Electrified!

[Gary_in_Indiana]

After firing my electrician and finishing/re-doing the job myself I was scheduled to get my new electric hook up at my barn Monday. The power company came out and made the drop from the transformer to my riser but didn't hook it up.

Apparently there is a "standard" no one had told me even though I'd had both the electrical inspector and the power company field engineer out examining what had been done. I always make it a point to ask if there's anything else I need to do not only just to pass minimum standards but to make what I'd done better. In this instance I had marked my three cables for my own convenience so I'd know which was which coming out the conduit and riser.

Well, I needed white tape or paint on my ground instead of the color I had. The bottom line is that while I wired it right, I marked them wrong. Nonetheless, I went out and painted black over my markings then put white on the ground. It took them until yesterday afternoon to get me hooked up but it's done. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

I'll be lost out there now. Lights, power tools... maybe even a radio and a fan... I won't know what to do. More accurately, I won't know where to begin. The list of projects awaiting electricity there is long and has grown weekly but it's nice to know I can at least get a start on them now. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

Power!! Yes!! More Power!!

you can run a:

TV
satellite
refrigerator
tools
fan
radio
jacuzzi
karaoke
disco ball
coffee maker
frozen coke machine
popcorn machine
heater
air conditioning!!
electric razor
................................................more

 

[Golfgar4]

Say, if Gary's going to be out there that long doing all of those projects, then he'd better have a computer there too! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif That way, when he runs into a problem, he's got the TBN Brain Trust right there to help bail him out!

And if he's doing all those projects out there, and he's got his computer out there, he might as well hook up his digital camera too. Then he can shoot pics of his projects, download them, and post them on TBN within a matter of seconds after taking them!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Ain't 'lectricity great!! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

How about live streaming video uploaded to the web in real time /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif

Just keep it clean, okay Gary. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Spencer]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

Well, I needed white tape or paint on my ground instead of the color I had. The bottom line is that while I wired it right, I marked them wrong. Nonetheless, I went out and painted black over my markings then put white on the ground.

<hr></blockquote>



I am not an electrician but I tell them how to hook up all my equipment. In my 14 years experience it has always been the neutral that is marked with white tape. The ground always is marked with green tape.

Either way that is great that you have power out there now. I am waiting for my building permit to start my pole barn. It will be a long time before there will be power at my pole barn. I will be happy just to get the poles up and the roof on before winter. Next spring (or earlier if I can afford it) I will start putting the metal siding on. Then I will have to save up for concrete and doors.

 

[Inspector507]

Spencer,
I'm sure what he was referring to was the neutral, or "grounded" conductor.
Too bad the inspector AND the power com[amnies engineer missed it. But I'm happy he got it hooked up finally/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

OK, I probably don't have the terminology down pat here. From the transformer come two "live" lines and a third line I call the "ground." These are then attached to the three leads coming out of the weatherhead.

The two "live" cables run into the meter base and connect to the two outside terminals. The "ground" is connected in the middle. It is that "ground" that needed to be painted white for everyone to be satisfied.

The logic in this is that if the line to the transformer gets knocked down the power company can come out and hook it back up knowing the white one is the "ground" and the other two are live.

 

[karmakanic]

Hi Gary,

Glad to hear you got electrified. We had our shop built for a year before the funds materialized to get the service ran from the house to the shop and it sure was heaven to finally be able to just turn on a light bulb.

I wanted to touch on something you mentioned, without being a wise a**, cause it's really important if you're going to be doing any wiring work there in your new shop.

You know them folks at the electric utility don't miss a trick. They rent us those electrified electrons of theirs and we get to do all sorts of work with them. But the trick is they want those electrons back after we're done with'em. The neurtal wire (or white wire) is how we ship those electrons back. It is a current flowing wire when a load (motor, light, ect) is placed between it and a "live' wire. It just don't have much voltage potential cause the load used up all the volts doing work for us. It is not the ground. The ground is a seperate circuit that's there in case them electrified electrons get loose and need a place to go other then through a human body. The confusion arrises cause the ground and neutral are connected togeather at the service entrance, but they are not the same. They are connected only at the service entrance, and must not be connected anywhere else for your machine grounds to work as true safety grounds.

HTH,
Dave Perry