It’s been clipped, that’s why I asked them why they out here and it shows a power outage they said. I said yeah me, and they go no and said main fuse blew , now i just watched em put em in Monday. Then the one kid told the guy look at that is that oil coming outta that transformer and he goes naw I’m gunna try it and wow! BOOM! When it touched. Then they had nuttin to say and got back in the Big electric service rig with the boom and drove back off. I told em that transformer is wack and needs cleared up and checked out ,but that was before another fuse went , I’m betting a new one is coming.Yea There’s a drop it looks like ,but everything else has power so I’m saying I’m the end of it then. That pole been there early 80’s so it might be nothing in that drop. Mines overhead, with an 8’ meter main to view the meter . That’s how they put it back up when we added on in 17’ .heck even got a pic of the whole guys in tan shirts working , well standing and one or two workin.oh and the night of fire they told me electric company here and need to see ya, when we all looked around they’ve pulled the meter and left without even speaking to th fire marshal. He thought that was odd.
Your correct the electrician was wrong, certified Electrican by the way that used to work for electric company.. he says....
But it took 7,500 volts to be closer. That’s the electric company’s word. Sorry for the wrong information.
Tried answering the guy about electric company installed the meter so let me get the pic with them on the ground with it and us by them helping em out. It’s one of them been here my whole life and electric company guys I went to school with probably why we got to work with em , heck idk,
Tried answering the guy about electric company installed the meter so let me get the pic with them on the ground with it and us by them helping em out. It’s one of them been here my whole life and electric company guys I went to school with probably why we got to work with em , heck idk,
But that’s not what you said. You said the electric company moved the panel, which no electric company I know of would do. In fact, in my experience, the user is responsible for supplying and installing the meter base, and all the utility does is connect to it after verifying installation meets their implementation of applicable regulations.
Own up, man. Your panel was a mess and you had a fire because of that. For the record, “mess” means everything up to and including sharp edges, unprotected conductors, wires strung tight, probably loose connections, corroded conductors, and just generally poor installation and maintenance. They should have pulled your meter when it was moved until you cleaned up your mess.
In light of these new facts it sounds like you may have had a short in the line conductors on or in your building which caused a massive amount of amperage to flow causing a fireball inside the panel before the transformer mains blew. We had one where a roofing truck backed into the main and it went line to line, the amount of damage in just the short time before the mains opened was unbelievable.
Then again if the mains fuse blew again when you were disconnected (which it looks like that's what you are saying) I don't know, are you the only one on that transformer? Is your service drop damaged, what about your meter base? Have they clipped your service drop at the transformer?
Or the transformer toasted when the mains blew. Seen that movie.
They did move the panel that’s it on the ground with them we watched lift it 8’ in the air to get height for clearance with a 10’ IMC on a 16’ building. Then today as stated they can’t keep fuse in the primary hot side. Third one in 2 days. I’ll own my work , this ain’t my work. And it was inspected when insurance company did audit and when add on was completed. I’m not a certified electrician but a certified welder and I’ve seen stuff like this in the field that looked like dog**** but held even on a roller coaster, Couldn’t believe they were getting away with welding it. Same goes for this box, yeah looks like **** under the panel but hey I’m not an electrician. So again I did NOT have any hands in the panel or meter ! That’s for the professionals. Come on guys I really thought their would be more answers than just black or white . I know there’s a few outta here that are still not in competition with the world as I am , but still will give my best opinion for good or bad . Might as well keep scrolling through the dog pile and keep weeding them out.
I don’t know exactly either, but the fire or electrical damage is a huge circle around the meter and panel. And all the steel around it rusted in one day like welds do after raining on em they seem to rust from the heat . I guess?- this is just a opinion not one of the Ten Commandments in stone so remember that other negatives
They did move the panel that’s it on the ground with them we watched lift it 8’ in the air to get height for clearance with a 10’ IMC on a 16’ building. Then today as stated they can’t keep fuse in the primary hot side. Third one in 2 days. I’ll own my work , this ain’t my work. And it was inspected when insurance company did audit and when add on was completed. I’m not a certified electrician but a certified welder and I’ve seen stuff like this in the field that looked like dog**** but held even on a roller coaster, Couldn’t believe they were getting away with welding it. Same goes for this box, yeah looks like **** under the panel but hey I’m not an electrician. So again I did NOT have any hands in the panel or meter ! That’s for the professionals. Come on guys I really thought their would be more answers than just black or white . I know there’s a few outta here that are still not in competition with the world as I am , but still will give my best opinion for good or bad . Might as well keep scrolling through the dog pile and keep weeding them out.
