Home electrical question.

Since I retired, I've been working on the "UP NORTH" place and ran into a problem. I need to replace the ground rod and ground wire. When I looked at this thing ( I have no idea what it s called) I can't get the screw loose that connects the ground wire. I want to replace the whole box but I don't know what it is called. Any help or suggestions would be great.

Another pic.

Looks like the meter base to me. It where the electric company plugs in the meter to meter your electrial use. Hope you didnt pull the meter yourself without contacting the electric company. These are sealed to prvent tampering. Plus if the power is still on the top lugs will still be hot.

outlawfan80 said:

Looks like the meter base to me. It where the electric company plugs in the meter to meter your electrial use. Hope you didnt pull the meter yourself without contacting the electric company. These are sealed to prvent tampering. Plus if the power is still on the top lugs will still be hot.

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outlawfan80 is right, this is you electric meter box - and, if your power is cut, you'll be safe working in it BUT, if not, the top contacts are "hot" - don't mess inside that box.

You shouldn't have to replace the box. Why do you need to replace the ground wire? Usually, it is a solid copper wire that runs to the ground rod, which is usually a solid copper (or copper clad) rod, about 3/4" in size. Usually don't have to replace the rod either? But, if for some reason you need to replace it, all you need to do is pound into the ground a new copper-clad rod, usually about 6-8 feet long and attach the ground wire to it with a copper/brass clamp.

Again, I don't know why you have to replace the ground wire? and, again, don't put your hand inside the meter box if the electric company hasn't disconnected the wires servicing the box from above???

More info needed for better advise?

Also - humm, it looks to me by the pictures that someone has put in a jumper rod between the bottom and top terminals? to avoid the meter? I can't really tell for sure, but it sure looks like someone has jumper-ed the terminals???? Very dangerous and, of course, illegal ????

Sorry for the lack of info. The house originally sat at a location about 7 miles from where it is now. When the building was moved, the movers just cut the copper wire about half way between the box and the rod. It is now too short. The power coming into this box comes from a pole located at the front of the building (this box in the pics is on the back side of the building) and that is where the meter is located. Below the meter is a breaker box. I can turn off all power going to the house at this breaker. On the first post/pic you can see a set screw kind of attachment point. This is where the ground wire is attached. I tried to loosen this to attach the new ground wire, but it is rusted to the point that it doesn't want to move and even if it did, I would be skeptical if I could get a good connection-ground. On either side of the attachment point are 2 copper fuse looking things and their connection points look pretty corroded also. I will add more pics at this time in hopes that they help and if more are needed, I will be going up this Thursday and get more detailed pics then. Just let me know what you need to look at and I will takes as many as needed. I hate to sound like a dummy, but when it comes to electricity I can change batteries in a flash light and teat's as far as I can comfortably go.
Thanks for your help.
Doug

If you look close you can see the "box" to the left of the door. In this photo you can see the ground wire hanging from the bottom of the box. It ends at the top of the block and I didn't want to leave the ground rod that far out of the ground. My line of thinking was, if they made the rod 8 feet long, then I should drive all but about 6 inches into the ground. Should I get another rod and drive it short of full length and attach the old wire?

A better pic of the box location. Also the power lines coming off the roof from the pole at the front of the house.

This is what the back of the house looked like before the rebuild. I thought an upgrade was needed. :shock: :shock:

buy a new clamp. cut the old one out. the top lugs will be hot and the power company will not be happy if you took out the meter. they may even hook up the new ground rod for you if they have to come out and disconnect from the transformer.

What I would do would be to do away with the unused meter base. Replace the service wire from your disconnect box (under new meter) to breaker box in house (best choice). Or replace old meter base with a junction box of some kind. You could run a short ground wire from the new ground rod drove all but 6" or so in the ground up and connect it to the short wire coming out of the old meter base with a split bolt connector. If you are not comfortable working with electric please get an electrician to do the work, it's better to be safe than sorry.

I don't know what it's like in Wisconsin but here in AR, seals are cut and meters get pulled all the time for one reason or another (usually some sort of repair or upgrade to the electrical system). Just call the electric co and inform them that the meter had to be temporarily removed and they will install a new seal when you've finished with the electrical work/repairs. Now I know my eyessight isn't what it once was, but it appears to me that that meter base has jumpers (copper tubing with the ends mashed flat in this case) installed in place of the meter. That's a huge "no-no" around here and probably the same with any power company. If there is a functioning meter some where else where the power is entering this structure, you need to do away with this box completely. If you don't know what you're doing with that wiring I would strongly advise that you enlist the help of someone that does know what to do. It'd be a shame to burn the building down with some faulty wiring after all the work you're putting in to it to fix it up.

this isn't like picking a favorite bait. A lot is at risk, not the least of which is your life. Call a professional!!

Thank you very much for the replies. On the sound advise that I have received from this forum, I will call a licensed professional. I will also start a new thread about the rebuild of the house. It was pretty interesting what I found after removing the skin on the outside and gutting 1/2 of the inside. I just wish I had taken more pictures in the process.

In the mean time, we will just enjoy the view from the yard.

Thanks again
Doug

Good to hear you are calling a professional. You can get into all kind of troubles messing with the meter bases, panels, taps, tie ins an so forth. In some places the power company owns these things and are not too happy with homeowners messing with them. You can end up with legal troubles as well as personal injuries or even death.

JMichael said:

I don't know what it's like in Wisconsin but here in AR, seals are cut and meters get pulled all the time for one reason or another (usually some sort of repair or upgrade to the electrical system). Just call the electric co and inform them that the meter had to be temporarily removed and they will install a new seal when you've finished with the electrical work/repairs. Now I know my eyessight isn't what it once was, but it appears to me that that meter base has jumpers (copper tubing with the ends mashed flat in this case) installed in place of the meter. That's a huge "no-no" around here and probably the same with any power company. If there is a functioning meter some where else where the power is entering this structure, you need to do away with this box completely. If you don't know what you're doing with that wiring I would strongly advise that you enlist the help of someone that does know what to do. It'd be a shame to burn the building down with some faulty wiring after all the work you're putting in to it to fix it up.

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good eye on the copper tubes! I do not even want to think about what the power company would say to that. i wouldn't want to be around for that conversation.