Why would a journeyman jumper a meter base instead of removing it?

That meter base is almost certainly a 'poor man's sub-meter' setup that someone eventually gave up on. Back in the day, it was common for guys to pick up a used meter at a scrap yard to track exactly how much electricity a guest house or shop was using. When the meter finally broke or they stopped caring about the data, they'd just shove some jumpers across the internal lugs to keep the circuit closed. It’s essentially a glorified junction box now, but a pretty unreliable one.

The wire gauge changes actually make some sense for a journeyman working in that era. Going from 6awg to 4awg for the overhead stretch is a standard move to handle **voltage drop** over a long distance. 4awg is also physically stronger, wich is important when you have ice or wind loading on a span between buildings. It’s a bit of a hassle to trace, but as long as the 60A breaker at the source is protecting the smallest wire in the run—the 6awg—it’s technically safe from an overcurrent perspective.

But those jumpers in the old base are a major red flag. If they’re just bits of house wire or bent copper shoved into the socket jaws, you’re looking at a high-resistance connection. Those jaws lose thier spring tension over decades, expecially if they’ve been sitting in a damp, dirty box. Any heat buildup there will eventually melt the insulation or cause a fire before the primary breaker even thinks about tripping.

When you go to modernize this, just pull that meter socket off the wall entirely. There’s no reason to keep it in the loop. Replace it with a proper NEMA 3R junction box and use **insulated mechanical lugs** to join your wires. It’ll eliminate a massive failure point and look alot more profesional than a bypassed relic from the 70s. You'll sleep a lot better knowing you don't have a crusty meter base acting as a bridge for your main feeder.

That jumper situation sounds sketchy as hell. I checked the box earlier and the 'jumpers' honestly look like pieces of a wire hanger bent into shape, wich is terrifying. If I swap that out for a proper junction box, do I need special tools for those insulated lugs? I’ve only ever used standard twist-on wire nuts. Also, since House B has a 100amp panel but it's only getting fed by a 60amp breaker, will that cause issues if I run a big AC unit? I'm wondering if I shoud upgrade that breaker too while I'm fixing the mess.

Coat hangers? Man, that’s a fire waiting to happen. Steel has way higher resistance than copper, so those "jumpers" are basicly heating elements right now. Get that out of there imediately.

For the lugs, you just need a hex key set. Standard wire nuts won't handle 4 or 6 gauge properly. Use a torque wrench if you can to hit the specs printed on the lug—loose connections are what kill these setups.

As for the 100A panel, don't sweat it. The 60A breaker at the source is what protects the wire. Having a larger panel just means you have more circuit space, but you're limited to 60A total draw.

Don't worry about the 100A panel being fed by a 60A breaker. That’s actually a win for you beacuse it gives you way more circuit space than a tiny 60A-rated lug box whould. The 100A rating is just the 'speed limit' for the bus bars; as long as that 60A breaker at the source protects the wire, you’re golden.

While you’re at it, grab some anti-oxidation compound for those mechanical lugs. Even with copper, those outdoor connections can get nasty over time. It’s cheap insurance to keep the resistance low so you don't end up with another 'heating element' situation like those coat hangers.

Make sure you check the grounding situation in House B while you're at it. Since House B is technically a sub-panel, the neutral and ground bars need to be isolated from each other. Given the "coat hanger" ingenuity you found, I'd bet money the previous owner bonded them togehter in that 100A panel.

Also, since you mentioned an "inline breaker box" before House B, verify that it's properly sealed for outdoor use. If moisture has been leaching into that box or the old meter base, the wire itself might have some wicked corrosion hidden under the insulation near the terminations. If the copper looks black or green, trim it back to fresh metal before hitting those new lugs.