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noprojecttobig

Safety tips for working with live wires overhead service 120/240V

NoProjectToBig
12 years ago

I want to thank anyone who is willing to contribute to the details described below.

I am in the process of remodeling and completely rewiring my 1927 built home. The subject at hand is once I get my service inspection completed I will be required to move the live wires that are currently connected to my old (still active service) to the new service entrance. The utility company expects the customer (me) to temporally connect the service and then they will come over at their leisure to do a permanent connection. The entrance is an overhead feeder where the wires run about 10 feet from a sub pole to my weather head. The old service and new service entrance are about 1ft apart exiting on the roof of my house. There are no trees or obstructions present and because the wire is primarily a vertical drop there is very little tension on the lines. I consider this task within my comfort level, but would like to validate my plan and seek any advice from others as I am not an electrician and don�t want to put myself in any more danger than required.

Here is the plan:

Prerequisite: Inspection is bought off and I am allowed to switch power to my new service.

Wearing my insulated leather gloves (heavy welding gloves), using insulated lineman�s pliers I cut one of the 120v lines while holding onto the insulated part of the wire.

The while still holding on the cut line (to prevent grounding to the mast) I strip the wire using insulated wire strippers.

Next I simply insert the live wire into a 2 lug splice connector (2/0 copper THWN) and torque the lug holding the splice connector with a pair of insulated channel locks and an insulated 3/8 ratchet.

Lastly tape well using standard electrical tape.

After one connection completed I repeat the same procedure for the other 120v leg and then do the neutral last.

Note: I will be standing on my roof and not working from a ladder during the process.

I also will be wearing coveralls and a thick flannel shirt during this process just in case a wire slips out of my grasp it does not ground out on my body. I will also be very careful not to come in contact with the metal service mast or anything that would provide a path to ground via through my body.

Please let me know if anyone has any comments or suggestions. Any advice is appreciated.

Note: I am looking for advice on the best way practices to accomplish this task. I understand just like anything you do there comes inherent risk and that is why I am seeking the advice of others. Thus, please don�t say this job is for a licensed electrician only.

Thanks,

Ian

Comments (19)

  • petey_racer
    12 years ago

    THIS JOB IS FOR A QUALIFIED/LICENSED ELECTRICIAN OR LINE MAN ONLY!!!!

    You should NOT be messing with the overhead POCO drop AT ALL!!! PERIOD!

  • bus_driver
    12 years ago

    I hesitate to comment. But your plan is well thought out. On one occasion over 50 year ago, I had to do similar work. And had nothing but the tools. The POCO had used split bolts. It probably predated the compressions connectors. I stood on the dry roof in my work shoes and touched one of the wires with my finger. No shock. So I did the work barehanded with no problem. A POCO retiree told me that in the days before the bucket trucks, his crew worked up to 2000 volts barehanded on poles IF the pole was really dry. But I cannot actually recommend that anyone do any of these things. There is always the possibility of problems. And for that reason, I do not post some of the things I do while I am doing troubleshooting and repair.

  • Ron Natalie
    12 years ago

    You're scaring me.
    Welding gloves are not suitable. A flannel shirt is not sufficient. If you touch a 200A service line even without having your other hand on the grounded mast you're going to get quite a jolt.

    Cutting hot wires with pliers? Self insulated rachet? What pray tell are you going to do if you lose your grip on the wire? Despite the fact it appears to not be under much tension, it is going to be HEAVY.

    Frankly this is a job for someone with a clue. In fact, when the utility says they want "you" to do the work, they mean they want "you" to hire a licensed electrician. I'm sorry you DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT but some things are not DIY

    How about you do the following:

    1. Pull your existing meter.
    2. Run your temporary service from the metered side of the old meter to the new one.
    3 Wait for the power company to do it right.

  • saltcedar
    12 years ago

    "The utility company expects the customer (me) to temporally connect the service and then they will come over at their leisure to do a permanent connection."

    Still trying to wrap my head around that statement!
    Anyone anywhere ever heard of such a thing?

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    You run the new drop lines over to the old drop and use crimp on connectors and the correct safety gear to connect them.

