can i save this main panel?

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zappy

zappy

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CA.
got a call from a customer that said his lights are flickering.poco came out and pulled the meter and said that it was from all the oxidation.went out to look it over and the h.o. lives near the ocean and has alot of oxidation on the bus bars rust on the outside of the panel.took some flitz and cleaned off the meter stabs and bus bar and connections.and put some no-lox on.put the meter back on he said that it wasn't flickering anymore.told him if it flickers anymore it needs to be changed.is there any service panels that are all copper guts?thank you for your help.:smile:
 
zappy said:
is there any service panels that are all copper guts?
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You bet there is. Some are special order, and some by standard design.

By the way, what you did doesn't really square with the NEC. 110.12(C)
 
110.12c

110.12c

mdshunk said:
You bet there is. Some are special order, and some by standard design.

By the way, what you did doesn't really square with the NEC. 110.12(C)
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good point have to admit thats news to me thats why i love this web site it makes me a better electrician thank you for your help mdshunk
 
I think Square D (Homeline & QO) have tinned copper buses and you can get Siemens load centers with copper buses also.
 
C3PO said:
I think Square D (Homeline & QO) have tinned copper buses and you can get Siemens load centers with copper buses also.
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Homeline is just more low end junk Al bus, QO has tinned copper bus, Siemens is standard Al Bus with copper as a special order item, CH Classis Loadcenters, are a popular stock panel all copper Bus, we have been using them down the shore, where the Al panels self destruct.
 
What you did was knock your self out of a sale. You had a customer knowing he had a problem and you did a temp. fix. Then you told him to call you if it did it again. Your temp. may last long enough for him to find someone else to do the replacement. You should have told him you cleaned it up long enough for you to get the proper equipment for his environment and sealed the sale with a contract. Do not take what I am saying as "when possible screw the customer and sell them things that are unnecessary", the HO had/has a ligament problem , you had your foot in the door and unless this is a repeat customer you may or may not hear from him again.
 
customers remember that you where honest.

customers remember that you where honest.

ceb58 said:
What you did was knock your self out of a sale. You had a customer knowing he had a problem and you did a temp. fix. Then you told him to call you if it did it again. Your temp. may last long enough for him to find someone else to do the replacement. You should have told him you cleaned it up long enough for you to get the proper equipment for his environment and sealed the sale with a contract. Do not take what I am saying as "when possible screw the customer and sell them things that are unnecessary", the HO had/has a ligament problem , you had your foot in the door and unless this is a repeat customer you may or may not hear from him again.
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i had a problem with my blinkers on my van.called a few mechanic's one told me bring it in all fix it for 200.ask him what it might be he said i dont know have to look at it and charge you to find the problem.called another one he said its your flasher and he told me how to fix it.very simple job.called that guy back to do my tune up because he helped me.
 
zappy said:
i had a problem with my blinkers on my van.called a few mechanic's one told me bring it in all fix it for 200.ask him what it might be he said i dont know have to look at it and charge you to find the problem.called another one he said its your flasher and he told me how to fix it.very simple job.called that guy back to do my tune up because he helped me.
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Lots of "helpful" guys are poor. Maybe that's okay with you? If it is, that's fine.
 
i'm sure that works both ways!

i'm sure that works both ways!

mdshunk said:
Lots of "helpful" guys are poor. Maybe that's okay with you? If it is, that's fine.
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me personally i remembered that mechanic and wanted to give him some business and told other people too.
 
zappy said:
is there any service panels that are all copper guts? thank you for your help.:smile:
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Realizing that many areas do not allow this but it is in mine... Put the panels inside a semi-conditioned area of the building. Or some sort of sealed dog-house.... Meter, main the whole nine... Even the best made nema 3 panel is going to rot near the ocean, short of a submersable nema 6 - the salt air will condense inside every morning. Copper will last longer but may have connection issues as well down the line. (Not as much as aluminum, but it too can rot.) The steel of the panel will rot just as much either way...

Locally many/most/all portions of the service equipment can be inside... Often in garages with a window for the meter-reader, or dog housed behind a door through a stud cavity - also sometimes a weather-proofed door and with a window. Many larger buildings are in an equipment room with key access....
 
zappy said:
got a call from a customer that said his lights are flickering.poco came out and pulled the meter and said that it was from all the oxidation.went out to look it over and the h.o. lives near the ocean and has alot of oxidation on the bus bars rust on the outside of the panel.took some flitz and cleaned off the meter stabs and bus bar and connections.and put some no-lox on.put the meter back on he said that it wasn't flickering anymore.told him if it flickers anymore it needs to be changed.is there any service panels that are all copper guts?thank you for your help.:smile:
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It's been a very long week, so this may be too blunt. Your client had a serious problem and you did a patch-job IMO. Your client would have been better served with a replacement as a safe and long-term solution to the problem.

Dave
 
Tiger Electrical said:
It's been a very long week, so this may be too blunt. Your client had a serious problem and you did a patch-job IMO. Your client would have been better served with a replacement as a safe and long-term solution to the problem.

Dave
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Based on the OP, I agree with this statement.

Sometimes you can save your customer more money - longterm by making a complete fix now.

P.S. One can never tell the actual condition of metal surfaces/parts just by a visual.
 
Originally Posted by zappy
i had a problem with my blinkers on my van.called a few mechanic's one told me bring it in all fix it for 200.ask him what it might be he said i dont know have to look at it and charge you to find the problem.called another one he said its your flasher and he told me how to fix it.very simple job.called that guy back to do my tune up because he helped me.
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I agree with Marc that's good that you did this for the guy.

me personally i remembered that mechanic and wanted to give him some business and told other people too.
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The part that remembered that was a business owner. I have business customers that call on me for their elect. work in turn when i need a service or item that they sell I do my best to use them. One of those you scratch mine I'll scratch yours kinda deals. All I am saying is if you read the threads posted here their are a lot of guys complaining about getting low balled on quotes and loosing work and slow or no work at all. When you have a legitimate problem, you are already there, make the best of it.
 
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