check this service out

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hotblueelectric

hotblueelectric

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Location
Dallas Texas
Went to a customers duplex to change out meter base and this is what I found. The neutral coming from the weather head is a #4 bare copper. Also the adjacent duplex was wired the same way and also neighbors were also wired like this. Poco actually made their connections to the #4. Has anyone ever seen this before?
 
Use to be pretty common. SEU cable has a bare conductor.

230.41 Insulation of Service-Entrance Conductors.
Service-entrance conductors entering or on the exterior of buildings or other structures shall be insulated.
Exception: A grounded conductor shall be permitted to be uninsulated as follows:
(1) Bare copper used in a raceway or part of a service cable assembly.
(2) Bare copper for direct burial where bare copper is judged to be suitable for the soil conditions.
(3) Bare copper for direct burial without regard to soil conditions where part of a cable assembly identified for underground use.
(4) Aluminum or copper-clad aluminum without individual insulation or covering where part of a cable assembly or identified for underground use in a raceway, or for direct burial.
(5) Bare conductors used in an auxiliary gutter.
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The services I have seen had stranded ground wire. Technically solid wire over #10 wire(I believe) is not code compliant in a raceway. I can't remember the art.

Edit to add--- art. 310.3
 
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Dennis Alwon said:
The services I have seen had stranded ground wire. Technically solid wire over #10 wire(I believe) is not code compliant in a raceway. I can't remember the art.
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I have seen bare solid #4 copper wire run in a raceway to the interior panel. (Not condoning this pratice just saying that I have seen it)

I have also seen my share of stranded bare conductors as well.

Dennis, 310.3 requires that conductors #8 and larger installed in a raceway be stranded.

Chris
 
raider1 said:
I have seen bare solid #4 copper wire run in a raceway to the interior panel. (Not condoning this pratice just saying that I have seen it)

I have also seen my share of stranded bare conductors as well.

Dennis, 310.3 requires that conductors #8 and larger installed in a raceway be stranded.

Chris
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Thanks Chris I had already found it and edited my post. I bet that rule was not in place when those old service installations were made.
 
Is it possible that this service was originally installed, back in the day, by the power company? Of the pictures that I've seen on the 'net over the years of power company installed services, there seems to be a trend with that solid #4 as the neutral. That would be a more common truck stock item for a lineman's truck.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Thanks Chris I had already found it and edited my post. I bet that rule was not in place when those old service installations were made.
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I agree, most of the services that I have seen like this were installed in the 30s,40s or 50s.

Chris
 
I see a bare #4 from the poco for a neutral alot when its an older underground service done in rigid steel conduit from the property line in to the meter location at the house. Like somebody else said- houses from the 50's and 60's.
 
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