Death trap Electric Service at a friend's cabin! - Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 06:50 PM

This is the the "Before" pics....all of this was done by the previous owner, a lot of it dates from the early to mid 60's......we were surprised when the POCO set a new digital meter onto this mess!! Note the creative use of plumbing fittings and pipe, and also note that most of the NM cable you see is aluminum!!

There were 60 amp cartridge fuses in that main pullout.

Overall shot. The cord on the left goes to the original 1964 trailer which is supposed to be served with a standard 30 amp RV receptacle. Note the creative ground wire attached to that cord as well. The exposed NM on the left led down to a box about 6-8" above grade where it spliced to two UF cables one for the shed and the other for the "fireplace room. " The extension cord on the right goes to a 1986 trailer parked there as well. At least it has a "proper" ground. The meter is about 8 feet above grade and that Main Fuse block below the meter is about 7 feet above grade.:

The fused disconnect for the well pump. Note the missing KO's and the RV receptacle with no cover. Oh, and did I mention that it is not uncommon for this area to get snow over 8 feet deep? This was about 5 feet above grade.:

The one and ONLY OCPD for the four 20 amp general purpose circuits on the site and it's an FPE!! Note the debris in the bottom of the panel. This was "protecting" the right side trailer and RV receptacles.:

The horror inside the main. Red 3M nuts on aluminum, triple lugged #12 on the 60 amp fuses (well 3 times 20 IS 60, right?).....what a mess. :

The demolition begins. We had to do a makeshift roof as the weather was threatening rain all day....an hour after this picture was taken the sun came out and stayed out all day. :

After the demolition, the pile of old stuff:

The "clean" pole, ready for the new service. The only original things left were the POCO ground. meter can and riser. The meter can lugs and terminals were all in very good condition. (The propane tank isn't as close to the pole as this pic angle makes it out to be.) :

More pics to follow.......the new stuff, and a few views from the jobsite.

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 07:18 PM

Now we start with the new:

First off, the meter socket ready to be rewired from the load side down:

The new SquareD Homeline 100amp 20 space with main breaker panel, mounted with a 12" conduit drop to get the main just inside Code height.:

Hard to see but now the feeder wire is in and all connections torqued:

Breakers loaded in and the main is on, the bus is hot and the 2p to the well is wired and hot (the septic tank guys were there working as well and needed the water right away.) The breakers in the very bottom moved back up, they were in place to help protect my hands from the bus while we finished installing all the conduits. That still didn't keep me from getting bit on my left knuckle when I went to show the owner about being careful when the main is on "because those silver tabs are live". Doh!!:

We added an extra disconnect for the well below the panel. This is a nifty thing SqD makes, was only $15 and is rated to 60 amps. What you see is NOT a QO breaker, it is a QO style molded case switch. (I forgot to write "Mxslick" on my hand ..oops.) The flex you see was strapped to the conduits added on that side later. The funky use of 45's and 90's to get the pipes to hit the pole was my friend's idea, (he's an engineer), it looked odd but did the job.:

The runs to the 1964 RV, the shed and "Fireplace Room" wired in. :

The funky conduit runs down the left side of the pole. The leftmost holds the two circuits feeding the shed and fireplace room, the rightmost holds the 30amp circuit to the 1964 RV. The well pump line is uf cable sleeved in the pvc.

The finished product showing our "creative" conduit work, the box where the UF for the shed and fireplace room is spliced (and the UF's sleeved). The metal stand was used formerly to reach that main fuseblock. Note the offset in the PVC conduit to the immediate right of the well disconnect..I hand bent that by heating the pipe over the stove in the trailer..and got lucky. It was the right dimension, did not collapse the pipe and I didn't burn the pipe either. I was so proud of that offset, I took a pic of it that I'll include in the next post:

Yes the use of the 90's and 45's was funky, BUT...this is WORLDS safer that what was there before, it is now easy and safe to shut off power when he leaves, and finally, all of this is "temporary" as he will be building his permanent cabin on the rise just behind this pole, so all of this will be removed and the panel relocated eventually.

Next post: My offset, and some scenes from the jobsite!

sbrn33 · 10-21-2011, 07:20 PM

Homeline and carflex is something I would not wish on my worst enemy.

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 07:39 PM

The final pics, a few more of the power and then the fun stuff:

First up, my hand-made offset:

The finished product, with the deadfront on and the label filled out. (I added the tie for that flex after.):

Right side of pole, with the new WP and TR GFCI on a proper 20amp breaker:

Now, this was my view early the first morning just at sunrise:

Later that day, looking North:

Guess what happened to the scrap copper?:

Finally, after the job was done.:

The weather had started to turn, it was very windy as you can see by the water. I had no luck catching anything, but still had a lot of fun, that was the first time I had been fishing since high school. (Over 30 years.)

The best part of this is that I have full use of that cabin anytime I want...next time I am going up there for a week instead of the 2.5 days we took to do this job.

