Water in my fuse box

After a recent hard rain I woke to water in my fuse box! No kidding. There was about 8oz. of water that had puddled on the bottom of the box and the shelf right below it. After absorbing the water carefully with a rag, I started to carefully poke around. I found no water on any of the wires---including the main power and ground line. I pulled the board off of the block wall that the fuse box is mounted to and found nothing.

I then went outside and looked at the main line to the house. The meter/main line is on the same wall as the fuse box. I noticed that my main power wire is not in conduit. It's protected, but not in conduit. It runs from the roof down to the meter and then on down about 2' and into a small box about 3" square which goes into the siding and further into the house. I noticed some gaps around this 3" box. I cleaned it real good and then calked it. Thinking I solved the problem, I put a fan next to the electrical box and walked away figuring I had solved it.

We had another hard rain today and it happened again! I went back and looked above the fuse box at the wires and saw nothing---no water anywhere---I even used a dentist mirror and 30min. of my time looking. Nothing. Went back outside and noticed on the bottom of the 3" box that I caulked I had missed a spot. I cleaned it and caulked it shut. I then put a plastic bag over it with duct tape to seal out moisture while the caulk dried.

I called the electric company and they came out and looked. They said that what I was experiencing was somewhat normal!! What? He said I did the right thing by caulking and that I might consider a "cap" on the wire/meter outside. My wife talked to the guy since I was in the car coming home from work. I know this is a long shot---any idea what they heck he is talking about when he mentions this "cap?"

I don't feel comfortable with ANY water in my electrical box. I know the foundation isn't leaking as there is no water coming from any of the walls. There isn't any water anywhere in my basement other than in the bottom of the fuse box.

Ideas?

Thanks,
Curt B. Shumaker

 

Although you are aghast, your experience is not that uncommon. You may want to check to see if you have weep holes in the bottom of the panel and if they are clear.

The water is probably running down the cable. Is there a drip loop?

You can install some sort of small "porch roof" over the exterior components which might also help.

And look for more places to caulk.

 

Wow! I guess I need to have a smack in the face. I can't believe that's considered *normal*. Don't misunderstand me---you are the third person who has said that. Therefore, I am starting to think I need a reality check

I like your idea of a roof hat to cover up the parts. I will also continue to monitor the caulk situation. There is no drip loop on the wire that goes into the siding and further into the house. Further, there isn't one on the main wire that comes into the top of the box either...

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!
Curt B. Shumaker

 

I have the same problem. Main comes into the side of house. Connection to meter. Meter to breaker. Leak is usually @ meter box, where the wire runs off the bottom side of the meter. Solution : call electrical co. and let them know that you want to open their meter box. Seal 14 aut wire with duck or caulk. Silicone wire in and out...

 

Last year I had a similar problem. I have a pump at work. If the water level gets above a certain point an alarm goes off. It didn't work and the water level got into the circuits and kicked the circuit breaker. We reset the breaker even with the fluids in the sub-panel and for some odd reason it started without a problem.

 

This problem is common here in the rainy north east what maybe happening is there is no “Duct Seal” on the top wire going into the meter,(Duct Seal is a type of gray putty used to fill holes), or water is entering the meter box somehow, anyway water is probably running through the meter box and down the inside of the outer covering of the wire going into your fuse box

 

I had a similar problem in a house in Ct. Believe it or not, it was not due to water coming in on the wires, but due to capillary action, the water was traveling in the service entrance. Due to the fact that we were down hill of the pole connection, water was infiltratiing the service entrance and building up such pressure that it was jumping the meter and pushing through on a 200 amp service. UI the power company didn't believe me until I had them break the seal and see for themselves. The answer was to slit the drip leg, which resulted in a stream of water pouring out.!!!

It was very frustrating and dangerous.