    It is not the amateur hour.

    While the voltage is only 120 V to the neutral (and 240 V between the hots) the current available to a fault is into the tens of thousands of amps.

    Anything that gets across the lines and conducts well will be vaporized. INSTANTLY.

    Where I live the POCO is responsible for everything down to the meter pan.

    We normally jumper from the bottom of the old meter base to the top of the new, insert shorting bars, and plug the meter back into the old base.

    The AHJ will get around to inspecting, and then the POCO will come install a new drop.

  • saltcedar
    12 years ago

    Sorry, my timing offends you. I was composing the question
    while you were posting the answer.

  • kudzu9
    12 years ago

    I see that there were no further posts from the person starting the thread. Hopefully, he's still alive...

  • bus_driver
    12 years ago

    I took the first post literally. Reminds me of the saying: "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not the sport for you".

  • jmorrow
    12 years ago

    boxing gloves are where it's at for any DIY electrical project. and for the love of God connect the neutral first, not last.

  • NoProjectToBig
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you for all your comments.

  • coolvt
    12 years ago

    "The utility company expects the customer (me) to temporally connect the service and then they will come over at their leisure to do a permanent connection."
    Still trying to wrap my head around that statement!
    Anyone anywhere ever heard of such a thing?

    I've heard of that. In our area if the inspector passes the job it is expected that the electrician will hook up the service and the power company will stop by at their leisure to check the work.

  • Ron Natalie
    12 years ago

    Read my post. When they say the customer is responsible for something, they mean the customer is responsible to pay a licensed electrician to come out and do the work (and obtain any permits that may be required). It doesn't mean that they expect him to put on his galoshes and go up there and hook things up himself.

  • mypagename
    8 years ago

    WOW, DON'T DO IT!!! 20 year Electrician here, and I am telling you now, DON'T DO IT! hire a Electrician do not even try, first off the fact you don't know to hook up the Neutral first says it all, and then your using welding glove OMG your nuts, your asking to die. Do not try this people, there is a reason Electricians spend years in school and years working in the trade to learn the right and safe way to do this kind of thing, in fact no one without a J-card should be doing this even if he was a 4 year Electrician, facts are that this is way outside your level of know how, do not play around with your live, or your families lives! NO the power company was telling you to have a State EC do the work, you pay him! they did not want you doing this yourself!

  • Ron Natalie
    8 years ago

    Well, he either didn't do it or he's long dead. The last post on that thread was nearly four years ago.


  • Alejandro Zavala
    6 years ago

    Or he succeeded

  • Vith
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I dont think any homeowner in their right mind would mess with anything above the meter. Technically you arent even supposed to mess with the meter, they put a no tamper lock on it to know if you do and will fine you for risking your life or for possibly messing with the meter. Only if you have a service disconnect box past the meter can you mess with it from there, because you can safely cut power to what your working on.

    The POCO typically prefers the meter get changed out when work is done on it anyhow, as this is the most proper time to do so.

  • Ron Natalie
    6 years ago

    I don't know why th is thread got necroposted (again). The seal is to determine if you tampered the meter for economic purposes. It really doesn't do much for safety.

    However, I agree, pulling the meter is not in itself without risks. Not for duffers.


  • mtvhike
    6 years ago

    I had a similar situation, and eventually just hired an electrician to do the job. I was switching from 100A to 200A service (my old service was to a fuse box with 100 A cartridge fuses and 8 screw fuses, mostly 15A but one was higher (30A, I think) for the electric dryer. I installed the 200A breaker box next to the old one and transferred all the wires to the new one. I then ran a 4 GA line from the old fuse box to the new one. I then had the electrician replace the meter pan and remover the wiring to the old box and run a line to the new one.

    I had contacted a local inspector who said "yes, you can do it yourself. You would call the POCO to disconnect your old service. You could then replace the meter pan. Then you would call me to inspect your work. I would probably come in a couple of weeks. Then call the POCO to reconnect the new meter/pan. That would probably take another couple of weeks." Hiring a licensed electrician cost only $800, so that's what I did. Interestingly, he did not think the line from the pole to the house had to be replaced!