The shed was moved due to very poor positioning in relation to the driveway. Eventually the power is going to be extended out to the shed's new location when funds allow. We'd like to be able to have electric access where it is currently cut off for when something gets bent/broken instead of me using a plug out front that the previous owner extended off the 30amp well feed or dragging equipment over 45min home to fix it on a properly wired plug.
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electrical issues.
- Thread starter medic0648
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The shed was moved due to very poor positioning in relation to the driveway. Eventually the power is going to be extended out to the shed's new location when funds allow. We'd like to be able to have electric access where it is currently cut off for when something gets bent/broken instead of me using a plug out front that the previous owner extended off the 30amp well feed or dragging equipment over 45min home to fix it on a properly wired plug.
I need a diagram, I don't understand what's connected to what. I imagined there's wires hanging from a tree where the old shed used to be, but you are talking about connecting to them. What is on the end of the Al wire that used to terminate in the shed that got moved?
Oliver1655
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- Jun 25, 2010
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- Oliver 1655
Mount a 100 - 125 amp rain tight box with a main breaker next to the box under the meter. Take the aluminum wire from the shed out of the lugs of the box under the meter. Use #2 copper wire to go from the lugs you removed the aluminum wire from to the main breaker of the new box you installed. You will need to bond the 2 boxes together. This will take care of the copper/aluminum in the same lug & provide for quick disconnect of power at the pole to the shed when it is reconnected for emergencies. If you want to add another ground rod for the new box, use a #10 or larger bare copper wire to connect the new box & ground rod.
Then add the appropriate sized breaker for the aluminum wire to the new box & your are ready to connect the aluminum wire to it when it is needed. You might consider mounting an outlet below the new box for convenience.
Then add the appropriate sized breaker for the aluminum wire to the new box & your are ready to connect the aluminum wire to it when it is needed. You might consider mounting an outlet below the new box for convenience.
ThomasH
Gold Member
Wow - those lugs in the pictures look pretty bad. I would immediately get some no-ox from the closest electrical supply or big box store, pull the meter, and clean the lugs and cables. Then strip back enough insulation (probably 1") to mount a split bolt connector, and apply no-ox to the aluminum, and mount it to the copper wire. Then wrap the connections with electrical tape, and re-tighten the previously corroded lugs to 50 or so ft-pounds with the copper only in the lug. By doing so, you have fixed a possible impending fire due to corrosion, which is looks pretty bad in the picture.
None of the wiring appears to be suitable for a 200 amp service unless I am misjudging the picture. As long as the actual ampacity ratings of the wire itself are not exceeded (100 or so amps) then you should be ok for a while, assuming that your system ground is functioning. Considering the way the rest of the wiring has been handled, I would be examining the ground, taking some pictures, and posting that next.
Good luck!
None of the wiring appears to be suitable for a 200 amp service unless I am misjudging the picture. As long as the actual ampacity ratings of the wire itself are not exceeded (100 or so amps) then you should be ok for a while, assuming that your system ground is functioning. Considering the way the rest of the wiring has been handled, I would be examining the ground, taking some pictures, and posting that next.
Good luck!
ThomasH
Gold Member
Are you saying that the lug is not corroded? Sure looks that way in the picture, but I was also thinking about the aluminum wire which looks heavily oxidized.
The copper wire would only be a few inches long at the point of my suggested split bolt connection. A couple of inches of wire will carry a lot more than you might think without overheating. However, for safety's sake the main breaker in the panel shouldn't be much higher than the service wire capacity. What size wire is it, and how long a run to the house panel?
The copper wire would only be a few inches long at the point of my suggested split bolt connection. A couple of inches of wire will carry a lot more than you might think without overheating. However, for safety's sake the main breaker in the panel shouldn't be much higher than the service wire capacity. What size wire is it, and how long a run to the house panel?
This isn't even connected to the house pannel other than possibly sharing the lug at the meter. I had a neighbor who recently retired as an electrician come over this morning for his reccomendations both temporary and permanent fixes. Temporary would be a brass connector that can be inserted into the lug with the copper after cleaning the lugs and wires throughly and applying "no-ox" to the al wires. When we moved in both lugs had mud dobber nests on them which is most of what you are seeing. There is a little corrosion on the lugs themselves. The al wire is ok for 50amps at 100% duty, so for now (after cleaning and prepping everything) it will be good as an access point for welding etc. since my portable welder only needs 38 amps peak surge and the compressor/plasma cutter 47 amps peak surge combined.
The mostly permanent fix will include a 200amp breaker box combining the 200 amp and 100 amp box below it into 1 with a 100amp breaker to the shed's new location via the current termination point with new properly sized wire not sharing lugs with other types of wire. we'd eventually like to put a bigger box inside and combine everything into 1, but that's another massive can of worms with only copper wiring involved.