Unlocking electric meter box -- water problem

[TomR]

I'll spare everyone the details, but my question is if anyone can help me figure out a way to open the lock on an outside electric meter box so I can look inside and see if water is getting into that box.

I think that water is getting into the outside meter box and then running down INSIDE the feed wire from there into my main service panel in the basement (not along the OUTSIDE of the feed wire, and not through the opening where the feed enters the building). I did try calling the electric company to get them to open it, but I am not having any luck with that. And, I do need to look inside the meter box to see what's going on, see if water is leaking into it, etc.

Here are two photos of the electric meter box::

It is the locking mechanism on the lower right corner of the box that I think I need to be able to open to take the cover off the box. I don't need to, or want to, pull the meter etc. -- I just want to look inside to look for signs of water getting into the meter box and, if so, where the water is coming in from.

Thanks.

[HeyBub]

Or drill a hole (or two).

[Unquestionably Confused]

Until I looked at his pictures, I was about to suggest calling the power company and asking them to come out and replace the meter - apparently removed by vandals and left laying on the ground - so that they could watch television tonight. An open meter can WILL get them moving faster.

Alas, it appears they've converted him to a smart (for them) meter. Looks like the meter is blanked out so he has no way of reading/checking his usage. "Oops, looks like you left some lights on this month, here's your bill for 8,700kWh; yeah, we know you generally only use 4,800kWh. Better take care now!"

[micky]

i DOn't know what the second picture is, but I don't think it's a lock.

You have a seal, AFAIK not a lock.

It's the thing in the middle, dangling down. You can cut it with wire cutters, lift the lever, and pull off the whole front grey panel with the big hole in it.

Whether the electric company will be mad at you for this is another question, but I did it once (or twice?) and since I didn't steal any electricity, the next time an electric guy was there, he just put on another seal. They sell similar seals, but since they're not identical, the power company will still know you've been fiddling with their stuff.

(Once they had disconnected me for failure to pay my bill. I paid it and they said to go home immediately, because in Baltimore they won't reconnect you if you're not there. I went home and waited a couple hours and wanted to make dinner or something, so I got impatient and I broke the seal and reconnected the power. An hour or two later, the guy showed up and I told him someone else had come and done it. (That was true, I guess, if you count me as the someone) He didn't say a word. I guess he was ticked. But he put a new seal on it. Later I realized that he was the only guy either disconnecting or reconnecting for my geographical area, so he knew no other BGE guy had come.)

I have no experience with extra holes in the box. Won't insects get in and start living there? Does that matter?

[micky]

BTW, don't touch anything inside if you want to be able to post here again.

[RBM]

That's a hydraulic lock. If you need to get in you'll have to get the utility company. Typically rain water gets in if you have "SE" type entrance cable with Ductseal around the rain tight fitting at the top of the box. The Ductseal dries out leaving a space for water to travel down the cable into the box. It usually drips onto the wires which go into the house, which causes it to flow through the sheath with the wires and into the service panel. Unfortunately, making holes in the bottom of the box won't solve this, you need to prevent entry. I would run a bead of silicone around the fitting at the top of the box. Also check that the weatherhead at the top of the service standpipe is not broken or otherwise exposed to rain.

[DerbyDad03]

This won't answer your question about getting into the box, but I'll tell you how I dealt with water that was getting my service cable and then into my panel.

I found the lowest spot on my service cable after the meter. It was nothing more than a small dip in the cable. I took a utility knife and cut a tiny slit in the outside jacket at the bottom of the dip. Water dripped out slowly for a while then eventually stopped.

i have not had any water in my panel for years.

[Red]

Mine is a one piece breaker & meter box, meter above the breakers. Water came thru the meter and across the breakers & buss bars, corroding it all. The water was coming in around the glass meter because their rubber seal between the glass & metal case was gone. Power company replaced the seal and I replaced the main breakers. I see some crud/mold at the bottom of your meter and that could be your problem rather than a entrance cable water leak.