Wireman191 · 10-21-2011, 07:43 PM

Nice view

all I ever catch when I go fishing any more is a buzz.

Magnettica · 10-21-2011, 07:48 PM

I wouldn't have installed a 20 amp circuit for the GFCI. Instead, I would've used 15 amp and beat everybody on the bid!

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wireman191

Nice view

all I ever catch when I go fishing any more is a buzz.

Yeah it was awesome up there, I have over 100 other pics of all the scenery. The 2 working days were actually more like 1.25 as I stopped early enough on the first day to go see the sights and on the second day I was done well before lunch so had time to go fishing.

I wish I could drink (can't because of the blood thinners) as it would have made the days truly perfect. Sitting by the fire, or on the front porch with that view, downing some cold ones would have been awesome. I had to settle for caffeine-free Pepsi's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnettica

I wouldn't have installed a 20 amp circuit for the GFCI. Instead, I would've used 15 amp and beat everybody on the bid!

LOL I had no worries there, I was the one and only bidder and got the job because my friend insisted I needed a break from my current stress. (He was right as usual.) However, now that I am back here....

Magnettica · 10-21-2011, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mxslick

Yeah it was awesome up there, I have over 100 other pics of all the scenery. The 2 working days were actually more like 1.25 as I stopped early enough on the first day to go see the sights and on the second day I was done well before lunch so had time to go fishing.

I wish I could drink (can't because of the blood thinners) as it would have made the days truly perfect. Sitting by the fire, or on the front porch with that view, downing some cold ones would have been awesome. I had to settle for caffeine-free Pepsi's.

LOL I had no worries there, I was the one and only bidder and got the job because my friend insisted I needed a break from my current stress. (He was right as usual.) However, now that I am back here....

LOL.. That's a carry over from a thread earlier this week.

mcclary's electrical · 10-21-2011, 08:09 PM

Can't tell, is there a bond bushing on that metal nipple?

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcclary's electrical

Can't tell, is there a bond bushing on that metal nipple?

On the top end in the socket, yes. The bottom is in the "B" hub with no bonding provision.

BrandonK · 10-21-2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mxslick

What kind of cover is that on the GFCI?

Shockdoc · 10-21-2011, 08:24 PM

I love burning romex, smelt some in the air yesterday night from someone else.

**Speedy Petey** · 10-21-2011, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mxslick

We added an extra disconnect for the well below the panel. This is a nifty thing SqD makes, was only $15 and is rated to 60 amps. What you see is NOT a QO breaker, it is a QO style molded case switch.

OK, but what purpose does it serve?

Just so your friend doesn't throw the wrong breaker?

mcclary's electrical · 10-21-2011, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shockdoc

I love burning romex, smelt some in the air yesterday night from someone else.

You're a funny MF

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrandonK

What kind of cover is that on the GFCI?

It's this one from the Orange Box:

http://www.homedepot.com/Taymac/Taym...atalogId=10053

The picture on the site doesn't have the little view window but the ones in-store do.

The cover expands up to 3" out for in-use, and collapses down when not in use. It includes "adapters" for all kinds of switches and receptacles, including the RV receptacles we installed (and I forgot to get pics of.

)

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedy Petey

OK, but what purpose does it serve?

Just so your friend doesn't throw the wrong breaker?

He wanted it for additional lockout purposes since the wellhead is out of sight on the other side of the trailer. I don't question it, I do as the client wants. (He's not only my friend but he also owns the apt. building I live in.)

I would have rather mounted it at the well head, but not what he wanted and he claims the well is gonna have to be re-drilled soon anyways.

Cletis · 10-21-2011, 08:58 PM

More important did you get time-share stock in that cabin til 2050 ?

mxslick · 10-21-2011, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cletis

More important did you get time-share stock in that cabin til 2050 ?

LOL got usage rights till either he dies or I die.

Magnettica · 10-21-2011, 09:11 PM

That's definitely a nice little spot to hangout for a few. I'm not much into fishing but I do like getting the hell away from everything.

**Speedy Petey** · 10-21-2011, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mxslick

It's this one from the Orange Box:

http://www.homedepot.com/Taymac/Taym...atalogId=10053

The picture on the site doesn't have the little view window but the ones in-store do.

The cover expands up to 3" out for in-use, and collapses down when not in use. It includes "adapters" for all kinds of switches and receptacles, including the RV receptacles we installed (and I forgot to get pics of.

)

Much as I hate to admit it, those are my new favorite in-use covers.

My regular guy did not have anything appropriate so I went to the HD down the road to see what they had. I saw these and though they were kind of lame. I bought one anyway to try it. Wow!
EASY to put on. EASY to use. Works both hor and vert. Stocks on the truck compactly and cleanly.

I also now think the little window is pretty cool and not at all lame.
That and they are only about $7.50 each.

Now I go there specifically for these covers and buy 10 or 20 at a time.