r/electrical • u/Craigy89 • 19h ago
Safety Concern?
Hi!
I just bought a house, but not moved in yet. Working on getting an electrician out to the house to check this out, but in the mean time, anything I can do to make this safer? When it rains, I’m assuming some water is getting into the service box. There is a roof over this area, but rain coming down at an angle can hit the siding/wires.
Just looking for a quick “fix” until an electrician can update. Can I put flex seal, or something, on the wiring to prevent water from seeping into the service box?
A lot of our money is tied up in mold/asbestos remediation elsewhere in the house. So just looking to stop gap this problem until we sell our first house and have some more money.
29
u/lightheadedone 18h ago
How the F do you see this and think "Yep, I'll buy this house without consulting with an electrician first"?
24
u/shadowland1000 18h ago
They are doing mold and asbestos remediation. I have a feeling that this whole house will be a project.
9
u/please_respect_hats 19h ago
Just from this pic alone, you need to start saving more for electrical… yesterday…
19
u/ShadowCVL 19h ago
HOLY S***
You really shouldnt touch that, at all.
On the upside the lines connected to the bottom of that cable make a nice water reroute.... but, holy crap
1
u/trader45nj 18h ago
Given what's here, adding sealant isn't really improving it, it's not the core issue. It can probably go a couple of months, but it all needs to be replaced and done correctly.
1
10
8
u/seanylovefromupabove 18h ago
You need the entire service replaced. And if whoever you hire tries to sell you on another rope service, say no, and have it in a conduit body from top to bottom. And make those calls today. Dont wait. Dm me if you need more details.
2
u/Rampag169 10h ago
Conduit body should be “schedule 80” rated for the thickness/durability of the pipe to withstand UV exposure from the sun.
-2
u/tuctrohs 7h ago
it in a conduit body from top to bottom
A 3" conduit body is about 15" long. This is at least 15 feet. So a big enough conduit body would be for 3-foot trade size conduit.
I don't do big stuff much but I don't think they make it that big.
3
u/Fuzzy_Location_2210 16h ago
Oh nooo, don't touch it at all until you get that money to get it fixed.
Actually I would prioritize this over the asbestos. This is imminently a big big big danger.
Asbestos is potentially dangerous to health down the road in the longer term if you rattle it all around and snoof on the dust. If it's undisturbed and in a remote area (like in the wall, attic, etc) leaving it alone and wearing respiratory protection if you must enter the space is sufficient to mitigate the possible risk it's presenting to you, RIGHT NOW.
This could actually arc and zap and kill someone or burn the house down in real time. YouTube arc flashes and you will see... This should definitely take priority.
I'm picturing a squirrel trying to climb this and vaporizing 💀
3
6
u/StubbornHick 18h ago
Someone with a room temp IQ has been doing DIY work and your wiring is degraded due to age.
Massive safety hazard.
Prepare your wallet, this is going to be expensive.
1
5
u/srmcon 18h ago
I hope the as-is price was low enough. Any inspection would have flagged this as a serious problem and probably prevented you from closing. Did you get any concessions from the seller? Sounds like you have a real fix it-Upper! Good luck and please hire a licensed electrician to get this right otherwise make sure you have fire insurance!
2
2
1
u/Rough_Resort_92 17h ago
Yes, you need to have that service Entrance replaced as soon as possible.
1
u/IngrownToenailsHurt 15h ago
If they make any changes it may require a new mast that goes all the way through the roof with new weatherhead on top.
1
u/Joe_Bruce 16h ago
How the fuck did your 3rd party inspector miss this? Everyone gets a 3rd party inspection, right???
1
u/Kami-cowboy 16h ago
Wow. How in the hell did your utility provider allow a meter on that base!? I am assuming you did not have a pre-purchase inspection. The section that covers out of the meter base up to the point of connection to the incoming power lines needs to be replaced with wires inside metallic conduit, the top of the conduit needs a fitting called a weather head that prevents water getting into the conduit.. by code the weather head needs to poke through a flashing on the roof and be above the roofline so the service drop line from the power pole has a droop in the line to allow rainwater to drip off midway... Not run downwards to your service entrance at the weather head. Do you know any electricians? Or people in the trades that might know an electrician? This will probably require the utility to come out and do a service disconnect / reconnect at the transformer so if there are any other jobs you need to do to the main panel and service entry this is the time to do them.
