City electrical inspector says move the meter and panel

[Charley L. Bottger]

This house had a screened in porch/sunroom built around the electrical meter and the city inspector got involved and stated the meter had to be re-located I don't know what his reasoning was I assume it was excess to reading the meter but not sure.

There was a detached garage/shop that has a bathroom one commode and one shower stall the electrical panel is within the bathroom for this building he stated that this panel must also be moved can not be near sources of water. My question is panels in this area are installed within utility rooms on a frequent basis with laundry sinks, washing machines, hot water heaters, water softeners and so on in the same room with the electrical panel is there a specific code that states no panels in the bathroom. I could understand no panel in a bathroom within the home but this is a detached building with very limited use of the shower if at all.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

If you are speaking of bathrooms......

Bathroom.

An area including a basin with one or more of
the following: a toilet, a tub, or a shower.

(2) Bathrooms.

Service disconnecting means shall not be
installed in bathrooms. [230.70(A)(2)]

(E) Not Located in Bathrooms.

In dwelling units and
guest rooms of hotels and motels, overcurrent devices,
other than supplementary overcurrent protection, shall not
be located in bathrooms as defined in Article 100

I am not able to find anything regarding not being able to install the panel within a laundry room......IN fact we have done this ourselves....but never closer than 6' of the sink area and so on...not for any other reason but I just dont like it.

I guess the important think here is the age of the house in question........was it built back before lets say 1984........?

Others may chime in.....I will give you more when I am back as I am out of the office today.

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by pabernathy

If you are speaking of bathrooms......


Bathroom. An area including a basin with one or more of
the following: a toilet, a tub, or a shower.




(2) Bathrooms.

Service disconnecting means shall not be
installed in bathrooms. [230.70(A)(2)]






(E) Not Located in Bathrooms.

In dwelling units and
guest rooms of hotels and motels, overcurrent devices,
other than supplementary overcurrent protection, shall not
be located in bathrooms as defined in Article 100







I am not able to find anything regarding not being able to install the panel within a laundry room......IN fact we have done this ourselves....but never closer than 6' of the sink area and so on...not for any other reason but I just dont like it.

I guess the important think here is the age of the house in question........was it built back before lets say 1984........?

Others may chime in.....I will give you more when I am back as I am out of the office today.

Paul The panel of concern is not within the home but in a detached garage/shop with bathroom where the panel is located. This has already been turned over to the electrical contractors they were the ones that brought the city inspector on board The house was built in early 1950,s the detached garage was added to the property in the 1990,s all of the electric was DIY that why I turned over to the electricians. It was just an abortion from the get go. I was just curious about the meter business and the panel located detached. Thanks This home was also struck by lightening two weeks ago and has just added to the problems.

[tdietrich1]

Having the meter under anything other than an eve is bad. The SE are 'unprotected' in the relation that there is not breaker upstream that will open at say at the the SE's rating. So the goal seams to be, have as little inside the house as possible before getting to a disconnect.

tom

[Larry D. Kage]

A firefighter I know said they need access to pull the meter, of needed, also.

[Marc D. Shunk]

You're not permitted to run buy a short distance of service entrance conductors within the dwelling. With the metering equipment located inside that closed porch, you've got a violation on your hands, because you've got an awful lot of unfused conductor indoors. I agree with the inspector wholeheartedly, in that the metering equipment and associated mast/cable riser need moved.

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by Marc D. Shunk

You're not permitted to run buy a short distance of service entrance conductors within the dwelling. With the metering equipment located inside that closed porch, you've got a violation on your hands, because you've got an awful lot of unfused conductor indoors. I agree with the inspector wholeheartedly, in that the metering equipment and associated mast/cable riser need moved.

We do not seem to be on the same page my explanation must be as clear as mud. I will resolve this with some Pics as I have inspections tomorrow near this mess.

[Marc D. Shunk]

Originally Posted by cbottger

We do not seem to be on the same page my explanation must be as clear as mud.

I don't know. You said:

Originally Posted by cbottger

This house had a screened in porch/sunroom built around the electrical meter ...

, which means that a violation was created.

[tdietrich1]

Photos are aways nice. However, I thought this was put to bed.

tom

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by tdietrich1

Photos are aways nice. However, I thought this was put to bed.

tom

My pic's are not good had to shoot thru the screen but lest wake this thing up again.
I think the city inspector got confused as to what was incoming from the pole hard to tell unless you look above the roof and it is flat in this area.

The glass fronted meter is on the right with a weather head above the roof as it should be. DIY panel left of the meter base with another weather head that does not pentrate the roof only the wires coming out of the left weather head travel up thru the roof deck that was where my problem was. The main distribution panel is right next to the meter so there is no unprotected wiring within the home as Marc suggested or at least thats what I thought he was talking about.

My thinking was to just extend the weather head on the left up thru the roof to the proper height as this is the feed to the detached building and was lying on the roof of the sun porch. I still do not see why the meter must be moved as its excess is not blocked. This is not a locked sunroom more like a enclosed patio.