To see if it is a thermal trip or just sloppy meter installation, you can try this test:
WARNING: Wear PPE including gloves, safety glasses and flameproof shirt at the minimum!!
With an observer inside to watch lights, etc. for flickering...
Give the meter a sharp smack on each side, top, bottom then face.
If it is a thermal trip (not likely) nothing will happen.
If the meter is not in the socket correctly (99.9999999999999999999% probability) then the lights will flicker, you may even hear arcing from the meter socket.
A lot of POCO's (at least out here) have subcontractors doing the meter swapouts. I have met a few and some are as dumb as a box of rocks. They don't take the time to align the meter properly, they just force it in..I saw one such swapout at an apartment complex where ALL of the meters were forced in.....you could tell by the angle of the displays.
At my brother in law's old hair salon they forced a 3 phase (non-CT) meter in so badly he kept losing a phase. We first thought we had a bad fuse clip in the disconnect, but right as I was about to open the disconnect he hit his head on the meter (he's a bull in a china shop)..I heard the arcing as saw his lights flickering. A quick call to the POCO and one of the trouble guys I knew came out, reset the meter and all was good.
WARNING: Wear PPE including gloves, safety glasses and flameproof shirt at the minimum!!
With an observer inside to watch lights, etc. for flickering...
Give the meter a sharp smack on each side, top, bottom then face.
If it is a thermal trip (not likely) nothing will happen.
If the meter is not in the socket correctly (99.9999999999999999999% probability) then the lights will flicker, you may even hear arcing from the meter socket.
A lot of POCO's (at least out here) have subcontractors doing the meter swapouts. I have met a few and some are as dumb as a box of rocks. They don't take the time to align the meter properly, they just force it in..I saw one such swapout at an apartment complex where ALL of the meters were forced in.....you could tell by the angle of the displays.
At my brother in law's old hair salon they forced a 3 phase (non-CT) meter in so badly he kept losing a phase. We first thought we had a bad fuse clip in the disconnect, but right as I was about to open the disconnect he hit his head on the meter (he's a bull in a china shop)..I heard the arcing as saw his lights flickering.
A quick call to the POCO and one of the trouble guys I knew came out, reset the meter and all was good.