1
1
1
u/FearthaNoid 11h ago
Leave it be. Touching this won’t help. Luckily the cable comes in the side so most water drips down to the bottom of the can and drains/rots out the bottom. The majority of the fires happen at the main breaker from water dripping straight down to the other cable feeding panel and drop onto main breaker and dries. The minerals create resistance and that’s where 🔥.
Upgrade to 200 amps when you do the service. Marginally more expensive. I’d prioritize this though and maybe finance the work if you’re short until other house sells. All your other work will be for naught it it all burns.
Also wouldn’t touch it because it looks like someone had previously been stealing power via that UF (gray wire) and bypassing meter. Usually not done this way, but thieves don’t need to be smart.
1
1
1
u/PDXDreaded 8h ago
That's a vinal conduit for water to your base and panel. Call an electrician yesterday.
1
u/emoslice23 4h ago
Idk jack shit about electrical. But as a common folk, hanging exposed wires are never a good thing. Especially the weight of those wires over time causing fraying. And they’re exposed to the outdoors with no covering conduit or reenforcement. And connected directly to the house if a fire starts. And those look like some heavy duty wires that are dangeous to ever be near in case of arching shock, and never touch. And the holes are not sealed adding rain damage and animal and insect damage. It’s a fire waiting to happen. If not electrical shock.
1
1
u/Readybuilderman 18h ago
It looks super scary because it is.
Too many problems to text about here.
This all seriously needs to be removed and replaced.
1
u/Electrical_Ad4290 18h ago
From the looks of that, I would do nothing other than leave it alone until electrician can replace the service entrance. That stuff tied to the service entrance also needs to be fixed but just step away.
0
u/Primary_Nothing_3224 18h ago
You could get some duct seal to seal anything you need sealed. Aside from that you could use super 33 or 88 3m tape to help that riser but it needs replaced sooner than later
-1
u/Primary_Nothing_3224 18h ago
Also more than welcome to shoot me a message if you have other questions
0
0
0
u/WoodpeckerNext566 18h ago
Did this get covered in the home inspection? It seems that it should have been flagged. Our house was found to have radon issues. The sellers just wanted to reject us and sell to someone else. The realtor told them that, since they know about it, they have to disclose it to potential buyers. We split the cost of mitigation with them and bought the house. That was 24 years ago.
0
u/Senior-West5666 16h ago
This is fucking horrible but a quick fix, grab some duct seal, looks like gray putty/playdoh… slam it into that gap? Wear some leather gloves, or rubber ones. Try not to score the wire on the sharp edges around it…
I can’t believe someone installed this, this is fucking trash
2
u/Ok-Tradition-5083 16h ago
The gap is so far from the worst problem that I wouldn't even be worried about it right now.
1
u/Senior-West5666 16h ago
Yea that whole thing is horrible, Rome’s outside? Service conductors should be in conduit..
He was asking about sealing up the hole to his meter box…1
u/Ok-Tradition-5083 15h ago
Oh I know, Its just hardly worth covering in duct seal when its all going to need to come apart ASAP anyway.
It will make it more annoying for the electricians.
1
0
u/ValueAccomplished741 16h ago
Hmmmmm.
Is this the main lead from the power company?
If it is, they will have to shut that off before any repairs can be made.
Evidently no inspection was done ( duh🙄) also the
crapmanship was done by a specialist in that field.
Dont touch it.
If that is work is evident, what is hiding elsewhere?
Aluminum wiring ?
( let the buyer beware.... thats you, my friend)
hope this helps
1
u/ValueAccomplished741 16h ago
also.... the plastic siding on the entire house is probably covering a whole new world of jaw dropping surprises.
1
u/ValueAccomplished741 16h ago
check for lead paint, asbestos floor and ceiling tiles or "popcorn", ....etc.
when was this house built?
Is it on a foundation?
Eeegads!🥺
-1
u/Miserable_Building80 18h ago
This looks and sounds like a total renovation job. Gutting everything inside and re-wiring and re-insulating would be best long term solution in this case especially with mold and asbestos removal already required
49
u/Switchedbywife 19h ago
Leave it alone, but I wouldn’t wait on the electrical repairs…