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CEngdahl1981 · Jan 29, 2011, 07:15 AM

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?

donf · Jan 29, 2011, 07:47 AM

Who provided the upgraded service, the power company or yourself?

Who inspected the upgrade?

The cable from the power line to the home belongs to the power company. They should have replaced the cable.

In our area, the power company pre-wired the entire area with 4/0 cable, that way they do not have to comeback and change out the cable in order to upgrade the service.

stanfortyman · Jan 29, 2011, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by CEngdahl1981

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?

You have to do a better job of describing this.

Is the meter pan new? If not, how did they get the 4/0 to fit?
Is the panel new?
WHO replace the service entrance cable and did not change the riser?? That makes NO sense.

CEngdahl1981 · Jan 29, 2011, 11:41 AM

The electric panel was upgraded to 200 Amp and the wiring inside was upgraded as well. My concern comes in that the original feeder line from the top of the house to the meter is 60 AMP and then from the meter to the new electrical box is 200 AMP. I just bought the house so don't know who did the upgrade but I feel it was don't without a permit cause the ring around the meter is missing. I was wanting to know if the 60 AMP wire needs to be replaced right away and what would the cost be. I don't know what the AMP is from the top of the house to the pole either. I know the electric company is responsible for that part and I am responsible for the 60 AMP wire from the top of the house to the meter.

stanfortyman · Jan 29, 2011, 11:45 AM

First off, who says it is "60 amp" wire. That would be extremely rare.
Second, if they did leave the smaller riser and replace everything else that is just plain stupid.

I would have it corrected asap. No real immediate danger of fire, but that cable at some point may become overloaded. I can also bet that it is not in the best physical shape either.

How did a home inspector miss this?

CEngdahl1981 · Jan 29, 2011, 12:45 PM

The home inspector advised me of the problem and with being the only issue I decided to still purchase the house, I'm not living in it yet and was trying to see how much of a fire hazard thise might be? Do I fix it first before moving in the family or can we move and then have it done. The insp advised it was 60AMP

stanfortyman · Jan 29, 2011, 01:22 PM

I would not let it prevent me from moving in.

donf · Jan 29, 2011, 02:08 PM

Where are you located?

Just curious, but how did the inspector determine that the cable was only rated for 60 amps? Did he measure the cable or read the information off the cable or just look at it?

The power company that owns the line side. They would never allow a 200 amp service to be carried over a 60 amp conductor.

Apart from the part that says the cable would probably glow from the increased amperage, they would not change the transformer service without approval that the correct equipment has been installed and inspected at the site.

Did you check with the power company to find out if they did in fact upgrade the service?

If they did, then tell them that they appear to running 200 amp service via a 60 amp cable and see what they have to say about that!

stanfortyman · Jan 29, 2011, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by donf

Apart from the part that says the cable would probably glow from the increased amperage,

Come on Don. This is a bit extreme, don't you think?
And to be accurate, HOW is a larger panel going to increase the amperage load?? The "increased amperage" in question is potential capacity, not actual load.

A gallon of water in a one-gallon pail, or a gallon of water in a 5-gallon pail, is still a gallon of water.

Originally Posted by donf

they would not change the transformer service without approval that the correct equipment has been installed and inspected at the site.

Did you check with the power company to find out if they did in fact upgrade the service?

If they did, then tell them that they appear to running 200 amp service via a 60 amp cable and see what they have to say about that!

It all makes sense if they did the work without a permit or the power company knowing. It wouldn't be the first time.

donf · Jan 29, 2011, 03:05 PM

Stan,

If the home has a panel listed for 200 amp but it is only pulling 60 amp, that's one thing. But if they did the work and the power company signed off on it, then they are pulling 200 amp across a 60 amp conductor.

Not enough information from the original poster, but I am still very curious as to how an electrical inspector would let that go. It should have been red tagged, shut down and locked out until the connections have been corrected.

See that glow overhead yet? :)

stanfortyman · Jan 29, 2011, 03:59 PM

So you are saying that simply by installing a 200A panel they are automatically now pulling 200A?
I think you know better than that Don.

hkstroud · Jan 29, 2011, 04:03 PM

Don't want to jump in between two battling giants here but;

In my area you don't call the power company when upgrading a service. You call the inspector and if you pass he calls the power company. Power company won't even talk to you.

That being said, the power company would not leave without a retaining ring and seal on the meter.

As to cost, the rules are changing. In most cases in the past, the power company own the equipment to the meter. In many cases now, (with power companies be coming unregulated, thanks to your politicians sell out the citizenry), the rules are changing. Many power companies are now saying service drops and laterals belong to you, therefore your cost to replace.

Rest assured if there is no seal on the meter the power company has not been out.

donf · Jan 29, 2011, 04:20 PM

Stan,

Text was left out of my post. I use an editor that is supposed to bring over a line at a time using the 0x0A0D hex identifiers for the end of line.

I understand that if the line from PoCo was never changed to 200 amp from 60 amp, they will only draw 60 amp. However, if the amperage was changed and the panel changed then there is a very real problem. That's all I'm trying to get at.

I need a seriously large "Fosters" or copious amounts of that Larger, maybe then my writing will get clearer

tkrussell · Jan 30, 2011, 06:46 AM

CEngdahl1981, you have no choice but to call in an electrical contractor, first to confirm if the service entrance conductors are truly undersized, and second, to provide a price to replace if needed.

We have no idea if this is something that can wait a few days, or needs to be done immediately, as we have no idea of the load being used currently or in the near future.

If it is undersized as reported by the home inspector, it is grossly undersized and a serious code violation.

You should have the electrician check your entire system for other violations.