working clearance

[ofourcobra]

I installed a 200 amp service the other day and thought I had enough clearance but whe the inspector came out I was 3 inches shy .I know my fault but my question here is rather then eat the service ,do you think if I have a gate installed in the section of fence in front of the meter ,that it would be acceptable ,even though you would have to open it

 

[augie47]

short answer: it's up to your AHJ, but normally yes, if a gate or door is positioned and opens in such a manner as to give your prescribed clearance that is usually acceptable.
From your comment, is the violation based on a measurement from the face of an electric meter only ?

 

[ofourcobra]

Yes from the face of the meter I'm short ,if it were from the house to the fence I would be fine ,that four inches would help me out

 

[augie47]

and I thought I was strict.............
that's one I might appeal respectfully to a higher authority if possible...

 

[ofourcobra]

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

 

[ofourcobra]

He sounded like he wanted to but when he found out it was a chain linked fence he said no because of the ground issues

 

[mivey]

Nevermind .

 

[Buck Parrish]

I installed a 200 amp service the other day and thought I had enough clearance but whe the inspector came out I was 3 inches shy .I know my fault but my question here is rather then eat the service ,do you think if I have a gate installed in the section of fence in front of the meter ,that it would be acceptable ,even though you would have to open it

Was thier an existing service in that location?

 

[ofourcobra]

Yes the old service was in that location

 

[Buck Parrish]

Augie is right. If it was an exiting location. And if thier we're no other issues except the 4" . I would request a waiver.
Have the customer call if they won't listen to you.
IMO, I think the customer should have to pay to move it.
Did you re-hook the overhead.

 

[ofourcobra]

It was a 100amp 2 family service ,and we upgraded to a 200 amp 2 family ,I just figured since I should have caught the working clearance before hand that I should have moved it to the other side of the house from the get go,but it looked fine but I should have double checked

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

A gate would solve the problem if by opening it you comply with 110.26 Now a bigger question is how close does this put you to a property line ? And if the violation is only the meter itself i am not sure your even in violation. Inspector is really pushing this a bit too hard.

 

[jaylectricity]

A gate would solve the problem if by opening it you comply with 110.26 Now a bigger question is how close does this put you to a property line ? And if the violation is only the meter itself i am not sure your even in violation. Inspector is really pushing this a bit too hard.

Is that because the meter socket doesn't count as something that requires working clearance? Or is it because in your area the POCO is responsible for that equipment?

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

Is that because the meter socket doesn't count as something that requires working clearance? Or is it because in your area the POCO is responsible for that equipment?

The meter is not equipment as for the electrician and poco have there own rules. I know its gray area and hard to fight ahj on this. Distance is from live parts and that 4 inches of glass or plastic is not live.
poco here dont want us touching there meter

 

[jaylectricity]

The meter is not equipment as for the electrician and poco have there own rules. I know its gray area and hard to fight ahj on this. Distance is from live parts and that 4 inches of glass or plastic is not live.
poco here dont want us touching there meter

They allow us to touch the meter here. We're responsible for everything (including the service conductors) from the meter socket to the point of attachment.

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

They allow us to touch the meter here. We're responsible for everything (including the service conductors) from the meter socket to the point of attachment.

We install the can ,mast,and wires but they get upset if we actually pull the meter. Just went thru this last week, needed to tighten wires and inspect. They sent a man to pull meter for free. Actually worked out great because i found a but splice that i melted insulation off and he replaced. Backed off 11 kw of heat with a sweet 30,000 btu propane heater. I really had my service maxed out and this might even save a few dollars.

 

[ofourcobra]

National grid approves meter location but this is an nstar area and they don't so its up to the AHJ ,when he had me measure it was from the front face of the meter socket to the fence,and the kicker is its a pretty tight neighborhood so to install the fence I would have to ask the neighbor if she would allow me to have a gate installed,which I doubt.I was out there today and noticed the fence is leaning in my favor but even if I straightened it out I would be closer to 36 but still just shy.

 

[jwjrw]

Here it would be grandfathered in and would pass. I assume the fence has been there for a while.

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

National grid approves meter location but this is an nstar area and they don't so its up to the AHJ ,when he had me measure it was from the front face of the meter socket to the fence,and the kicker is its a pretty tight neighborhood so to install the fence I would have to ask the neighbor if she would allow me to have a gate installed,which I doubt.I was out there today and noticed the fence is leaning in my favor but even if I straightened it out I would be closer to 36 but still just shy.

Who does fence belong to ? If its your customers you do not need permission from neighbor.
And chances are if it is your customers fince i suspect it would be a few inches in on customers side. Hard to believe an inspector making big deal about this.

 

[ofourcobra]

Originally when I called for inspection the usual inspector was on vacation ,so when he said I needed 36 inches I said fine and just figured I would talk to the fulltime inspector and maybe he would bend but when I called for my final and asked if I could go over some things from the previous visit ,he asked what it was ,and I told him ,and he said if its not 36 inches he won't pass it either ,now I'm at a loss its the neighbors fence and I haven't asked her about the gate .but if the code says 36 inches and its not what's my argument.I'm not one of those guys who looks for loopholes in the code ,but when I realized I was just short I figured he would let it go .so I guess ill schedule my final and see what the fulltime inspector says when he sees what I was talking about