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Main panel with meter replacement

buzzbombxj said:
You might be surprised to find out that with higher voltage a big problem is not only the jolt, but the fact that the electricity sets your clothes on fire. So yeah, you got shocked, but you are also laying on the ground on fire.

Because of this many utilities, like PG&E, require their guys to wear fire retardant clothing. If you don't own any FR clothing a handy work around is to soak yourself head to toe in water, so your clothing can't catch fire. The water keeps you cool, like licking your fingers and pinching out a birthday cake candle.
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Saltwater works better. It freezes as a lower temperature so it must boil a higher temp. :flipoff2:
 
I have changed out complete services without pulling a permit or calling the electric company, wearing good dry leather gloves. Do I recommend you do it, no . I have years of experience and know what I'm doing. You have to be aware of what you doing and work with one phase at a time.. It helps to have a good night's sleep, and plan every move before you do it
 
arse_sidewards said:
I don't fuck up. So no. :flipoff2:

I also have only done a low single digit number of panel replacements but that's beside the point. :laughing:


Easy to say when you're not paying for it though. The difference between a homeowner panel replacement and paying someone is months of savings to most people.

For what OP's trying to do I'd take a look at it and if it looks doable I'd drop a hundo on the gloves, mat, etc. The odds of shit going south fucking around once are pretty low. Now, if you're playing slumb lord and are fucking with one building a year, yeah that might catch up with you.
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I charge $2-5k for a service change, depending on what parts I need.
Good (read: not Chinese shit) gloves are more like $300. Don't need a mat if you're not in a transformer or on the lines.


Every utility I've ever worked with will do a disconnect/reconnect for free. I still live in a free state so they'll give any homeowner a permit to do their own.

As a bonus, with a permit you get an inspection. Which is generally a good thing when the homeowner is doing it :flipoff2:

I've fixed some fucked up farmer/rancher work before. It's all I can see whenever homeowners start talking about how it's so easy. :laughing:
 
My experience has been the power co requires it to be permitted if they disco/reco, and my experience is 50/50 if they will issue a homeowner a permit. In CA I was able to get one. Here I was not and had to pay something like $600 for a electrician to pull a permit and babysit the inspector for the whole 3 minutes it took him to inspect. :flipoff:

When I did it in CA I was replacing the existing panel directly and had powerco pull meter in the AM, then swapped new panel in and had them reconnect in afternoon. I think they took down the line since I also had to replace the peckhead and pole. This house I put in a new panel next to the old and had it just cut straight over.

If you are careful and lucky you might be able to do it without messing with company. Have to either deal with hot leads (effectively unfused to boot.... don't short them out!) or wait for a power outage and work quickly. Also not going to be able to replace meter seal, which could be an issue if they care enough.

Also only works if the peckerhead and pole wiring is good - if it's not may as well replace it all, and there's no real way around needing the powerco for that.

This is one of those cases where you have to ask how much life and limb is worth, and there's a real risk of injury if you screw up.
 
In Idaho you are supposed to pull a permit. The power company will disconnect the feed but won't hook it back up until the inspection happens.

Electricians can pull the meter and turn it back on with the inspection to follow. The feed from the box to the meter is the power company. When I moved my meter I paid an electrician to set the meter base and run the new feed to the old main panel, The power was back on in a few hours. I did all the remaining wiring in my panel myself. The inspector showed up after I was done and tagged it.

The permit was stupid cheap, like $40. I saw no reason not to pull one.

But I've known more than a few people to cut the tags and have known no one that got in trouble. If the feed needs cut I bet you are stuck with a permit.
 
sdmuleman said:
Here I was not and had to pay something like $600 for a electrician to pull a permit and babysit the inspector for the whole 3 minutes it took him to inspect. :flipoff:
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Slash his tires. If you can't have the $600 he can't either. :flipoff2:
 
Lincoln said:
But I've known more than a few people to cut the tags and have known no one that got in trouble. If the feed needs cut I bet you are stuck with a permit.
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Exactly. Since smartmeters, there's likely nobody manually-checking anything regularly.

Split bolts and a good tape job works fine.
 
Going to have to replace the 1950s fusable disconnect at n my friends ranch where I am staying.
Trying to talk him into going a head and putting in a panel instead but he is paranoid about the inspector finding out and shutting down his place for all the rancher done wiring.
Pole really needs to be replaced and the co-op needs to run a new feed from the pole still has the three single wires running to the pole.
 
bigun said:
but he is paranoid about the inspector finding out and shutting down his place for all the rancher done wiring.
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looking-puppet.gif
 
bigun said:
Going to have to replace the 1950s fusable disconnect at n my friends ranch where I am staying.
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Fuses are dirt-simple. They don't experience non-trip failures like old breakers can. Granted, if its outside, weathering will eventually take it's toll.

Time-delay fuses can help certain situations.
 
u2slow said:
Fuses are dirt-simple. They don't experience non-trip failures like old breakers can. Granted, if its outside, weathering will eventually take it's toll.

