Saws Sharp and Gen Set Ready

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anlrolfe said:
Pulling the meter can be one of the most dangerous things a person can do!

Often the Aluminium contact corrode to the meter pins. They often heat up because of this added resistance which then weakens the fiberglass or plastic insulating block that holds them into the back of the meter socket. As soon as you pop the meter out they short circuit line-to-neutral or line-to-line. Now Its good to point out that the meter is often 6' AFG. You are now staring directly into an Arc Flash or Arc Blast hotter than the surface of the sun and spraying vaporized metal.

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all I can say is wow
 
Just one more example of what "a little bit of knowledge" does.

Had a neighbor that got a "handy man" to hook in a gen-set for him back in 2008-09 when we had an ice storm. There was a fault that occurred that took out all of his GFCI outlets and several power supplies for PC's.
 
The fundamental problem is that people don't know how to work on their own $hit any more. Learn it. Build it. Live it.
 
anlrolfe said:
Pulling the meter can be one of the most dangerous things a person can do!

Often the Aluminium contact corrode to the meter pins. They often heat up because of this added resistance which then weakens the fiberglass or plastic insulating block that holds them into the back of the meter socket. As soon as you pop the meter out they short circuit line-to-neutral or line-to-line. Now Its good to point out that the meter is often 6' AFG. You are now staring directly into an Arc Flash or Arc Blast hotter than the surface of the sun and spraying vaporized metal.

Click to expand...

If there is corrosion as you state, you already have a very dangerous situation.

Pulling the meter when there is no power from the utility is NOT dangerous, it safeguards the home circuits and gen set to ensure any unsuspecting person does NOT turn on the main (if you turned off the main to isolate from utility). We had several "accidents" during the aftermath of Sandy where people in their house threw the main and blew their gen sets to kingdom come. Also had transfer switches fail, that aint pretty eithor.

The danger exists when you put the meter back in. Not knowing what youre doing is one thing, but being a licensed electrician myself, I pull the meter
 
We had several "accidents" during the aftermath of Sandy where people in their house threw the main and blew their gen sets to kingdom come. Also had transfer switches fail, that aint pretty
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And those are excellent example of why you should ONLY run your portable gen-set from heavy duty extension cords directly to the equipment you are running.

Does your home owners insurance have an "escape clause" for stupidity? Look up the legal terms Reckless and Wanton with regards to endangerment.
 
anlrolfe said:
Does your home owners insurance have an "escape clause" for stupidity? Look up the legal terms Reckless and Wanton with regards to endangerment.
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Not mine tough guy ...........
I suppose you have your own personal experience doing dumb things, dealing with your insurance company, and then stringing them to put up a video about testing arc flash PPE clothing .................. that is entirely different from pulling a de-energized meter. Talk about stupidity, you state that you are an electrician (probably not licensed) and you "ASSUME" that I speak of pulling an energized meter ........... if you had any concern for your stated profession, you would have tried to ensure that the meters in question to be pulled were de-energized instead of grandstanding for yourself
 
Lucky, Yes. As an Apprentice Electrician I was on a job were 2-Journeyman weren't so lucky. There was a time when I wasn't afraid of anything. Now I'm afraid for my children and my students because they don't fully know what they are getting into. I've heard it all from student apprentices and JW electricians. It doesn't matter if we are talking about a rigged "Georgia 3-way switch" or whats being thrashed around concerning generators. It's either the right way or its not.

I know that there is little I can say to change your mind if its make up but to everyone, please accept my sincere prayers for safety.
 
The power company would strongly frown on anyone pulling a meter other than in an emergency. I suspect you may have an "adjusted" bill. They put tamper proof seals on them to KEEP people from pulling the meter and replacing it with something else, getting free electricity. There are main breakers in a house to disconnect the power. Most newer construction also requires a breaker accessible from the outside. So on our house, we have a main on the outside and another main on the inside. I'm not sure about what all is going on in your houses but I'm sure that if I turned off the main and told my wife to not turn it back on, it's unlikely one of the neighbors is going to come over and energize the system.

That said, i do have a generator transfer switch for a few essential circuits when we have a power outage.

Line crewman are well versed in the dangers of the "less than smart" people back feeding the lines and typically ground them during their repairs.

I do lots of dangerous stuff like talk on a cell phone when it's plugged into the charger. Scary video/pics on that too.
Stay safe out there.
 
Power company isnt the problem .......... license liability is.
Unless there is a functioning transfer switch, the meter gets pulled. that little plastic "seal" is made to be cut, we just call the power company when all done and tell them to re-seal the meter pan. All new meter pans in this area are required by Code, (for the last 15-20 years) to be of the "bypass" design, incorporating a lever attached to a linkage that will bridge across the meter terminal tabs, also releasing the meter itself, making meter removal easy while keeping essential life support equipment on line. In the event of any service or power interruption, and no functioning transfer switch, pulling the meter is the safest way to isolate any service for self generating purposes ............. the power companies do not represent my interests regarding my license.

The "wife" aint the problem, its all of the other relatives who do damage, case in point, an Uncle stopped by to visit during a power outage and wanted to "check out" what a friend of mine did to allow their generator to be used during Sandy's aftermath ........ noticed the main was off and turned it on. No problem yet ........ Two days later, BANG ! When the power company re-energized their service, this guys generator took a ride upward showering sparks and flames .................... had the meter been pulled, their house wouldnt have needed a new service.

I also run with scissors, and swim in the water after eating a big sandwich ............... BUT I definately do NOT take chances with electrical systems !
 
In the State of Kentucky I have to consider the following:

http://isaacslaw.org/index.htm

I have to consider protecting 1) my family 2) my livelihood

I am a licensed Master Electrician. Any idea the hell-storm of legalese that would rain down on me and the fallout for my family if something bad happened?

The KY State Housing Building and Construction has been using Isaac's Law as a big f-ing hammer over the past years and for good reason.

Can't imagine that the skilled trades in NY allow much to slip by.
 
Oops, sorry 'bout the toes....
The point is that if you know its not right, don't do it!
If you don't know ALL the "in's and out's" and ALL the "how to's and why for's" then just don't mess with it!
 
Ever sence i bought 2 generators the power hasn't gone out. i was all happy i got a big diesel gen and a honda clone on cl,a couple years ago. I've never used them except for starting up a couple times a year. Oh and i have 40 saws ready to go and 1 tree.
 
That's how it goes isn't it. I bought Z-Chains for the truck. Now were is the ice? Doesn't break my heart. Rather have it and not need it than the other way around when TSHTF.
 
anlrolfe said:
Just one more example of what "a little bit of knowledge" does.

Had a neighbor that got a "handy man" to hook in a gen-set for him back in 2008-09 when we had an ice storm. There was a fault that occurred that took out all of his GFCI outlets and several power supplies for PC's.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of generators, but in case of a power outage, I never hook them into my house wiring. I just use a heavy ten gauge extension cord, take that inside and attach a power strip to it. That feeds the refrigerator, freezer, and the few other items that may need power. For the rest, I've got wood heat, nat gas water heater, a coleman camping stove for cooking, etc. All I really worry about in a power outage is food spoilage. And we've not had any major outages here since the freak snow storm back in the early 90's.
 
anlrolfe said:
Rather have it and not need it than the other way around when TSHTF.
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I would love if the SHTF. It would wipe all debt clean and make all men equal again. Money would buy the rich man nothing and only the self-sufficient would prosper - which is most of us here!
 

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