junior_grower
Active member
the wire will be 100$ and the service call takes about 1.5-2 hrs so 300$ ish would be reasonable.
Electrical Help PLEASE: Random circuits not working
- Thread starter solarz
- Start date
Whoa - melted lead from the main. That mofo got hot night before last. You're lucky your house didn't burn down.
From what you've already described, it sounds like you have a meter socket outside connected to your panel inside. There is probably very little wire involved. Most of your cost will be labor and it's hard to say what that will run. If the melted wire is inside a conduit and it's welded to the inside of the conduit, it could be the conduit needs to be replaced. I know I'd be rather hesitant to pull new wires through a conduit that might have jagged metal inside. That's kind of asking to cut/short the new cable.
Then you have to figure out what caused the wire to melt in the first place. Quite frankly, that has me stumped at the moment.
PC
solarz
Member
Yeah, i'm stumped too...because i'm not really sure why this all happened. I'm pretty sure i wasnt running too close to the max amps on the house, b/c the grow only uses 60amps total (which are dedicated). It is a fairly "older" house, so that may be the cause of it.
I'll try to get a pic of the melted wires, as the power co. tech left the meter box unlocked so the electrician could replace the lug/load wire.
Pharma, from my understanding, to answer your question...there is a meter, and inside the meter there are 3 lugs (i think) and one of them is completely melted. Looks just like someone took a lighter to the wire and that was that. Also, i don't think its going to require much wire, b/c from the looks of it it goes directly from the lug in the meter, thru a brick wall, then directly into the main breaker (less than a foot apart).
From talking with the electric companies, they are concerned weather the lug got messed up in the process. To be honest, only one electrician even mentioned something about "what the cause" was for this melting of the wire.
solarz
I'll try to get a pic of the melted wires, as the power co. tech left the meter box unlocked so the electrician could replace the lug/load wire.
Pharma, from my understanding, to answer your question...there is a meter, and inside the meter there are 3 lugs (i think) and one of them is completely melted. Looks just like someone took a lighter to the wire and that was that. Also, i don't think its going to require much wire, b/c from the looks of it it goes directly from the lug in the meter, thru a brick wall, then directly into the main breaker (less than a foot apart).
From talking with the electric companies, they are concerned weather the lug got messed up in the process. To be honest, only one electrician even mentioned something about "what the cause" was for this melting of the wire.
solarz
solarz
Member
pics of the meter outside where wire melted!
pics of the meter outside where wire melted!
here are a few pics of the lug, inside the meter, where the wire melted and needs to be replaced.
The other pics are where the wire feeds into the panel, which is directly behind the wall those wires are going thru. Like i said before, i dont think its really going to be a lot to replace, but i have no clue why it happened to begin with. Any suggestions??
solarz
pics of the meter outside where wire melted!
here are a few pics of the lug, inside the meter, where the wire melted and needs to be replaced.
The other pics are where the wire feeds into the panel, which is directly behind the wall those wires are going thru. Like i said before, i dont think its really going to be a lot to replace, but i have no clue why it happened to begin with. Any suggestions??
solarz
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G
grow nerd
Let me guess, you were "maxed out" on that leg, running >80% continuous load? Time to balance your loads I guess?
I actually have zero experience seeing these kind of melt-down situations, so I don't know how often they really happen in non-grow situations. But I'm not surprised at all to find out that a wire had melted or otherwise failed due to overheating.
I know you said you only used 60A dedicated for the grow, but was the power in the rest of the house balanced so that you're not pulling all the power from one side?
I actually have zero experience seeing these kind of melt-down situations, so I don't know how often they really happen in non-grow situations. But I'm not surprised at all to find out that a wire had melted or otherwise failed due to overheating.
I know you said you only used 60A dedicated for the grow, but was the power in the rest of the house balanced so that you're not pulling all the power from one side?
That green stuff on there is corrosion, not heat damage.
Now that I can see what you've got going on, I think you had a combination of what MP said - you need to balance your load, and pushing too much current through corroded wires.
The good news is it should be relatively cheap and easy to fix. You should have your electrician check the other wires going from the meter to the panel. If those other wires are corroded, they should be replaced too.
IDK why it corroded so badly. That metal thing on the end of the wire that was connected to the lug could have been the culprit, different metal can cause each other to oxidize.
That lug doesn't look damaged by the heat, but it might take a little WD40 to free up those threads. (Uh, don't try that yourself. That lug is hot and WD40 conducts electricity.)
PC
Now that I can see what you've got going on, I think you had a combination of what MP said - you need to balance your load, and pushing too much current through corroded wires.
The good news is it should be relatively cheap and easy to fix. You should have your electrician check the other wires going from the meter to the panel. If those other wires are corroded, they should be replaced too.
