Meter base installation

What is the proper way to run the service entrance out of the back of a new meter base which will be mounted on an outside wall of my home. I want to run the service entrance cable into the wall cavity and down to the crawl space. Does the penetration in the exterior wall need to be sealed? If so, how?

Thank you-
Roland Winger
rwinger@pcch.org

 

What you are considering is impratical if I correctly understand your question. If this is a 200 amp service, the size of the conductors between the Load side of the meter and the Line side of the Service Dis-connect will be either #00 copper or #0000 aluminum. There is a substantial difference between the size and flexibility of these 2 types of conductors. You mention routing the Service Condutors into a "crawl-space". Art. 230.70 (A) (1) reads-----"The Service Dis-Connecting Means shall be at a "readily accessible" location either outside or inside NEAREST THE POINT OF ENTRANCE of the Service Conductors."----Locating the Service Dis-Connect 10 feet form the "point of entrance" would probably be a Code Violation.Either install the Service Dis-Connect outside under the Meter Socket or obtain approval for an inside Dis-Connect from you inspector prior to installing the Service.--Good Luck!!!!

 

thank you for your reply. i was not very clear in my original description... there will be a 200 mb disconnect mounted by the meter base on the outside wall and the service entrance cable will come out of the back of it. can i run a 2" close nipple into the wall to carry the cable or does there need to be something more elaborate?

thanks

 

It would not only be practical, but easer if you was to run a conduit out of the bottom of the disconnect, to a height that is adequate to enter the crawl space. Then install a LB entering the house. Protecting the cable with a nipple through the block. If this "Cable" is individual wires then conduit will be needed to the point of its destination into the panel.

 

I have an extreme aversion to Service Entrance Cable.----If you have 2" X 6" exterior studs you may have enough depth for a ninety-degree bend in the #0000 SEC. You'll need a large diameter hole for the SEC connector and you'll have a tight fit at the breaker terminal connections.I prefer a 2" conduit nipple fitted between the rear of the enclosure and an "LB" fitting, with 2" EMT for the conductors inside the wall and a 90-degree EMT elbow into the crawl-space. THe problem is the "LB" cover must be acessible without "removing the finish" of the wall. This requires an un-obtrusive plate or cover on the wall that can be removed for access to the LB cover. Ingenuity is needed. With EMT you need not worry about driving a screw or nail into concealed Service Cable, copper is superior to aluminum, and smaller conductors are used. Desigining a wall-cover for access to the is a challenge, but I'm sure you can do it!!!--Good Luck-----P.S.---you must connect the Grounding Electrode Conductor to the out-door Main Dis-connect.