Leak coming in by fuse box

[szeik]

I just heard some water dripping here in our basement and was shocked to see drops of water coming off the box of the fuse box.

I looked around outside and it looks like water is coming in where the big tube of wires goes into the house. It was dripping down the side of the box outside and running down that outer insulation that covers the wires.

I can see there is some water-proofing around that sheath of wires but it looks old and rotted.

What kind of waterproofing can I use to fix this?

How dangerous is it to have a little bit of water dripping off the bottom of the box in our house?

It really doesn't seem to be that much water but the idea of water and a fuse box just seems extremely dangerous.

Thanks for any feedback.

Steve

[John Grabowski]

*I've seen that happen a number of times. Sometimes very old service entrance cable has the outer sheath degrade to the point where rainwater gets in and drips down through the meter into the box. In a situation like that, the service entrance cable should be replaced. Newer cables can get water in from the weatherhead at the top which drips all the way through to the panel. The connector at the top of the electric meter is also prone to taking in water.

The situation is not good. Water can rust out the panel, but it can also cause arcing inside of the box. It can also cause corrosion on the busbar and also cause the circuit breakers to fail.

I use GE Silicone 2 Gutter and Flashing caulk to fill in the weatherhead and around the connector on the top of the electric meter. I also caulk inside of the meter on the cable that goes down to the panel. Check inside of the circuit breaker box for moisture on the bus bar. You may have to remove some circuit breakers. If anything is wet, it will need to be dried. Use high voltage gloves when drying off the busbar with paper towels. Take a close look at the main circuit breaker to make sure there is no corrosion on the terminals.

[Dan Espen]

drops of water coming off the box of the fuse box.

looks old and rotted.

the box in our house?

box just seems extremely dangerous.

Had a similar problem here, but the cause was the electric companies electric meter. The caulk around the wires leading into the meter was old and cracked.

They came out and fixed it which was removing the old caulk and putting on new.

If it's your equipment, go ahead and fix it. If it's the electric company, call them up.

[DerbyDad03]

Many years ago (20+?) I found rust inside my panel. Turns out that water had found it's way into the service cable and traveled along inside it, even up hill slightly, until it dripped out where it attached to the main breaker.

Unable to afford replacing the cable at the time, I found the lowest spot on the cable as it travelled along its horizontal run around the outside of my house and very carefully cut a tiny slit on the underside of the outer casing. The water dripped out very slowly for a hour or so and I never got another drop of water in the panel.

It's been over 20 years with no ill effect so I'm not about to do anything about it now.

[Red]

It seems like a leaf blower or hair dryer would be better to dry it rather than sticking your hands inside.

[woodchucker]

Don't listent to this whacko. You don't use ge silicone on wiring. Silicone can cause black wire, a rotting condition.

Goto home depot and pick up a rectangle of the gray entrance sealer. Its just putty that you mold around the entrance. remove the old stuff and mold new stuff around. Heavily and make sure it seats against the building and wire. Done.. freshly packed.

[trader4]

The bigger problem would seem to be a wiring route where water on the wires can just go right on down the wires, absent something to seal it. The typical masthead route takes the wires down then back up, entering under neath, where it's protected and water can't just run in.

How exactly do these wires enter the building?

[trader4]

[e-mail]:

I'm sure a lot of us would benefit from a link to said electrical item called Duct Seal, which is not an HVAC item......