Yer basic splice for service conductors

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Undereground service with a 125 amp sub-panel in the basement.

So what ws this splice for? This conduit came out of the ground about 5 ft. from the riser to the meter. Yes, it was in a box, but what wouold you call that splicing method and why does it exist?

[Brian E. Kelly]

Hot Tub-AC?

Was it hot?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Ooooops!. Wrong . Conduit didn't go to the meter. In fact, there was no meter. Service entrance came out of the ground and turned right into the wall (about ten feet off the ground) and into the back of the main panel.
Were these conductors intended for the meter?
I don't know what that concrete pad is for either.

Foreclosure with a lot of funky homeowner construction . -Kent

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Power to the property was off, Brian.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Concrete looks like an AC pad, but this home was low-end at about 9000 ft. elev. in the Rockies. Even high-end homes here don't usually have AC.

Home reeked... REEKED of cigarettes. made me sick for about a half hour. A key hook label said "Hot chem. cabinet" and I thought it might be a meth lab but it tested negative using the sprary starch test and there was no ether smell.

So... I don't know. Wierd house.

[tneumann]

All foreclosure houses smell the same....I wonder what the studies are as far as smoker vs non-smoker foreclosures? I don't smoke....

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Kenton,

Was their a Disconnect located at another building for this dwelling, was their a disconnect location at the service pole.......is this building fed from another building?

All important questions....As for the BOX.....the conductors are large....could have been the disconnect BEFORE the new PVC was added and controlled by another location......very hard to tell from these images.

Did you use a ticker on the " Split Bolt Knots" to see if they were energized....?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Paul, the only other building was a Tuff Shed-like storage unit set back on the edge of the property that I didn't look closely at. It looked much newere than the home, so it didn't occur to me that there might be a meter/disconnect there. I believe power comes just to this building.

The plastic riser in the original picture (of the box with the splice) was not up against the exterior wall of the home, but stood off a foot or so.

The service pole was out on the road and I didn't walk out to look at it and didn't check the splice with my voltage sniffer because the power was off to the main panel and That meant that with no disconnect between the splice and the main panel, the splice could not be energized.

I may go back out there tomorrow. If I do...
1. Check to see if conductor is energized at the splice.
2. Look for a pole with a disconnect.
3. Look for a disconect somewhere else.

There was a hot tub area at another side of the home. I wonder if there was some sort of activity going on in this home that might have made a AC necessary.
Back up in the mountains people pursue all sort of strange, sometimes illegal activities. I can't get over that label that said "Hot chem. cabinet".

[kelliott]

Originally Posted by kshepard

and I thought it might be a meth lab but it tested negative using the sprary starch test and there was no ether smell.

You've just raised another question for me.
I don't think I know about the spray starch test for meth. How does that work?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Spray starch like you use on clothes (about $1.50) can be sprayed on walls where you suspect meth has been cooked. If the wall turns violet or purple you have a meth lab. If it doesn't... maybe you don't. Then again, you still might.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by kshepard

Spray starch like you use on clothes (about $1.50) can be sprayed on walls where you suspect meth has been cooked. If the wall turns violet or purple you have a meth lab. If it doesn't... maybe you don't. Then again, you still might.

Great tip Thanks . Roy Sr