Repair Of Service Connection To House

[DerbyDad03]

Please take at look at this picture.

I need to fix the upper hole and the crack next to the standoff that is currently in use. That is going to mean replacing two sections of vinyl siding, which the homeowner has in the garage.

The electrical company will kill the power so I can work on the house but I'm not sure if they will disconnect the house at the pole or at the house. I'll need to find that for sure before I make the appointment so I know what to expect.

Since I need to be ready to do the job in the few hours that the power will be off, I'd like to be prepared for the unexpected.

Is the setup correct? Assuming I just replace the 2 pieces of siding, and reattached the service header, does everything else look OK?

If I want to remove the extra standoff, how hard will that be? I assume there be another hole, so I guess I should be prepared to replace that section of siding also.

Is there anything I'm not asking that I should be?

Thanks!

[aemeijers]

Call power company and ask. Around here, they like to get those old 'stove cable' service drops replaced with proper weatherhead and conduit going to a modern meter base, the better to handle modern transponder meter heads, and to minimize January middle-of-the-night callouts whenever wind blows. I have not done it personally, but a few guys at work said they got a real good price on the meter base and above-the-roof standpipe, and power company ran a fresh drop from pole. IIUC, it is a very regional thing, but a phone call is free. Tell them you have an old service drop that was half-assedly upgraded, and ask what they can do to assist you in upgrading their customer to a modern drop.

[John Grabowski]

*The extra attachment is probably left over from an old service drop. Usually inserting a big screwdriver through the eye and turning counter-clockwise will get it out. The power company will disconnect the line at the pole if you want them to. They will also remove the service drop temporarily if you request. JCP&L did that for me once a long time ago. I had to fix a bent mast after a tree fell on the service drop wire. They just cut the wire at the service head, taped the ends and threw it on the ground where it stayed until they returned a few hours later.

[Joe]

It may not apply in your situation, but converting an old ugly overhead system to underground adds a lot of pizzazz o your structure. Benefits are usually heftier wire for larger future loads, too. Talk it over with a good electrical contractor to see if it a reasonable choice for you.

Joe

[DerbyDad03]

If the power currently comes from the pole (as it is throughout my neighborhood) could I convert just my house to underground?

[bob haller]

yes conduit comes down pole and underground to your home. will be costly but doable

[aemeijers]

Depends on layout, power company, and local inspector. When my father built our 1966 house, he did exactly that, since there was no place on the modernistic design where an aerial drop would not have looked like crap. Tap came off the can on pole in far corner of backyard (even though no alleys in sub, the power lines ran down the center of each block of lots, instead of along streets), came down in conduit, than back up to meter base on backside of storage closets that formed one side of carport. Main shutoff was inside storage closet in back of the meter base, then back down into conduit under carport slab to service panel in basement. No idea if current code would allow meter base and shutoff that far from service panel, but back then there was no problem. (Local inspectors knew my old man overspec'd and overbuilt pretty much everything.)

Of course, in more modern subs, there are no poles or aerial wires, just those buzzing green cubes every few houses, that nobody knows how to landscape around.

[DerbyDad03]

This site has links to some design suggestions for landscaping around pad transformers:

[Joe]

Current project we are doing has underground. All the other nearby houses are served with skinnier overhead wire. In our area the conduit is 3" and must be buried 42". The right angles from the poles and to the meter base are called 'sweeps' and are required to be galvanized. That was a big budget item, as the plastic conduit was fairly reasonable for the 70' we needed, and trencher rental nominal. Doing the work ourselves the cash outlay was less than $1000. Getting the glued up conduit into the trench is tricky, so plan ahead and call in some favors from friends who can help and might have had experience with PVC plumbing drains. Our power company was very helpful, probably because long term it means much less line maintenance for them them, more profit. Nasty ice storms are a fact of life in the Midwest, and in the past we have run extension cords to neighbors whose overhead lines were down. Your major problem will likely be bull headed big city officials as regards permits and bureaucratic trivia. Know the actual facts re: building ordinances before you start so you will know when some City Hall flack is spouting BS. YMMV.

Joe

Joe

[bud--]

"Sweep" is the standard trade jargon for a bend, particularly factory made.

The sweeps are metal because when you pull wires into the conduit the pulling rope, or particularly metal cable, can cut into and even through a plastic sweep.

Your installation leaves isolated metal pipe that is not grounded in a run of plastic pipe. It would normally not be allowed, but it can be done subject to requirements including how deep it is buried.