electrical issues.

[medic0648]

My mom bought a house and property in TX a few years ago and moved in. Shortly after she did she had a portable shed moved. The electric service to it was cut at the shed to move it, but is fed from a 200amp breaker that appears to be fed by a direct drop from the meter box on the house. The ac condenser, laundry room, and well pump are also powered off this breaker via a box with a 60 and 40 amp breaker. The 1st and biggest issue is we can't cut power to the former shed line and not loose critical services (water amd cooling.) I noticed the issue last weekend and took the outdoor box off the shed and used it to protect us and the animals from the effectively bare ends of the line. When funds eventually allow she plans to extend the power to the shed's new location. With this in mind we're wanting to put a more permanent fix that will give us safe access to the electricity there that could eventually be extended to the shed at a future date.

 

[medic0648]

The 2nd issue is that off the 200amp breaker they directly took the power for the shed with al wire and fed the breakers for the ac, well, and laundry room with copper both connected together using the same lug for the 2 hots. Everything I've learned and been taught about electricity is copper and aluminium wire don't go together. I'm looking for a safe fix to this issue short of replacing 1 or both lines fed off the breaker.

 

[ThomasH]

The splitting of the line at the meter box would only be legal if there is a disconnect for both at the meter. You need to have a licensed electrician look this over and make sure that the service is installed correctly and the main system grounds are proper, so that the electrical is safe and will not possibly harm someone.

 

[Qapla]

pictures would help

 

[ThomasH]

Aluminum and copper have to be clamped in seperate sections of a split bolt connector or use use proper lugs, and anti-corrosive paste (commonly called no-ox). They can not be safely clamped together in one lug, as the aluminum wire will heat and cool and the connection will get loose and cause a fire when put under a load.

 

[medic0648]

I'll try amd get pics when I can get over there. I'm still trying to find a decent electrician in the area. She had 2 look over the house to give estimates on fixing other issues. Neither cought the copper al issue and both looked in the box.

 

[medic0648]

This is the feed in from the meter to the 200amp breaker and then the 2 hot connections on the breaker with copper and al put together. The ground is the same. Both wires are #4 which on the al i dont think is enough for the 200 amps if it got the full draw for some reason. I'm trying to figure out what I can do to correct the issue for now. The power wouldn't be connected to the house if everything wasn't right in the meter box itself. The power company inspects the connections before installing the meter and won't install it if they don't meet code. Beyond that point they don't care though. Eventually we want to put 1 box out there that feeds the 3 circuts, but don't have the money for it right now. The other 2 circuts are on another box under this 1.

 

[mfreund]

You need a electrician, he will do it right. He will be expensive, but if your house burned and the insurance denied the claim because the connections did not meet code, he suddenly looks cheap.

 

[medic0648]

Ya. Like I said before, trying to find a decent electrician in the area and the money for it. My mom is on a fixed income and I'm trying to catch up on bills after being mostly unemployed for 1.5yrs and only been steadily working as a temp for 3.5 months the money isn't there yet.

 

[BeezFun]

If the former shed that was fed by the Al wire doesn't exist anymore, why can't you just remove the Al wires and leave the copper wires as the only thing connected to the 200A breaker?