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Residentcial 100 amp service reconnection inspection requirements

Residentcial 100 amp service reconnection inspection requirements


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Old 11-18-13, 02:24 PM
C
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Residentcial 100 amp service reconnection inspection requirements

Well the old wiring from the electric service pole broke where it split to go to the one have of my double house. The wires used to go from the middle of the houses and branch down into one side and them ran across the roof of a balcony type porch upstairs and to a weather head and down to the meter. When that side lost power we called the power company and they came out to check why. They found the corroded wire which was no longer connected and that was why there was no power to that side. There is a meter on each houses so they connected the one side back up but refused to do the same for the other stating that the way the wires would need to be run was unsafe. They would not run a new drop for the other side until I enclosed the side of the balcony porch and get an electrician to come in and redo the wires on the outside of the house. No electrician would do just that they all wanted to do the complete rewiring of the entire house. The ones that would wanted to install a new circuit breaker box and all new wire from there out to the meter base which they also wanted to replace and run the wire to the top of the house at the weather head. The cost estimates where $2000.00 plus from each of them. There is no way I could afford to do that but I do know how to install electrical wiring and cost involved.
Doing this myself cost me about $450.00 so far maybe a little more with the new other needed connection stuff and insulators or wire holders, and the anti corrosion paste.
I replaced the Circuit box with a new high quality one as well as all new circuit breakers and the wire from it to the new meter base and from there up to the weather head. Now I am having difficulty with getting it inspected so the power company will hook up the power again. One says that I need 2 ground rods outside and one to the water line. I have the one to the water line and have always had the one to the outside in the ground I never pulled it out so I am assuming it is at least 6'. The electricians will not tell me why I need 2 outside or how to install them. They want to redo the whole thing again. I say they are just greedy thieves. I would assume though that a 2nd ground would have to attach to the new meter base but I am unsure how to correctly do that.
Can anyone help me out with some advise? I want this to pass inspection on the First time around.
Thank you.
Tom
 
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Old 11-18-13, 02:42 PM
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It might be worth getting it inspected and have it fail. He should tell you what is wrong and how to fix it. I hope you have a permit. Also are the power lines to the house the right size for the main breaker you put in?
 
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Old 11-18-13, 03:33 PM
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There are clearances from decks and porches that needs to be maintained. Did you do anything to fix the access issues the power company brought up?

Grounding will need to be upgraded to current requirements when changing the service. You will need two 8 foot rods installed at least 6 foot apart.
 
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Old 11-18-13, 05:42 PM
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The electricians will not tell me why I need 2 outside or how to install them. They want to redo the whole thing again. I say they are just greedy thieves.
The contractors are in business to make a reasonable profit, not for charity work. Part of what they charge for is their expertise. Why would you expect them to tell you how to do the job so you can do it yourself?
 
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Old 11-19-13, 05:35 AM
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I would gladly pay them if they where reasonable. The cost of the whole list of parts for me is more than it is for them. I know how the price structures work. My cost was as I said $450.00 plus a little more for some insidentals so even at $500.00 cost what is the other $1500.00 for? It takes one day at most to do this. $1500.00 plus a day is not what I concider reasonable. Not only that but I don't make that much in 1 month.
 
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Old 11-19-13, 05:46 AM
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Hello pcboss; Yes the porch issue was taken care of. They need to run a new drop to the house now so that had to be done.
The question now is the ground rods. I have the one that was in place before and it is hooked up to the circuit board. There is also the ground from the circuit board to the water line. I looked up this on line and it says on old structures I only need 1 outside ground, but on new structures they require 2 outside and the one to the water line. I can put another one in but what does the 2nd ground rod attach to? Is it the other ground rod or the meter base? If it is the meter base I can't find any place where it would attach to that makes sense. It is a new meter base.
 
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Old 11-19-13, 06:39 AM
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You can add a jumper wire between the two rods. You will need to add a second acorn clamp to the first rod for the new wire.
 
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Old 11-19-13, 07:33 PM
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Thank you pcboss; I talked to our township code enforcement officer today. He said I need a permit for doing this so I had to get one. The inspector called me later in the day to see what I was doing and why. He told me that they only require the one outside ground and the water line ground. But said that the 2nd ground would be a good idea. So I'm going to try to put one in. the trouble will be how do I get the rod to go down 8 feet without mushrooming the top. It should prove to be an interesting adventure. There are a lot of rocks in my yard. But thank you for your help it was greatly appreciated.
 
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Old 11-20-13, 02:05 AM
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Put the acorn clamp on before attempting to drive the rod. Just install it a couple inches down and tighten the clamp. This way it is below any mushrooming. You move it up later.
 
 

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