Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    cmb4609's Avatar
    cmb4609 Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Oct 2, 2011, 07:32 AM
    Meter to fuse box?
    The meter box on the outside of the house has two separate wires coming out of it, both wires has black and white and are connected at the same spot in the meter. Then they both travel into the house and go to the fuse box. The fuse box is an 60A box that has 4screws at the top with two pull out mains in the middle and a bunch of screws at the bottom. If I was to change the box to a breaker box do I eliminate one of those wires coming in or put those wires together on the main breaker? I put a tester on both sets of wires and they show 240.
    donf's Avatar
    donf Posts: 5,679, Reputation: 582
    Printers & Electronics Expert
     
    #2

    Oct 2, 2011, 08:46 AM
    Good morning,

    I need to level set your electrical experience. Are you capable of R&R the main panel?

    Things you need to consider:

    You may need permission from the Local Authority Having Jurisdiction to do this work. It is entirely possible that main panel board work is restricted to licensed electricians. Primary reason behind that is the unprotected service cables that you will have to handle, unless you pull the meter or have the Power Company kill the feed. Make no mistake, Service Feed wire can kill you or severely burn you.

    From what you describe, you have a very old installation, so I have to ask, is this residence in a Historic Area? If it is, then you need to have a discussion with the Historic Board to make sure you do the work properly.

    You will need a permit before you do the work.

    The NEC now requires a minimum service of 100 amps, so this panelboard change may force you to upgrade your service, which means you need to be talking to your local power company to make sure that they have the ability to make the changes in your area, You need to make sure that the existing Service Feeders are the correct size for the new amperage. And that they meet the current specification for the number of ungrounded and grounded conductors.

    If you are the least bit intimated by the scope of this work, please contact several licensed electricians and get bids on the work.

Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions

 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

What is the cost of updating a fuse box (4 fuses) to a 200 amp box [ 1 Answers ]

Just need a rough estimate of costs.

60 AMP feeder line to meter and from meter is 200 AMP wire to my electrical box. [ 13 Answers ]

I have a old 60 AMP feeder line from the top of my house to the meter. From the meter is 200 AMP new wire. I was wondering if this is even safe and what would the cost be of updating the feeder line?

I just installed a 15 amp fuse in my fuse box, but it keeps arcing acros [ 6 Answers ]

Electricity arcs across breakers flickers lights


View more questions Search