Just finished up some interim fixes on our main electrical service panel. Breathing normally again. *heh* I’m not particularly ashamed to say I’m uncomfortable working around the mains to our home. When I was a very stupid young boy, I managed to shock myself breathless–and even more senseless than I was before contacting 110 volts at 15-20 AMPs–on a few occasions just “messing around” (no, not the proverbial forks in outlets; not even I was that stupid as a child) with still plugged in radios, etc. Now, as a Certified Olde Pharte, I take more precautions than I’m sure are needed, but at least I’ve steered clear of any more 110 Volt (or 120, now) shocks. I especially don’t need the 100 AMP mains coursing through my body.
So… yes, I have replaced main circuit breakers on service panels without having the electric company pull the service temporarily, contrary to ALL advice from EVERYWHERE. *heh* But. I do
- Wear a long-sleeved cotton shirt and
- Rubber gloves with protective over-gloves (to keep the
rubber gloves from being damaged, maintaining their protective
nature) and - Stand on a rubber mat with rubber-soled shoes while
- Using insulated tools
I also may add additional eye protection beyond just my glasses.
Scairdy cat? Maybe, but I have managed to stay alive… 🙂
This A.M.’s micro-mini-project revolved around some arcing-damaged hot bus slots I needed to bypass. I moved the main circuit breaker, which seemed undamaged from some very minor arcing–at least as far as visual inspection can tell; I have a spare if needed–to spaces that were completely undamaged, as far as I could tell, AFTER treating both the breaker and the hot bus with DeoxIT® (when my DeoxIT® L260Np grease comes in, I’ll re-treat ALL the bus slots); I then consolidated two low-load 20 AMP circuits–which really ought to be 15-AMP circuits, given their loads–into one, new, tandem breaker and moved two 30-AMP circuit breakers to clean bus slots. Of course I cleaned all the bus slots with DeoxIT®, ad I’ll be able to reuse two slots later, but for now, I loaded the panel with lots of electrical gadgets on and… no arcing.
Relief.
I want to replace the hot bus, but finding the part for this 40-year-old panel may be impossible, so I may end up just replacing the panel with another that uses the same breaker style.
Oh, 100 AMP service? *sigh* 40 or more years ago, that was overly generous. Nowadays? Minimum 200 AMP service for most new homes, and some have 400 AMP service… or even more. Interestingly, there’s a 100 AMP box that was added about 20 years ago, as far as I can tell, when central AC and a pool were added. Since we’ve eliminated both (we’ve gone to zoned conditioning, and the above ground pool, while a nice one, just wasn’t being used by anyone but me, so… ), that’s a 100 AMP box that’s available for several circuits. Nice. Sure, I’ll have to split the 240 Volt circuit that was to the AC into 2 120 Volt circuits, but since it was on a “ganged” breaker (2-30 AMP breakers joined by a simple clip), that’s going to be easy-peasy.
But working on that box will be all live, since it, like the main service panel comes directly off the meter! Still, I don’t plan on pulling more than four circuits off that box, so it won’t be all that hairy: one hairy install, but all the subs will be installed dead, then switched to live, like the main service panel.
Fun Spring-Summer projects!
Electricity is nothing I feel comfortable trying to “fix.” Have seen too many folks with serious injuries from it. When I was younger, an old family friend got electrocuted working on a power pole (it was his job, he wasn’t just out messing around). Melted his hand and part of his face. Face mostly recovered except for some visible stiffness in one side but his hand has been mottled brown, set in position, withered and crone-like ever since.
That was enough to convince me I didn’t need to mess with electricity.
Yeh, well I’m glad I’m taking all the measures that I can and am only dealing with 120V/100 AMP electricity at most. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like I’ll have to do much dealing with bare 100 AMP service…
Aside from the danger aspect (and it is dangerous), electrical work is actually easier for me than plumbing. In plumbing, it’s all the different sizes and “sexes” of connectors that wear me down. Electrical connections, OTOH, are all pretty straightforward, and “pipe” sizes are few between various circuits. For most household circuits, for example, 12-2 NM cable (a hot-ground-neutral wire configuration in 12-gauge wire in non-metallic sheathing) is just fine. 10-2 for things like dryers and perhaps one 8-2 circuit for an electric range. Since 12-2 wiring is good for 30-AMP circuits (and is NEC for residential wiring anyway), it’s easy to standardize on that for 30-AMP, 20-AMP and even 15-AMP circuits and leave the expensive 10-2 or larger gauges for short runs.
Outside: EVERYTHING in TW class wire inside conduit. Although code can allow buried wiring in UF wire, we no longer have anything outside that would require buried cable, so TW wire + conduit. Problem for an upcoming project: making a DIY conduit/pipe bender. *heh* Nah, since I’ll just be bending 1/2″ conduit, $30 for one designed for the task will be frugal enough.
This is where I don’t mind paying to someone else to do what they feel comfortable doing. I don’t mind changing out an electrical outlet, putting in an overhead light with that little bit of wiring as long as I can control the off switch to that line; but working at the main box is beyond my threshold of stupidity.
Glad you survived.
The really goofy thing is, TF, I think I either ought to locate a replacement hot bus bar or just install a new panel. Can do. Fortunately, being a scairdy cat where electricity is concerned does make me hyper slow and careful. Kinda like when I used to rock climb. In the Rockies. Sine equipment, as it were. Not particularly afraid of heights, but falling scares th peewaddle outa me. Hence, I made triple sure of every hand and foot placement. Worked out OK. No broken bones, even. Surprised the heck out of family who knew I’d already collected an order of magnitude more serious injuries than all the rest of my sibs combined.
I think all my sibs are shocked that I made it to 30, and here I am more than 2X beyond that mark. *heh*