Electrical pole going o box on side of house

The electrical (steel pole) going to the electric meter on the side of my house looks really bad. It's gotten pretty rusty over the years. The wires come in at the top above the overhang and I plan on staying really far away from that part. The question I have is for the rest of the pole below the overhang and above the meter. What is the best way to paint it? I was planning on sanding it down wipe it clean and then use rustoleum primer and then paint. Is this the best way to paint it?

Thanks,

Reply to
jimmyDahGeek
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"JimmyDahGeek@DON'T_SPAM_ME_gmail.com" wrote in message

That's what I'd do.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

"JimmyDahGeek@DON'T_SPAM_ME_gmail.com" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...

That would be about how most people do it. Having said that- if the pipe to the weather head is looking bad, probably be a good idea to take the bird-watching binoculars and stare at the weather-head and the condition of your service drop. If the weather seal where the wires poke out of the upside-down-J thing has stuff hanging from it, or if the wires themselves have visible shiny spots or shreds of insulation hanging off, time to call power company to come look at it. Everything upstream of meter is their problem, and they may change it all out down to the meter base free or at a reduced cost. They would rather fix this stuff in sunshine on a slow summer day, than at 2 in the morning in January, when an ice fall takes it down. If they don't change the actual weather heads themselves (some do, some don't), they will point you to an electrician that does.

aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

Regarding the rusty pipe. Sand it thoroughly and paint.

Our 200 amp 1970 'metal' service mast, which also projects above the roof (to achieve a required 12 feet above ground for house service wires) and then has a section of conduit below the meter socket down to the conduit L into the basement where the main panel is located, has always been painted using the same oil based red-brown stain that is used on our pine clapboard siding. The outside of the meter housing is also painted the same way.

As is also the metal pipe supporting post (steam pipe which came out of a demolished building) for the front porch roof overhang. had occasional light sanding and repainting/re-staining some four or five times in 37 years. The oil based stain adheres well and is same colour as house.

The meter socket and service mast (pipe) are mounted on the somewhat exposed North East end of our house facing towards the Atlantic.

Mention all this because we did have 'internal' corrosion of the assembly into which the utility provided meter plugs (not too unusual apparently in this maritime climate), which necessitated the replacement of the socket inside. We bought a complete new meter mounting assembly and used its internals to replace the corroded one. The utility recently changed the old style meter to a digital display one without comment.

So strongly recommend some sort of of rust resistant paint or at least something oil based; also paint the meter box. Once fixed don't let it get rusty again.

Reply to
terry

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You could do that, but a lot more effective and less work is to use one of the rust converter products first, then paint.

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Reply to
dpb

I'd say you are due for a new house. Tear down the house immediately before it catches on fire. Dynamite works well, or a large bulldozer can generally take down any house in one day or less. Or just set it on fire and let it burn to the ground. That way you wont have to worry about having a house fire. Once the old place is gone, build a brand new house with new electric service. That's a lot easier than trying to paint that bugger. Another option would be to have a neighbors tree suddenly fall on your wires and rip them down. Then the neighbor's insurance company will have to pay to replace all of it. You can assist their tree in falling by using a chainsaw on it. Just cut about 90% of the way thru the trunk. A strong wind will finish the job.

Reply to
kljhg

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