How to Upgrade an Electric Meter to 200-Amp Service (Part 1) | This Old House

How did he seal that hole he made in the house?!?

What's the advantage and disadvantage of PVC vs galvanized pipe? I don't see PVC pipe in Southern CA.

Scabittron! Shouldn’t be doing the overhead service in PVC. Should be done in rigid metal conduit.

That bit coming out the other side of the wall😮!

Why is there an expansion joint on the conduit on top of the meter can??? It doesn’t move? Is attached to the house.

Noalox

What happens when you have to replace your siding???

I know this vid is old but...Step 13...check NEC updates and realize that since 2020 the NEC requires an emergency disconnect at the meter for first responders. Of course, if this is CT, they are probably still 6 codes cycles behind. LOL

Just remember folks. Anything a licensed tradesman can do you can do for half price, and these days probably better if you put a little time and effort into it and getting the necessary knowledge

Using aluminum wire for this?

Two things i see is no nolox for anticorrosion on the bare aluminum wires and when drilling inside hitting the 14/2 home run possibly shorting out that circuit. Other than that good stuff.

Wrong: ground rods do not provide an effective path to ground.

Does anyone know why this electric box does not have a shut off latch at the box to disconnect the incoming power from the wires going into the house?

LOL 😂 where the heck do you guys live that you're able to push a ground rod in halfway and then finish it off with a mini sledgehammer?
Not a chance in hell where I'm from

Didn't show how you dealt with that big gaping hole that was enlarged behind the box...? And forget the cable company I would of gotten selfish on them and had them bring their own ground rod...!

It is always a better idea to install the supply cables and the load cables under the meter enclosure, this makes it almost impossible for water to enter the meter box. Entering at the top is not recommended because earth movements, storms, tornadoes, strong winds, hurricanes can cause small movement of the conduit, were water or moisture can enter. In addition, some metal expand or contract with temperature change.

Why did he leave the Cable ground hook up sooo far from the connection? It looks ugly. Could it have been made just below the level of the siding so it would look better?

So glad that Maddox got a good honest job

Where’s the by pass arm in the Meter Socket ?

You have to use an insulated neutral wire as it is s current carrying conductor. The stranded alumnum wire is the grounding conductor.

Why did he remove the meter like that?

"This should not be done by a homeowner"
Proceeds to explain literally every step in detail

how much it cost from city for separate electric meter ?

How many times did the home owner hit his hand putting the ground rod??…

What prevents moisture from entering the siding?

“Thin Diesel”

So you bring in an insulated neutral from the riser then you change to an insulated neutral going into the building. That electrician Ron from New Jersey installs a bare neutral up his sebice entrance mast just like what comes in off the pole. The only problem with him doing that is the bare neutral is in contact eith the steel riser conduit and the neutral is a current carrying conductor and ad such you have two dissimilar metals in contact with one another which through electrolytic action the bare neutral will be eaten away. All current carrying conductors except the service drop from yhe pole should be insulated.

If this is sn upgrade like you ststrd ehy didn't you install a combo meter base main breaker for to provide overcurrent protection on the feeders going to the new panel and also provifed shut off from service drop for fire dept.

You don't need 2 ground rods as you have a cold water pipe as your primary grounding electrode. You fo need a supplementary grounding electrode but only 1 rod is required. You won't even need the supplemental ground rod if you can get to the rebar that is on the footing.

That service entrance cable have had an insulated neutral. What you have is 2 current carrying conductors and an equipment grounding conductor that is bare and you're using it as a neutral. You should have bought sevice entrance cable with 3 insulated conductors and the bare grounding conductor.

Whats the name of that bar u used to push the se cable into the terminal

How much does this cost ? I want to convert from gas to electric. Afraid I need to upgrade our electric panel

HOWdy T-O-H, ...
Thanks
COOP
the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA
...

You miss a ground wire from the meter base to the MDP where all the circuit ground they come together on a bar separated from neutrals

What size is the new 200amp wire?

can I do it my myself?

In the uk that is called a club hammer not a sledge hammer 😂😂. Thats not a sledge hammer... THIS IS A SLEDGE HAMMER! BANG! 😅😂

How far away are you from first point of disconnect? Is it readily available for the fire department?

How come you don't use a meter base main breaker combo to facilitate disconnect if power to inside panel? On a replacement or upgrade isn't that required by the municipality and the fire marshal?

Waste of time. A service upgrade must be preformed by a licensed electrician only. The electric utility will not even speak to a homeowner to shut the old service drop or reconnect the new service drop. Only a licensed electrician can get them to come out

Lots of no no's with this one😂

What does something like this cost to do?

I did this to my house yesterday! Though not an electrician I'm a master carpenter and have experience building homes since I was in my late teens so I'm very comfortable doing my own work on my house and seeing how as I'm the homeowner I can pull the permits myself. There's nothing that a semi skilled mechanically inclined person can not do by themselves these days seeing how all information is in the palm of our hands including step by step instructions and video, then to top it off there's always the "experts" in the comment section that are so helpful and "friendly"!

Since you already have this grounded, do you still need to tie the neutral and ground bus bar at the main panel?

Excelente

Can’t believe you don’t use conduit pipe !!! You basically just ran a thick extension cord !!! How can you use all the cheapest materials . I would not put that junk on a trailer home 😂

Very risky work
Good job 👍

Hi I’m looking to setup a 200 amp panel 100 ft away (above ground, through the attic) I’m wondering which phase sub panel I need for that? Running 4-5 20 amp 110v lines and 2x 20-30 amp 220v lines. Also I’m wondering if this cable will be the correct cable for me to run box to box?:

4/0-4/0-4/0-4/0 Appaloosa Quadruplex Overhead Aluminum Conductor

Mickey Mouse electric.