Does anyone use temporary services anymore? - Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum

Tapeman · 05-03-2012, 08:51 AM

Now that there are so many good cordless tools out there, and manny subs have generators, do any of you still provide temporary services for new residential construction?

I have a couple of them and don't know whether to break them down or try to sell them. I am going to retire later this year and will not have any use for them.

HARRY304E · 05-03-2012, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tapeman

Now that there are so many good cordless tools out there, and manny subs have generators, do any of you still provide temporary services for new residential construction?

I have a couple of them and don't know whether to break them down or try to sell them. I am going to retire later this year and will not have any use for them.

Yes remember you still need temp lights and the carpenters are always using compressors plus all those battery's need to be charged..

dieselram752 · 05-03-2012, 10:18 AM

The air compressors are the main reason a temp is needed now at resi construction.

Tiger · 05-03-2012, 10:22 AM

The most memorable one for me was when the carpenters ran an extension cord 400' to the neighbors house and paid the neighbor's electric bill for the month. I was always curious how many volts those saws ran with.

B4T · 05-03-2012, 10:26 AM

What is this "retiring' you speak of..

I hope you have enough money to make it since SS won't be getting any better as the years pass by..

You will need supplemental health insurance till the day you die.. keep this in mind..

Bit good luck if you are really going to pull the plug..

Tapeman · 05-03-2012, 12:15 PM

My master's license expires March 1st 2013 and I don't know if I'll renew it. My contractor's license expires March 1st 2014 and I'm sure I won't renew that one.

(In Minnesota you need two licenses, one to do the work and one to pull permits & send the bill.)

I only work now to get out of the house and I cherry pick the jobs I'll take (no attics in summer, limited travel etc.). I'm a one horse shop.

I mostly use the money I make now for crazy/fun stuff.

No debt, been saving for 40 years.

**480sparky** · 05-03-2012, 12:18 PM

I'd hate to think what builders here would do/say if I didn't give 'em temp power.

TooFarFromFenway · 05-03-2012, 01:24 PM

Temp power is required by our county code, and is usually written into the contracts for EC's.

Turtle3000 · 05-03-2012, 02:46 PM

In the city here our local utility company has taken over putting in the temp power system. Which is nice because I hate setting temporaries.

Shockdoc · 05-03-2012, 03:26 PM

Out here it's knock down and rebuild, which makes it easy. I always take the old service equipment and mount it on a few 2x6x16's and add a wp 6 ckt panel w/ one ground rod. Not code? of course. Unsafe? that's how you look at it. Fast and cheap?most definetly.

Tapeman · 05-03-2012, 08:40 PM

Here we have to get an inspection before the utility company will bring power to the service.

**frenchelectrican** · 05-04-2012, 12:12 AM

For moi., The construction time for new home will varies a bit some case I will put in a temp service and some other case just run a new service and be done with it.

I have few peoples abuse the tempory service like overload it and use more than 90 days ( many POCO will not like to leave this on temp longer than 90 days otherwise just go with perament new service )

Merci,
Marc

HARRY304E · 05-04-2012, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tapeman

Here we have to get an inspection before the utility company will bring power to the service.

Yup same here.

electric mike · 05-04-2012, 07:57 PM

we build temp services on 99.9% of all our jobs. Especially for the masons if it's block. They'll cry like babies if they can't run their saws or mixers

mcclary's electrical · 05-04-2012, 11:05 PM

The last two temporary services I dealt with went two ways. On the first one, the house was built and weathered in way before they powered up the temp. When they came to hook it up, I told them **** it, you're too late. Just hook up the permanent one now.

And the second one, the power company wanted 500 bucks just to hook up the temporary service. GC decided he would rather buy a generator for that much money and have something to keep.

ilikepez · 05-04-2012, 11:22 PM

I saw three in the project my grandparents are buying a house in just last Sunday.

rnr electric · 05-04-2012, 11:32 PM

Here we set topless on every new const. Job site. I pull permit,have it inspected the next day and it is always hooked up the following day.

user4818 · 05-04-2012, 11:33 PM

I never see temp services on resi new construction unless it's a really long term project. Every commercial site has one though.

rnr electric · 05-04-2012, 11:33 PM

T-poles.... Damn auto correct

mcclary's electrical · 05-04-2012, 11:38 PM

They built a Dollar store in mineral last year. The electricians set a temporary service, and the entire store was finished before they had even hooked up the temporary. They eventually took it down and just fired up the store. It never even got energized before it was dismantled.