[recyclebinned]

I got a smart meter and I can check my usage fine. Maybe he needs to ask for one of these:

[TomR]

Thanks. When I couldn't get the box open, I did try that and I was surprised to find that no water came out. I did just what you said -- opened the knockout just a little. After nothing came out, I pushed it back closed so the electric company wouldn't complain.

I also cut the little wire clip at the bottom and I could pry the door/cover open a little in one corner. I could see that there is no water in the bottom, and that the way the door/cover is mounted it looks like any water in the bottom would drip out anyway.

Of course, all of that left me a little confused about what's going on, but I still want to get the box open to find out.

[TomR]

Sorry, I forgot to post that I taped a cardboard cover over the meter face before taking the photos. I didn't want to post my actual meter number etc. on the Internet. But, it's a regular meter and I can see the digital readings.

[TomR]

Yep, I thought of doing that too. But, since I did the knockout trick etc., I didn't end up needing to drill a hole.

[TomR]

It turns out that it is some type of locking mechanism.

Yes, I also have that seal in the middle that you noticed. I had already cut that with wire cutters, lifted the latch, and tried to open the door. It's the other mechanism that is keeping the door from opening.

I agree, and I don't care if the electric company complains that I cut the wire. I did try calling them first when the water was dripping inside the main panel and onto the main breaker, but they never showed up after I waited, waited, and waited, called them back, and then waited some more, and then finally gave up.

[Ed Pawlowski]

They don't care. Anything after the meter is your problem so they expect you to call a licensed electrician.

[TomR]

I guess I'll have to do that unless I can somehow figure out how the utility company opens that type of locking mechanism.

I think that may be what is going on in my case. I don't know what an "SE" type entrance cable is, but it looks like there is a fitting at the top of the meter box where the cable goes in, and there is a nut that appears to tighten a rubber grommet (sp?) that the cable goes through. Just for kicks, I globbed a bunch of Ductseal on top of the whole setup at the top of the meter box (during a rain storm) just in case that would help. The rain stopped not too long after that, so I don't know if what I did helped in any way.

Since I did try making a hole in the bottom, I ended up figuring out that didn't work or solve the problem.

I'll definitely do that along with any other sealing that I can think of around the lid of the box etc.

I'll look again, but so far, from ground level, I don't see anything wrong higher up.

[Paul Drahn]

just to clarify, are you the property owner or a tenant? In all places I have lived, or had businesses, the meter belongs to the power company. All else belongs to the property owner and is his responsibility. Water getting into the meter box is not the power company's problem.

Paul

[TomR]

I definitely wanted to do that since the idea makes sense to me. Unfortunately, from the meter down into the service panel is all a downhill slope of the feed wire. The is no "low spot" or drip loop. If there was, I would have tried your trick to drain the water out of the line. Instead, the only "low spot" is inside the main panel where it is dripping out of the feed cable.

[TomR]

Some of that did surprise me. I got different stories each time I called the electric company about this. One electric company rep person did say that they are only responsible up to the meter, so if the problem is after the meter, it's my problem and not theirs. That would make me think that if water was getting into the meter box, it would be their problem, based on what they said. But, I actually thought that they are only responsible up to the drop -- which is why I always pay an electrician who is putting in new service to do the drop, the meter box, the main panel, etc.

But, what surprises me the most is that if I have an electrical problem, and they come out and see what it is, I thought I could either pay an electrician to fix it or have the electric company fix it and charge me for the repair. For example, if I have an electric stove that isn't working, I thought they could fix it and bill me. In my area, gas and electric is supplied by the same company, and that's how they handle the gas side of things regarding repairs. So, I assumed that they would do the same with the electric side of things -- but maybe I'm wrong about that.

[TomR]

I own the property.

[RBM]

These things do vary from location to location. In downstate NY, the utility company owns the overhead wires from the pole to the building, and the meter. The property owner owns the box that the meter plugs into. The real pia is that they get to put a lock on your box, to protect their meter.