moisture signs in panel

[cbrands]

look at these signs of moisture in and under this panel.
Meter is directly behind this panel on the exterior wall.
We've had a little rain lately.

no moisture in the panel at time of inspection.
moisture meter showed the stains below the panel to be completely dry.

i'm obviously calling it out, but how many would defer and say an electrician's evaluation is necessary.

[Marc D. Shunk]

Either condensation from warm/code air exchange through the meter to panel nipple or the meter hub or weatherhead is leaking. Not irreparable, but well worth documenting.

[cbrands]

Originally Posted by Marc D. Shunk

Either condensation from warm/code air exchange through the meter to panel nipple or the meter hub or weatherhead is leaking. Not irreparable, but well worth documenting.

underground service, so weatherhead is out.

but in either situation, it appears an electrician's evaluation is in order.

panel is in a laundry room with a clothes dryer, gas water heater, and gas furnace.

i wonder if this occured sometime during the last 10 winters. 1996 home.

warm and toasty inside...10 degrees outside.

[cwillick1]

laundry rooms create moisture that panel is not air tight. i would suspect the moisture is settling inside the panel

[Marc D. Shunk]

Originally Posted by cbrands

underground service, so weatherhead is out.

but in either situation, it appears an electrician's evaluation is in order.

panel is in a laundry room with a clothes dryer, gas water heater, and gas furnace.

i wonder if this occured sometime during the last 10 winters. 1996 home.

warm and toasty inside...10 degrees outside.

Yeah, probably the nipple needs sealed to prevent air transfer.

[Carl Brown]

Maybe it is because the meter cans are not flashed on the out side!

[gnovian]

I would recommend it be further evaluated by a licensed electrician.

[Greg Fretwell]

You should really be sealing any raceway that passes from inside to outside. People usually get away with it but you do have the possibility of drawing moisture in from outside to condense or cold air that condenses the moisture on the inside, depending on season.
This is covered in 300.7

[Paul W. Abernathy]

here ya go Greg.......300.7 for them to view...

300.7 Raceways Exposed to Different Temperatures.

(A) Sealing.

Where portions of a cable, raceway, or sleeve
are known to be subjected to different temperatures and
where condensation is known to be a problem, as in cold
storage areas of buildings or where passing from the interior
to the exterior of a building, the raceway or sleeve shall
be filled with an approved material to prevent the circulation
of warm air to a colder section of the raceway or
sleeve. An explosionproof seal shall not be required for this
purpose.

[Greg Fretwell]

This effect is also why a perfectly sealed (all water tight pipe joints) underground raceway will eventually collect water. Thermal cycling pulls moisture in and it condenses in the cool ground.
You should probably be using duct seal in them too if you wanted it dry but nobody does. You need wet location wiring anyway.