240 Delta 3ph Meter Socket

[conmgt]

Hello,

I requested from the local utility a service change from 2 Phase (Yes, real 5 wire 2 phase, please don't tell me that I actually mean 3 wire 1 phase) to 3 phase for my client.
They said that they can offer a 3 phase 240V Delta High Leg service and that a CT cabinet is not required. Also, when it comes to the meter socket check that it is suitable for a high leg service.

What does "suitable for a high leg service" mean in regards to a meter socket ? Are there meter sockets that can't handle a high leg service ? I mean each leg is still 240V so what would be the difference ?

 

[kwired]

Hello,

I requested from the local utility a service change from 2 Phase (Yes, real 5 wire 2 phase, please don't tell me that I actually mean 3 wire 1 phase) to 3 phase for my client.
They said that they can offer a 3 phase 240V Delta High Leg service and that a CT cabinet is not required. Also, when it comes to the meter socket check that it is suitable for a high leg service.

What does "suitable for a high leg service" mean in regards to a meter socket ? Are there meter sockets that can't handle a high leg service ? I mean each leg is still 240V so what would be the difference ?

Meter sockets are 600 volt rated you use the same three pole socket for 120/240 volt delta as you use for 480/277 volt wye or 208/120 wye.

Fifth/seventh jaw is something that is needed in some cases if the meter they are using requires a connection to neutral.

Meter itself may require the "high leg" to be in the far right position.

 

[Jraef]

Usually the Utility will give you a document showing you the meter jaw requirements they require you to use. It’s not universal across all utilities, but it is within any one utility.

By the way, the moment I saw “2 phase”, my eyes moved over to the right to see where you were from, saw Philly, then went back to reading the rest of your post. Europeans use the term “2-phase” when referring to what we call “single phase” meaning 2-out-of-three lines of a three phase service. They don’t have “real” 2 phase service anywhere so don’t understand the need to distinguish the difference.
:thumbsup:

So also from this, it looks like another of the few remaining true 2 phase services is going to bite the dust, eh?

 

[kwired]

Usually the Utility will give you a document showing you the meter jaw requirements they require you to use. It’s not universal across all utilities, but it is within any one utility.

You never did a service served by small town (under 3000 population) municipal electric supplier have you? One I used to complain the most about is much more consistent with service requirements today, but then the old supervisor has been retired a few years now. Not that I didn't get along with him, but service requirements mostly depended on what he felt like/ how busy they were the day you requested a new service connection.

 

[Jraef]

You never did a service served by small town (under 3000 population) municipal electric supplier have you? One I used to complain the most about is much more consistent with service requirements today, but then the old supervisor has been retired a few years now. Not that I didn't get along with him, but service requirements mostly depended on what he felt like/ how busy they were the day you requested a new service connection.

Yeah, come to think about it when I did pumping plants in Eastern Washington years ago, I had that trouble because although the serving utility was often the Bonneville Power Administration themselves, the metering was done by local jurisdictions such as irrigation districts or municipalities, but then when you crossed some imaginary line, it was suddenly a a different one who insisted on a different socket configuration. Your comment reminded me of one service drop where my pump panel was approved, but then rejected by a ULID (Utility Local Improvement District) for aesthetic reasons (they didn’t like the gray box on the side of the highway) and they wanted it buried in a vault. So instead the irrigation customer of mine just had us move it to the other side of the road, out of the ULID jurisdiction. But that then had a different jaw requirement that we discovered when they came out to plug in the meter. Same guys from BPA, different meters on their truck for the two sides of the highway...

 

[conmgt]

So also from this, it looks like another of the few remaining true 2 phase services is going to bite the dust, eh?

Yep, another two phase bites the dust. I like two phase. I have an IR air compressor with a 15hp 2 phase motor and a 2 phase elevator motor that 100 years old and still running.

The property referred to in this post is next door to my building and it too has a 2 phase elevator motor. I installed a Scott T transformer to keep the old motor running on 3 phase.