Actually, economy is why aluminum wire is used in this case. The wires coming in and out of the meter base are very large and would be quite expensive in copper. When proper technique and and an anti-oxidant is used, they are completely safe.
Most places the meter has to have 2 ft to either side and 3 ft to the front clear and accessible, and it's supposed to be between 4 and 6 ft off the grade (dirt, sidewalk, driveway, etc) but electric co's and coops dont make this known to people and if a reader sees a condition like those they are suposed to notify the company who is supposed to dispatch a field tech, or mail a notice. I see someone went nuts with the insulation stripping when they installed the two ungrounded mains. Good vid
You stated that no one but the power company and/or a licensed electrician needs to access that area and they would call to inform the tag is going to be cut. Is there a law against a homeowner accessing behind his meter and cutting the tag?
Think of the meter seal as a padlock on private property. Just as you can be prosecuted for cutting the lock on someone's gate and entering their property, you can also be prosecuted for cutting the seal and entering the meter base, which is your electric company's property. It is also a safeguard to keep you out of danger.
Depends on the company - some own the base and meter, some control the base but own the meter. Some prosecute for tampering, some do a max charge, some investigate the difference between present and last reading and look for internal tampering since they know people maliciously break the seals off. It's dumb t get into the meter base - two hots with 120v on each and usually nice damp ground under your feet makes for a nice reeactment of death by electric chair. Stay out and stay alive.
amazing how easy it is to take them off
meterdatamanagement 8 months ago
The company I work for replaced around 12,000 of the analog meters for the new smart digital in Nebraska a couple of years ago.
electricianjoel 9 months ago
aluminum wires? really? how cheap.
maybachlover15 1 year ago 4
Actually, economy is why aluminum wire is used in this case. The wires coming in and out of the meter base are very large and would be quite expensive in copper. When proper technique and and an anti-oxidant is used, they are completely safe.
emctv 1 year ago 5
why do you need a hat :P
bobbysam232 1 year ago
@bobbysam232 because an arc flash or other failure event can propel objects such as the meter cover or even the meter itself, into the worker.
bladedspokes 2 months ago
Cute helmet he has, lol
DragonUltraMaster 1 year ago
Comment removed
NJO21186 2 years ago
Most places the meter has to have 2 ft to either side and 3 ft to the front clear and accessible, and it's supposed to be between 4 and 6 ft off the grade (dirt, sidewalk, driveway, etc) but electric co's and coops dont make this known to people and if a reader sees a condition like those they are suposed to notify the company who is supposed to dispatch a field tech, or mail a notice. I see someone went nuts with the insulation stripping when they installed the two ungrounded mains. Good vid
rhblakeman 2 years ago
lol we're experiencing this right now. Socal is automating around 4million meters and this is a huuugge issue.
A-Base is the worst. Especially in the beach-front cities.
camsixseven 2 years ago
Kewl
navyseal100 3 years ago
Mr. Brown had a bit to much coffee that day huh? Great instructional vid
mikeandtiff 3 years ago 5
You stated that no one but the power company and/or a licensed electrician needs to access that area and they would call to inform the tag is going to be cut. Is there a law against a homeowner accessing behind his meter and cutting the tag?
Thanks for your response.
hardtoremember 3 years ago
Think of the meter seal as a padlock on private property. Just as you can be prosecuted for cutting the lock on someone's gate and entering their property, you can also be prosecuted for cutting the seal and entering the meter base, which is your electric company's property. It is also a safeguard to keep you out of danger.
emctv 3 years ago
Depends on the company - some own the base and meter, some control the base but own the meter. Some prosecute for tampering, some do a max charge, some investigate the difference between present and last reading and look for internal tampering since they know people maliciously break the seals off. It's dumb t get into the meter base - two hots with 120v on each and usually nice damp ground under your feet makes for a nice reeactment of death by electric chair. Stay out and stay alive.
rhblakeman 2 years ago
how old is this video? Great work thank you for the vid
quickfreeze45 4 years ago
It was done last month, February 2008. Thanks for your comment!
emctv 4 years ago