IDK why it corroded so badly. That metal thing on the end of the wire that was connected to the lug could have been the culprit, different metal can cause each other to oxidize.
That lug doesn't look damaged by the heat, but it might take a little WD40 to free up those threads. (Uh, don't try that yourself. That lug is hot and WD40 conducts electricity.)
PC
Solarz - I just skimmed back through this thread and I didn't notice anywhere that you mentioned the size of your main panel. Is it 100amps or 200amps? (It could be something else, but those are the two most common modern sizes.) If you don't know, look at your main breaker. It will have a number on the handle. That's what I want to know.
If you only have a 100 amp panel, you should consider over-sizing the wires you are replacing - maybe go one size larger. But you still need to balance your load. Switching your lights to 240v would balance the light load just by doing it.
PC
If you only have a 100 amp panel, you should consider over-sizing the wires you are replacing - maybe go one size larger. But you still need to balance your load. Switching your lights to 240v would balance the light load just by doing it.
PC
solarz
Member
Well, i finally got everything back up and running. It cost me 250 to get everything done, and honestly...it wasn't shit. I sat there and watched dude the whole time, and all he did was replace the wire...thats it. Nothing was wrong with the breaker, the lug, or the meter base. Only the wire that was melted. he said that he things it was loose and was arching somewhere.
Pharma, i have 200amp service (previously thought it was 125 as thats what was on the panel) confirmed by the electrician. I'm seriously thinking about switching one of my 20 amp circuits over to 240 just for the lights. The only thing is i would have to get new ballast, and timers and such to run it all correctly, b/c everything i have now is for 120v.
thanks again guys for the help and suggestions.
Pharma, i have 200amp service (previously thought it was 125 as thats what was on the panel) confirmed by the electrician. I'm seriously thinking about switching one of my 20 amp circuits over to 240 just for the lights. The only thing is i would have to get new ballast, and timers and such to run it all correctly, b/c everything i have now is for 120v.
thanks again guys for the help and suggestions.
G
grow nerd
If you have an even number of ballasts, you can quite easily balance your load @ 120v w/o switching to 240v gear. Even with an odd number, I'm guessing it's a multi-light grow and you can do your best to put the last one on a different leg than the A/C (which I assume is 120v too?), or whatever other circuit might be drawing heavily, etc.
By the way, you could have diagnosed this (dead leg from meter) using the non-contact pen.
By the way, you could have diagnosed this (dead leg from meter) using the non-contact pen.
G
grow nerd
Run a subpanel to your grow. Not that expensive. But you can expand just as well on 120v really.
Sorry I missed dinner yesterday. What's on the menu tonight?
Sorry I missed dinner yesterday. What's on the menu tonight?
The wire most likely melted from a loose connection. Electical wires vibrate and loose connections cause heat. That's why it's good to check your connections occassionaly for loose wires or bad connections.
You're going to have to run a new wire from the meter into the panel box. Is it a 200 amp service or and older one? How far from the meter is it to the box?
You're going to have to run a new wire from the meter into the panel box. Is it a 200 amp service or and older one? How far from the meter is it to the box?
solarz
Member
thanks for the reply JJ, but i already got the situation handled. I had to call an electrician out yesterday to complete the repair...and that shit hit me 250 for parts and labor. All that fool did was cut about a 1ft piece of wire, and pull the old one out, and screw the new one in. I even helped hold the fucking lights and shit...and they still hit me for 240.
madpenguin
Member
Bummer. Anything from the mast head down is your problem.
Since you say there is just a few feet between the meter and the main panel then an electrician shouldn't charge you more than.... shit. A couple hundred tops. And that is borderline ripping you off. It also depends on whether or not he is going to pull a permit. The permit alone will cost 1 to 2 hundred dollars. Materials should only be 20 bucks or so. Labor in time shouldn't take more than a half hour tops.
If anyone tries to charge yo more than 200 with no permit then they are trying to take you for a ride. I would do it for $100 total. No permit plus materials included. But then again, I low ball stuff just to get the work.
Don't pay more than 200 I'd say.
madpenguin
Member
Dude.... Something is wrong with me. I just missed a whole page or two and thought you hadn't called the electrician yet.
That's exactly how much I thought he'd charge you. Par for the course.
Sorry about the bill. Again, I would have done it for $100.
That's exactly how much I thought he'd charge you. Par for the course.
Sorry about the bill. Again, I would have done it for $100.
madpenguin
Member
Look at all the rust and oxidation on that meter lug. Asshole should have replaced that or at least wire brushed it. Usually you only see something like that happen with wire when a direct short is involved but I'd have to say it was from excessive resistance.
It is pretty rare to see something like that, regardless.
It is pretty rare to see something like that, regardless.