There is no where in this country where any of the methods used in numerous places on that panel would ever even be considered being done like that is. Not even in 1940. That is not electrical work, it is a FIRE waiting to happen. IT HAPPENED.
Demo ALL electrical and have a REAL licensed electrician install a proper electrical panel and wiring. Whoever did that is not your friend and should not be allowed to touch wires or electric.
As far as a lineman's opinion on the correctness of a panel, I'm not sure it matters much(although it can). I don't believe most linemen are electricians.
My COOP can, and will, disconnect you if the lineman sees something he believes is dangerous. Whether, or not, it is dangerous is sometimes beyond their knowledge. But they have the power to shut you down. Or the ignorance to let it stay in use.
Sorry about your shop, that's one of my worst nightmares.
I don't know what use finger-pointing will do right now, though. It looks like an electrical problem, sure enough. But we (on our keyboards) can't say "it was definitely this at fault".
There's literally millions and millions of badly-wired, badly modified or badly maintained houses, garages and shops throughout the world... they don't all burn down, because they perhaps need one more fault to set it off. Some people are lucky. Unfortunately some people are unlucky.
If you can't pinpoint the fault at the time, at least you'll rebuild with everything installed to modern code standards, which in theory should be good enough to prevent a fire next time.
I've seen great wiring done by amateurs, and shocking wiring done by professionals... I do my own wiring, but I know just enough to be dangerous!
Murphy's Golden Rule: Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.
They did move the panel that’s it on the ground with them we watched lift it 8’ in the air to get height for clearance with a 10’ IMC on a 16’ building. Then today as stated they can’t keep fuse in the primary hot side. Third one in 2 days. I’ll own my work , this ain’t my work. And it was inspected when insurance company did audit and when add on was completed. I’m not a certified electrician but a certified welder and I’ve seen stuff like this in the field that looked like dog**** but held even on a roller coaster, Couldn’t believe they were getting away with welding it. Same goes for this box, yeah looks like **** under the panel but hey I’m not an electrician. So again I did NOT have any hands in the panel or meter ! That’s for the professionals. Come on guys I really thought their would be more answers than just black or white . I know there’s a few outta here that are still not in competition with the world as I am , but still will give my best opinion for good or bad . Might as well keep scrolling through the dog pile and keep weeding them out.
I don't see a panel anywhere in that picture. To be clear, you're saying they moved the breaker panel and that it's somewhere in the picture of a bunch of guys outside that you posted? I stand by my belief that there is no way in the world that the utility so much as touched that breaker panel. If they had seen it, they would have pulled your meter.
The lug screws on wire came lose the connection heated up.
The first time was I was parent home and switch the control the cooler had red light on but there was no light it was the screw had heated up to red hot. They had one very warm night till buy a new switch.
I myself will check over 5 years and only one other time I found on lose. If power comes out I pull meter and check the screws.
Dave
Originally Posted by Valweld
Well we’ve been here for 35 + years now and had “ That Call” no business owner ever wants to hear “ there’s Smoke coming out your shop!” When I made it there the fire department was as well and when the smoke cleared this is the panel . Now of course we’ve got insurance and pay enough taxes that all business's do to stay legal. I’m just looking for a answer to why or how this happened and what’s the correct way to get my shop back in forward motion .Attachment 1726609
thank you for any help with this matter as I feel that I’ll get some answers from reliable sources on this forum. Also Have a Happy Easter and enjoy it with family and friends! .
