Hi everyone,

I'm looking at putting in a new breaker box, but I am a little confused by the current setup.

I'm trying to upload a picture of my current breaker box

 

Welcome to the forums! Here's how: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

http://postimg.org/image/ak32rxr4p/

 

thanks chandler! It wouldn't let me directly post because of the image size.

 

Do you have a main disconnect or fuse box between that and the meter or is it connected directly to the meter?

I just rotated and slightly cropped. I didn't change file size. Probably because of the incorrect orientation it was too wide. Usually if you keep width below 1000 px a picture will post.

 

Ray, it actually runs from this View image: 20150619 183544 then from the meter...

Which leads me to my next HUGE issue...

I switched off the 30 amp in the middle(of new pic/link) to see what it controls and upon flipping it back, it won't work. No power..

 

Here is a pic of the outside box(the one that just went out) opened.

View image: 20150619 201005

 

please step back and take a wider picture.

 

And reduce the picture size to about 1080 x 640 way too big for us to tell anything about it. Where is the second box you took a picture of? Ahead of or behind the meter??

 

View image: 20150619 203248 (1)

the one on far left goes to A/C
one on far right goes to addition on house and dryer

 

after the meter, and again sorry for the crappy pic uploads

I will try 1080 x 640 from now on. Let me know if I need to re-upload any of these pictures.

 

View image: 20150618 000031
View image: 20150619 201005
View image: 20150619 203248

here are smaller uploads of all pictures

 

If you needed to turn all the power off to your house in a hurry, what would you do? We are looking for a main disconnect point, and thusfar you don't show one with amperage over 30.

 

It looks like you have two or three panels fed off the one meter. The red wires are taped off the middle panel and are likely over fused unless they feed into a circuit breaker.

If I was doing it I would start from scratch and replace the whole works, meter and mast included. Then replace the three panels with one outdoor panel. Based on the size of your wires to the middle panel is looks to be about 100 amp wire (thins should be confirmed) Something like this would be a good option: Square D Homeline 100 Amp 20-Space 40-Circuit Outdoor Main Plug-On Neutral Breaker Load Center-HOM2040M100PRB - The Home Depot

This would be a very big job for a DIYer, you might want to get some pro's out to look and give you some bids. This is quite a can of worms!

 

I added a picture of his outside mess to his post. Guys does it look like at least a double tap off the meter?

Jared can you pull the covers off that trio of meters in your third picture and give us a photo of each?

ECHO, Echo, echo Tolyn types faster.

 

I am not aware of of main disconnect. I have been told to pull the meter in the past....

 

It's getting a little dark and raining at the moment. I can definitely do it in the morning if the rain here stops.

 

I will have to have some help on this one, as you said. I BELIEVE the 3 panels ARE fed from the meter.

I am having somebody out Monday to give me a bid, it's just very inconvenient that I lost power to the back side of the house before that could happen. I wanted to come here to get some advice so I would know more of what I was talking about.

You guys are amazing, by the way. I appreciate all of the quick responses.

 

You shouldn't be pulling the meter. I agree with Tolyn that the entire service needs to be replaced with one main breaker panel, new meter socket, new riser and service entrance wiring with upgraded grounding, but I'd prefer the new panel be inside. Why are these panels all outside? Is this a requirement in TN?

 

Im sure none of this is up to code.
Kinda got screwed on this one. This house was built in the 50's and I am pretty sure everything in it besides the plumbing is original.

 

Joe, outside is common where I am also. Old houses pre 60's are inside but newer panels are not inside. It does make life simpler for construction. The panel is right there outside under the meter. Occasionally in a garage if it is detached but that is it. (They build a breezeway roof between house and garage to carry the cables to the house attic which seems to get around the detached structure rule.)

 

Outside panels are common, especially in Colorado. Not sure about Tenn. i would prefer main disconnect outside, and panel inside, too.

 

The only areas in Tennessee I am somewhat familiar with are the rural areas near Paris and residential areas near Clarksville, outside Ft. Campbell. In both of those areas panels are generally inside. I have no idea what area the OP is in. This is why I asked.

The NEC doesn't have a preference, but local codes might.

 

Im here in Memphis, TN.

Do you gentlemen know what a licensed contractor should charge(ballpark) for the type of work Tolyn Ironhand suggested? I am looking to go ahead and go to a 200 amp service since I will probably need to. My existing wiring INSIDE isn't in the best shape, but I would like to try to run what I can myself..

None of the outlets in the back of my house are grounded so I assume it will need to be done. Will code pass any new work(mast, meter, boxes etc.) with the old wiring inside?

 

None of us can really give you an estimate. On a very simple service change out you would be looking at 1500-$2000 but yours isn't going to be that simple. Not a pro but if he does it right I'd be a bit surprised if it was much under $5000. Get at least three written estimates and then post a summary of each estimate here. Usually yes but final authority is with your local agency.

 

I haven't seen anything that would suggest you need any more than a 100 amp service or at the most a 125 amp service.


Maybe as much as $2000 if a 200 amp service. A 100 amp service would be less. Anything else required can be determined and priced by a licensed contractor. I would seriously doubt the existing ungrounded circuits have to be changed for a simple service change, but the contractor will know what is required.

 

It is most likely overhead, so contact your POCO to see what charges you will incur from them.

 

Just had an electrician out, he is going to work up a bid by the end of the day.

The reason for wanting 200 amp service is that we have a guest house that hasn't been in use in many years. We are trying to ix it up. There is power out there of course, but we're wanting to add a kitchen, washer/dryer, etc...

I will post the bid from the first electrician ASAP.
Still going to look for other contractors as well.