Service Entrance Amperage?

[pdacey]

Originally Posted by mboyett

....More often than not, the service entrance wires are separated already and come to the SE panel individually thru a short piece of conduit. This gauge only works for 3 conductors still in the outer jacket. I think I'll order one anyway.
Attachment 4132

Save your money. I've had one for over 3 years and it has never come out of the tool bag because of what you stated above.

[tdutt]

Joe,
I bought the plastic guages and tried to use them, but they weren't very helpful.
Then I went to Home Depot, and bought several one foot pieces of cable, split them apart, cut them down to 3" lengths and now have several very accurate sizes of wire. It has made sizing conductors very easy. Two tips: First, buy long enough lengths of cable so that the size is printed on the side or bring a pen and some masking tape so that you can mark the size. Secondly, go to Home Depot (or other store) when they are not busy, as you will drive them crazy cutting all that wire. I made a whole set, and most of the wire they gave to me for free, I only had to pay for some of the more expensive SEC. Home Depot was very helpful.

I inspected a small, older house that had a 100 amp service a few weeks ago. I asked the client if they planned on adding air conditioning once they bought the home. They said they were planning on purchasing an air conditioner sometime in the next couple of years. That's when I told them they should get a licensed electrical contractor to check out the service and make sure that it could handle the extra load, especially as the hot water heater was electric. I would not make an issue of it if the furnace and hot water heater were gas, with no A/C and a small house. This was advice that came to me from an electrical contractor who has been wiring houses for over 25 years.

[gbeaumont]

Originally Posted by tdutt

Joe,
I bought the plasic guages and tried to use them, but they weren't very helpful.
Then I went to Home Depot, and bought several one foot pieces of cable, split them apart, cut them down to 3" lengths and now have several very accurate sizes of wire. It has made sizing conductors very easy. Two tips: First, buy a long enough lengths of cable so that the size is printed on the side or bring a pen and some masking tape so that you can mark the size. Secondly, go to Home Depot or other store when they are not busy, as you will drive them crazy cutting all that wire. I made a whole set, and most of the wire they gave to me for free, I only had to pay for some of the more expensive SEC. Home Depot was very helpful.

Congrats, that is the way to do it (and what I teach) either you are familiar with what you are inspecting or you aren't. If you aren't a set of plastic gauges is at best a poor substitute.

Regards

Gerry

[tdutt]

Gerry,
Yes it is, and I should have noted that that was one of the tips that I learned from your electrical course at the NACHI convention in Orlando last February. Many thanks for the great courses at the convention and your on-line electrical course.