Time-delay fuses can help certain situations.
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Fuse box is falling apart inside fuses are so weathered you can't read what amperage they are :eek:
 
you guys don't have friends at the power company? put a heater core in his sons truck, he showed up one sat morning and swapped my meter box, hooked the shop into it and turned it back on.
 
sdmuleman said:
Also not going to be able to replace meter seal, which could be an issue if they care enough.
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made a new bale for one of them plastic seals outta safety wire
absolutely the wrong shit because it was dead soft instead of hard drawn, but I heard nothing about it
 
Hell if I know, crackheads or kids musta cut it off.
 
u2slow said:
Exactly. Since smartmeters, there's likely nobody manually-checking anything regularly.

Split bolts and a good tape job works fine.
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Split bolts? Are you in the 70s still? :flipoff2:

Polaris connectors are the cats ass. No tape, pull them apart in a minute or put them together. They probably cost a bunch more though.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Slash his tires. If you can't have the $600 he can't either. :flipoff2:
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Naw, he was a good dude. I don't begrudge the guy making some $$$ for taking the risk of dealing with a random homeowner. It's the shitheads in the government that say I'm not allowed to get my own permit that need to fawk right off. Something like $300 of that was the permit too.....
 
so edison came out and I talked to the gal doing inspections. She saw I did a pretty good job running a sub panel and other stuff. I asked if I can do it myself if I have the know how, she said if I have the know how..

She will upgrade the drop wiring to support 200amp as well, sweet.

BUT, I need to have city come out for an inspection after I am done. Scares me because I havent registered shit at this address, but we will see.


So, I need a 200amp panel with meter now. Entering from the top
 
Many ways to do it safely by yourself. I had to call and have it shut off when I did mine because it was fed underground. Total pain in the ASS! Permits, inspections, PG&E almost didn't do it because the electric was too close to the gas meter. New code. Sorry thats the way the place was built.
 
They will do a disconnect and give me like a 5 hour window
 
I need to get this done myself. Just swapping the outside panel (not meter base) for a 200A so I can run the shop on it's own circuit. And have a genny inlet.

The town is the poco (though they just use the local EMC). They will issue a homeowner permit no issues. But I can't get anyone to say anything official on timing.

Ideally:
They pull the meter in the AM and wrap the lugs
Pull the old panel
Install new raintite fittings
Install new panel
Replace wires from meter base to main breaker
wire in house feed
Get inspection
Power on

I don't want to be without power overnight, so I really want to have the power pulled in the AM and inspect that afternoon. I haven't done a panel in a while, but I can build a full ERRC setup with 4x as many cables, multiple boxes and plenty of details in 3-4 hours.

Guess I need to call the power dept again and ask. With fall coming up its the best time to get it done while the temp is decent. Already have the panel and wire in the garage
 
fordguy said:
so edison came out and I talked to the gal doing inspections. She saw I did a pretty good job running a sub panel and other stuff. I asked if I can do it myself if I have the know how, she said if I have the know how..

She will upgrade the drop wiring to support 200amp as well, sweet.

BUT, I need to have city come out for an inspection after I am done. Scares me because I havent registered shit at this address, but we will see.


So, I need a 200amp panel with meter now. Entering from the top
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Yup, I had to get PG&E out to my house to run new lines from the pole to the weatherhead. They would only do it with permits and city approval, so I had to pay.
 
They didnt ask for permits, only a city inspection once they are done. But hopefully that doesnt become a headqche
 
Little late but when I rewired my house I couldn't get the power company to come out and disconnect the power from the pole so we used a grade rod with a hook and put my father in a bucket of a tractor to pull the disconnect at the pole.
 
If you do it right, inspections are nothing.

Pulled a permit for both sub panel install. Inspectors were on site less than 15 mins combined for the cost of about $70 total.

Here, a main panel replacement or service upgrade requires a licensed electrician. Cost us about $2500 to upgrade service with a new panel. Everything after the main panel breaker is fair game for the homeowner though.
 
westracing01 said:
If you do it right, inspections are nothing.

Pulled a permit for both sub panel install. Inspectors were on site less than 15 mins combined for the cost of about $70 total.

Here, a main panel replacement or service upgrade requires a licensed electrician. Cost us about $2500 to upgrade service with a new panel. Everything after the main panel breaker is fair game for the homeowner though.
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Is it the city that requires the licensed electrician, or the power company? If I do it myself, does city ask me foe the receipt or something?
 
fordguy said:
They didnt ask for permits, only a city inspection once they are done. But hopefully that doesnt become a headqche
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City inspector usually comes out to sign off on whatever the permit says he is inspecting. Permit -> Repairs -> Inspector(he will put a sticker allowing the Power company to reconnect,) now whether or not you can pull your own permit depends on jurisdiction. Also the city inspectors here will also inspect for smoke detectors in the proper locations and working.
 
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