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puzzle

This box has got to go somehow. Any ideas. Lock nut is designed for no clearance to unthread. Even the box itself is impossible, for its rusted spinning nut and bolt. Then there’s the elbow (shown) cemented in. Like it was installed with the notion it may want to come alive and move about. An initial tortuous plan, at a time when technology was such that it offered an 8-fuse panel. Obviously a mechanic type was in front of it at one time.

i will try first locking on to rusted nut and bolt. With panel loose, bang on tight lock nut for a thread or two. Then bang a star tool into concrete.

panels

This took a long time

I can’t do this size upgrade again soon. Took all day. It’s a walk in the park normally, spreading out a few hours over two days. So I kept thinking I’d maybe see the end of the project in sight, right after the next effort. By close to the end of it, and I worked dextrous all day, even the sun couldn’t wait up for the ride home. I might as well done 80 spaces as 40. I couldn’t even look closely eventually, because my eye was on Time and how I’m badly calibrating it. It would be a feather in my cap if no tools get left behind.

I know, if it looks like a grouch, and sounds like a grouch, I’m grouchy. 40 or so wires. At 26 is some kind of imaginary limit. I felt punished, someone was making me do this, so I thought of my childhood right on cue. I can hardly want to think about it now. The regret primarily is how badly I calibrated time, and apparently forgot what 35 felt like? I mean, to stand back from these upgrades, it’s enough approbation for the day to see the panel mounted and fed. I could mistakenly go home, knowing the electricity can enter the dwelling accurately. “You” just exercised the aesthetic side to your skills, like I said, full enough. Then to deal with messing up the interior, and at the same time sculpting 3 5 wires that need to reach a breaker, shorter pieces landed before longer pieces. Having had already to re route some existing wires, in order to gain a necessary foot or more to reach inside the newly placed box.

It’s work. Of course. I can’t work so thoughtfully for 8 hours, and inside the bowels of their nice home. So much repetition which can’t be couched like in one fell swoop. When I had a helper, I’m reminded, it still would’ve been longer than usual, to the point where we became familiar by proxy that conversation felt mandatory, and that was my dear wife. There’s a lot of preparation in one of these, so by all rights, it should end abruptly and with a ping. But this day, it didn’t. Boo hoo.

680 = 100A

880 = 200A

75 = Inspector

0 = utility co.

$ = same 28 yrs

Ballast

this was a regular gig until most all the stores became LED

Empty-nester Receives Job Offer to Relocate

It’s been interesting to figure out why a residence had dimming lights.. Once the utility companies-side of the meter was load tested fine, connections got cleaned up on the house side. The home is like 50 years old and was fed into the house, uniquely, under the garage straight into the basement. At the time of installation, 4/0 was used with a smaller bare stranded neutral. It was suspected that that bare sat in moisture inside a rusted pipe. Temporarily, new SE cable was laid on the ground around the house into basement, and dimming went away. It turned out, with the old feed hooked up again, and my right-angled drill pressed on, voltage dipped 12 ticks and rose similarly on the opposite leg! This lovely house must have felt haunted all the time!

I’ll quote it not reusing underground pipe with URD, though it’s tempting if the old wire pulls out. I’d route new 4 conductor above garage and down into basement, which would require a meter/disconnect combo and much more money. Drama begins whether home owner tackles this issue thats been going on for a year (without damaging loads), or leave it for the next homebuyers to figure out anew? I bet you these present homeowners are the tenth to own this house in this transient neighborhood, and fell unlucky to the neutral wire becoming deteriorated enough. What will they decide?

55 year old re-wires house in Like Two Weeks!

“ I first had to get in shape a bit more, which ends up meaning tightening the stomach and the last thing I’m want to do. Scoped it out one day two weeks ago, and one thing lead to another: deviced including switches and loads. It was comfortable, but I was relentless in energy, having taken an odd day off from the sight (holding down other work more like). I started getting a stomach again in the second week, thinking I worked enough not to exercise. No back issue or anything though. It was a small house so that was nice. Panel was done already. Open wall, roof over my head, congested basement, staple gun, knocked it out. More arc protection breakers and Gfi breakers than I care to admit, expensive. Felt 40, when I complained about being 40. Not 30, so I’m not light on my feet. I do everything slowly. Drills did well, not so much jigsawing. That’s that job. “

Because of their very thorough and fair estimate…

“Because of their very thorough and fair estimate, we originally hired Chuck Toms of Electrical Works Contracting to wire and install an overhead fan on our back porch and to run electricity to the pond in our backyard. At the time they performed this job, we were very impressed with their expertise and professional manner, i.e., the way they planned and executed the project, and their outstanding attention to time, cost and aesthetic concerns. Additionally, we appreciated their courtesy and the way they left the work site completely clean.”

Because of this very good first impression, we then hired them to install a 200 amp box and to analyze and organize our circuitry for more efficient delivery. As with the first job, this proved to be a “more than satisfactory” experience, and we can honestly say that we highly recommend Electrical Works Contracting to anyone needing electrical services.”

Sandy & Don Bowman
Edinboro, PA

Restoring and working with an electrical system in a 100+ year old home is a challenge…

“Restoring and working with an electrical system in a100+ year old home is a challenge for even the best, but my wife and I have found over the last eight years, that the most competent and expert electrical contracting service in this area is Electrical Works Contracting and Chuck Toms. I have appreciated Chuck taking the time to explain what needed to be done when a repair was needed, options (if there were any), and then providing the best price and quality workmanship to complete the project. He and Audrey work well together and ensure that when they are finished there is never a clean-up issue. When they say they will be at your home – they are there….no need to keep calling and wondering when your job will be completed. My wife and I highly recommend Electrical Works Contracting – they will be the only electrical repair service that ever works inside my home.”

Rev. Dr. Jeffrey T. Moore and Naomi T. Uy-Moore