We had to buy a new kitchen stove last year when the firs stimulus showed up, the store delivered it & swapped the cord & slid it in place, fast forward to late January or early February & the new stove died, I called the store where we bought it & they sent a repairman out, he was ready to haul it back to the shop, he pulled the cord cover & low & behold there was one of the line wires burnt in two, right at the terminal connection, I knew what it was when I saw it & told him & he wanted to argue, so Ireached down to & moved the terminal, that's when he admitted it was loose. It kindof pissed me off that we had a literall heating element in the formof a high joint, the wire was burned clean through.
UNITWELD 175 AMP 3 IN1 DC
MIDSTATES 300 AMP AC MACHINE LET'S GO BRANDON!"INFLATION-THAT'S THE PRICE WE PAY FOR THOSE GOVERNMENT BENEFITS EVERYBODY THOUGHT WERE FREE."RONALD REAGAN
JEFF
I think what you’re going to find is that people don’t believe your story. There is no way on God’s green earth that line took 45,000 volts. Where, pray tell, would that have been fed from? In my experience, an electrical utility admitting responsibility for anything is hard to find.
Now, I would believe that you used up your luck with that panel, shorted your feed to ground and blew the fuses at the pole. You’re not going to convince anyone that the panel was just fine and it must have been the utility.
Anyway, your insurance investigation is going to tell the tale.
Oh, and I don’t believe your electric utility moved that panel, either. Took one look and pulled your meter, I’d believe.
The transformer looks to be fine, but the vine growing up the guy wire looks suspect. that'd introduce high voltage into the earth. Or, a backfeed through your grounded conductor will do some wild stuff.
It looks like vine started it, Most of the damage inside the panel looks at the neutral buss. What amazes me is that that mess didn't burn 30 years ago. Lack of cover does little to contain fire inside the box.
An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
The transformer looks to be fine, but the vine growing up the guy wire looks suspect. that'd introduce high voltage into the earth. Or, a backfeed through your grounded conductor will do some wild stuff.
It looks like vine started it, Most of the damage inside the panel looks at the neutral buss. What amazes me is that that mess didn't burn 30 years ago. Lack of cover does little to contain fire inside the box.
Doubt it is fine. He said oil was leaking out of it. That big *** fireball when it was refused for the third time says it is not fine. He was only load on it and they already cut him loose.
Doubt it is fine. He said oil was leaking out of it. That big *** fireball when it was refused for the third time says it is not fine. He was only load on it and they already cut him loose.
Perhaps a short where three individual conductors enter the open knockout in the panel. Those line fuses don't let go easy.
An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Is anyone besides me experiencing a lack of function of the "go to first new post" button for this thread? Maybe it is the emojis in the title. Don't know but it is the only thread it doesn't work on for me.
I hear it all the time,,, ya, i aint got to that yet. The last guy owned it did that like they would ztop and fix it. No.real mystery here zlthough didnt look close but 35 yrs with a shoddy panel says most of it.
Almost no way of knowing if the short circuit protection was intact. I met people who drive on tires till they fail too. "Damm the bad luck,,, I just knew it was going to low". So,,,, lets overload it with wood, low on air and pull out on the hiway,,,, and then its some kind of mystery.
Been driving this mess 35 years,, wonder what went wrong? I would say there might be some poco liability,,,, they should have pulled the meter decades ago.
I am far from perfect and am surprised how much human error as its called creeps in. When we are younger its cause we dont know better and as we age its cause we cant see it. Some in rather routine jobs, some in complicated. Its not typical but I got a discount last audit for general condition as my stuff has aged. They dont even ask who dun it looking to pin someone for a mess, they know the condition, all piped wire, could pass inspection is already on the lower risk scale and they dont got to close one eye to write it.
Lots of people view inspection and audit as a problem but for me its an opportunity to highlight the finer aspects of code compliance and worker safety features, fire prevention, I got a check by the box says they got fire ext and gfci. UL listed heating in worth shape. Donesnt mean nothing can happen, that there wont be a trip and fall but its reduced significantly due to the fact every safety switch hasnt been by passed. I got 25 panels, 300 breakers, maybe more, not sure but none missing a box connector. No 2 or 3 code violations in a row.
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WeldingWeb Apprentice
——what the heck???Originally Posted by Valweld
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Master Welder
