i live in iowa so the 2014 code is what i have to meet. i'm only worried about getting from the meter to my panel right now. electric company installed a meter with a 200 amp main breaker and 8 slots for breakers and it also has feed through lugs. i am hooking to the feed through lugs with 4/0,4/0,4/0,2/0 alum. since my house meeter will now be a feeder panel. most of my issues right now are to do with the conduit. the wire i have is rated for underground barriel. from what i can figure with the conduit fill stuff i need 3 inch conduit ? however my box at the pole and at the house only take 2.5 inch conduit. my home box is a QO 42 space 42 circuit. i was planning on running 3 inch conduit down past the 2 ft mark then stopping at the pole and the house. i'm waiting to hear back from the inspector now. but figured i'd try this to see what i can learn before i talk to him. will i need an expansion sleeve per code? this is an older home but the pole is new. maybe i am going overboard with the 3 inch conduit maybe i only need 2.5 inch. what is normally done? thanks troy. and ya my spelling sucks

Good Evening All, This is my first post on this forum, thank you in advance for your replies and I hope I am able to articulate my problem well enough. Pictures of my circuit breaker box are attached. The switch on the very top and left side (switch 01 & 03) are a 30amp breaker connected to my water heater. We noticed that we had little no hot water and of course the switch had flipped itself off. When I flip it back to the “on” position, I hear a buzzing, slight crackling noise, I feel a noticeable rise in temperature, and I can see a bright red glowing ember emitting from behind the main ‘hot’ cable (right above switch 01) that comes from outside the house. For whatever reason, when the water heater breaker is flipped to the “on” position, it does this. After a few minutes of this glowing, buzzing, heat, and crackling, the switch flips to the “off” position and the glowing/noise/heat goes away. All of the other breakers are working fine and nowhere else in the house has there been any loss of power. At first, I was hoping some dust or a bug was unlucky and being zapped, so I grabbed a can of compressed air to clear out the area. After the dust and bits of black char went away, I can see some of the surrounding plastic housing has been melted. The top of this breaker’s plastic has also been damaged by the heat emitted from above. Any clue of what is causing this? Additionally, can I do this myself with a trip to the home improvement store? My experience: I understand the concept of how electricity flows and how to read an electrical schematic, but nowhere near the level of experience as you professional types. I specialize in changing/adding outlets and installing ceiling fans. Also, I am not fluent in electrician jargon (sorry). Location: Muscogee County, Georgia, good ol’ USA. My electrical box: Switch 01 & 03 turned to the "off" position Switch 01 & 03 turned to the "on" position and the glowing red. A close up of the glowing red. The damage of this heat to the surrounding plastic pieces. The damage of this heat to the top of switch 01. Besides making the little ones bathe in cold water, what do I do???