unprotected conductors. I'm not comfortable with it cause I am not used to it for other than maybe some bigger buildings I have worked on. I did a bit of it in Florida when I was a young kid in FPL territory, but it just don't seem natural now and it is definitely not allowed for houses here. Main breaker goes outside and is part of the can that houses the meter socket. So the only unprotected stuff is in that can or in the service drop coming into it. Just makes better sense.


Well it isn't really unprotected now is it? The service drop is protected (as least from overload) by the main breaker, wherever that may be. A metermain may afford some additional protection, but then you still have the service drop to the meter against the house totally venerable.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

480sparky said:


> It's just what you get used to. There's millions of houses with mains in the basements or garages or whatnot, and Fox News isn't claiming it's killing hundreds every year.


Therefore the opposite must be true.


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

IslandGuy said:


> Well it isn't really unprotected now is it? The service drop is protected (as least from overload) by the main breaker, wherever that may be. A metermain may afford some additional protection, but then you still have the service drop to the meter against the house totally vulnerable.



fify.


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## Bkessler (Feb 14, 2007)

Chrisibew440 said:


> Ok. I give up. I can't hold it anymore! WHOOPSIEDOODLES????? Really? I guess.


480's full name is Ken Flanders.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Bkessler said:


> 480's full name is Ken Flanders.












...Correctaroonio!


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

IslandGuy said:


> Well it isn't really unprotected now is it? The service drop is protected (as least from overload) by the main breaker, wherever that may be. A metermain may afford some additional protection, but then you still have the service drop to the meter against the house totally venerable.


98% of mine are in rigid conduit risers that go thru the roof in a mast or else come up out of the ground to the meter socket in schedule 80 pvc. I don't loose any sleep over any of them. You look at the picture that 480 posted and realize those are not protected until back at Niagra Falls and what I am saying about how combo meter/main cans are way safer to install on dwellings than a pan on the exterior and a main someplace "relatively close by" on the inside , and then figure out which method makes more sense. 

p.s. here we are not allowed by poco to locate meter's in driveways either so there is not much chance of junior running into them with the side mirror of his truck in the first place............


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

IslandGuy said:


> Well it isn't really unprotected now is it? The service drop is protected (as least from overload) by the main breaker, wherever that may be. A metermain may afford some additional protection, but then you still have the service drop to the meter against the house totally venerable.


Thanks for sharing, LawnGuyLandSparky.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

MTW said:


> Thanks for sharing, LawnGuyLandSparky.


Lol.......


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

macmikeman said:


> It ain't the labor , I don't like the idea of coming into a dwelling with unprotected conductors. I'm not comfortable with it cause I am not used to it for other than maybe some bigger buildings I have worked on. I did a bit of it in Florida when I was a young kid in FPL territory, but it just don't seem natural now and it is definitely not allowed for houses here. Main breaker goes outside and is part of the can that houses the meter socket. So the only unprotected stuff is in that can or in the service drop coming into it. Just makes better sense.


It does make better sense, and I like it. It also makes things easier on the fire dept. Unfortunately, common sense things like this get overlooked by the code panels, since they would rather spend their time and effort looking for golden geese to line someones' pockets via unproven technological gimmicks and such (afcis).


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> 98% of mine are in rigid conduit risers that go thru the roof in a mast or else come up out of the ground to the meter socket in schedule 80 pvc. I don't loose any sleep over any of them. You look at the picture that 480 posted and realize those are not protected until back at Niagra Falls and what I am saying about how combo meter/main cans are way safer to install on dwellings than a pan on the exterior and a main someplace "relatively close by" on the inside , and then figure out which method makes more sense.
> 
> p.s. here we are not allowed by poco to locate meter's in driveways either so there is not much chance of junior running into them with the side mirror of his truck in the first place............


 Well here, often the driveway is the only place to locate a meter so that the POCO can access it. Aesthetics wins out over the unlikely, though possible event that a drunk kid narrowly misses hitting the house. Luckily, when it does happen, aluminum feeders will likely blow themselves clear in the event of a hit. 

In NYC it's GRC all the way until the disco. But the surrounding 'burbs aren't so cautious.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> 98% of mine are in rigid conduit risers that go thru the roof in a mast or else come up out of the ground to the meter socket in schedule 80 pvc. I don't loose any sleep over any of them. You look at the picture that 480 posted and realize those are not protected until back at Niagra Falls and what I am saying about how combo meter/main cans are way safer to install on dwellings than a pan on the exterior and a main someplace "relatively close by" on the inside , and then figure out which method makes more sense.
> 
> p.s. here we are not allowed by poco to locate meter's in driveways either so there is not much chance of junior running into them with the side mirror of his truck in the first place............



I guess I should run rigid over the street to the pole on the other side, too. Who know if an oversize load will ever come down the street.

Better yet, let's put the meter and disco at the top of the pole next to the transformer.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

IslandGuy said:


> Well here, often the driveway is the only place to locate a meter so that the POCO can access it. Aesthetics wins out over the unlikely, though possible event that a drunk kid narrowly misses hitting the house. Luckily, when it does happen, aluminum feeders will likely blow themselves clear in the event of a hit.
> 
> In NYC it's GRC all the way until the disco. But the surrounding 'burbs aren't so cautious.


That's great information, LawnGuyLandSparky. Thanks for sharing.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

IslandGuy said:


> Well here, often the driveway is the only place to locate a meter so that the POCO can access it. Aesthetics wins out over the unlikely, though possible event that a drunk kid narrowly misses hitting the house. Luckily, when it does happen, aluminum feeders will likely blow themselves clear in the event of a hit.
> 
> In NYC it's GRC all the way until the disco. But the surrounding 'burbs aren't so cautious.



Let's not forget about a HO (who doesn't know or care about safety) putting a new driveway in well after the service is built.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

It makes me wonder how much longer it will be before we have to have the disconnect outside no matter what.


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## A Little Short (Nov 11, 2010)

nrp3 said:


> It makes me wonder how much longer it will be before we have to have the disconnect outside no matter what.


When they figure out how to make an AFCI stand up to outdoor conditions, then they'll require the disconnect and AFCI main outside!:jester:


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## Sparky Cobb (May 14, 2012)

In Nashville they have a localized amendment that does require the main to be outside. Failed my first rough in on a house there for not having it set up that way. It's said to be for fire dept. / emergency workers convenience.


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