drip loops

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arlie

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ok having a problem with local electrical company,
updating service on residential home, putting new service pan on side of house running 1.5" emt up side and thru the roof, elec co. states they are afraid that there drip loop and service cable will expand to much in the heat of summer and hang below roof line. mind you this is a two story home, the periscope will be 24" above roof, which will put any wires 4-6' above any and all windows, so this is not the problem. my problem is what more can I do to get the elec co off my back?? nec section 9(a) says I'm ok , the inspector (underwriter required this area) says I'm ok, the elec co giving me hard time ,
can anyone help me on this one??? :confused:
 
Re: drip loops

You are now under the jurisdiction of the serving electric utility's rules and the NESC. We would require 2" RGC if we were going to hit the service mast. I don't know what their requirements are for a through the roof raceway. Additionally, the clearance across the back yard is 12 ft to meet the requirements of the NESC. Do yourself a favor and find out what their requirements are and you will not get a surprise the next time. :D
 
Re: drip loops

thank you for the reply , however I did ask there requirements, they change them , the feed line will be just over 14' there pole is actually 3feet lower than the roof, this I believe is the problem, it is an old pole and they don't want to change it so again what can I do about it?? they stated that 1.5 was sufficient , the hieght of the periscope was ok, so why the hard time??
 
Re: drip loops

225.19 Ex. 3 allows the service drop conductors to be no closer than 18 inches above the roof's overhang. It sounds like the power company doesn't believe you'll have that clearance.
 
Re: drip loops

Ask for their requirements for service in writing. We publish ours on the Internet and it is available to anyone who wants to download it. Then, go to the engineering office to see what is going on. If you can't get any satisfaction, file a complaint with your public service commission. :D
 
Re: drip loops

ok so now I'm really confused, I can raise the periscope thats not a problem, but, I would then be way above the top of the pole, is that legal? safe?
 
Re: drip loops

Charlie's the power guy but if their pole can be above your mast and that's safe, then why can't you be higher than them?
 
Re: drip loops

You really need to work with them to see what they want. It doesn't hurt to ask for what they want in their published standards and to question their demands. If you are above the pole, I don't see a problem. :D
 
Re: drip loops

All pocos i have dealt with have a handbook that shows what is ok and what is not.They are not under the jurisdiction of the NEC But in order for them to terminate the install has to conform to what they spec :D We get inspections they dont,but they are the poco and unless you comform they can say no way with no recourse ;) Do as I say not as I do :eek:
 
Re: drip loops

One thing that you could do is to attach some extra insulators to your mast and tie the drip loop to that.

First Energy requires that a service mast be a minimum of 2.5 inch GRC.

They also require a minimum of 5 feet of wire hanging out the weatherhead. There are some reasons for this:

1. Enough weight to keep old timers at Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company from putting the splice above the drip loop. Right around the corner there is a commercial service with the point of attachment below the weatherhead and the splices somehow above the weatherhead.

2. They might someday want to put in electronic current transformer meters. Some of the newer meters such as Emon use miniature CTs with internal 2 volt shunts or the current circuit is say 1 amp or 0.25 amps instead of the traditional 5 to 20 amps. Quite a few traditional CTs have a Rating Factor that allows the secondary to run 10 amps or 20 amps. E.G. a 400:5 CT that is rated to go 1600:20 is popular.
 
Re: drip loops

Forgot to add that we would need to manage the 5 foot drip loop with auxiliarly insulators.
 
Re: drip loops

thanks all, took charlie's advice , went to there web site and downloaded there service instalation requirments , problem solved, at least I think so, will discuss this matter with them further on Mon.

as a footnote, there own instalation requirments says there pole is unsafe and illegal if I were to install it so.... that means they will (hopefully) change the pole to conform to there own standards and then I will do the install anyway they want it. I hope that makes for a better relationship with them, sheesh never imagined a simple upgrade to be so .... frustrating.

thanks again all
 
Re: drip loops

There are a lot more rules than just the NEC. Since you work with the NEC all the time, it is easy to overlook other rules, standards, and policies that need to be dealt with from time to time. The hard part is to keep from being in violation of a rule that you didn't even know existed. I think that is what happened here. :D
 
Re: drip loops

My experiences dealing with our power company have always pleasant.

Except for once when I called a San Francisco office to schedule a service connection and their operator kept bugging me about whether or not I'm an electrician.
 
Re: drip loops

I knew I'd get that. :D

But I figured the operator wouldn't be able to tell one way or the other.
 
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