NEC 2020 and nuisance disconnects?

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VirutalElectrician

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Location
Mpls, MN
Occupation
Sparky - Trying to be retired
Living in the land of ice and snow and 40 below, the concept of exterior disconnecting means is foreign in my area.

Is nuisance disconnects by neighborhood kids or thugs killing the power before they break in common in areas where exterior disconnects have been the norm for a while now?

Do people usually lock them? And wouldn't doing so hamper the original intention of requiring an exterior disconnecting means?
 
There was a recent thread on this. As far as I know, this is a made-up issue and there no evidence that this has been a problem. Some areas use outdoor disconnects and entire electrical panels as the norm and have forever.
 
Your location suggests you in the metro area of Minneapolis.

I'd bet in the rural areas of MN you will find a lot of outdoor disconnects.
 
kwired said:
Your location suggests you in the metro area of Minneapolis.

I'd bet in the rural areas of MN you will find a lot of outdoor disconnects.
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I spend most of my time in rural Minnesota, and you'd be wrong. Multi-building locations like old farms tended to have a big old Square D disconnect in the middle of the compound, but a typical residence? Nope. Small meter can outside to a panel inside.
 
kwired said:
Your location suggests you in the metro area of Minneapolis.

I'd bet in the rural areas of MN you will find a lot of outdoor disconnects.
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I still see that as an issue when the disconnect is a breaker that provides the overcurrent protection for the service. Even here, about 90 miles south of Chicago, a 400 amp breaker will have a trip of 500 amps or more for over 5 months of the year as a result of the low ambient temperatures.
 
Putting a lock does not defeat the intended purpose, fire fighters can cut locks in 10 seconds. Having to find the door to a basement, bash that door in if it’s locked, then find the main disconnect in a smoke filled room only to discover a pile of crap in front of it is WAY more dangerous to all parties involved.

Most areas of California have required a single outdoor main for decades, this has not been an issue I have ever heard of.
 
My grandparents owned a house and several acres on the panhandle coast of Florida. It was somewhat secluded and frequently burglarized. They would always cut the power off and the phone lines before breaking in. Locks became pointless as they would always cut them off. Everyone around them had the same experience. I haven’t been down there in a couple of years. My granddad died in 2019 and my grandma died a couple of weeks ago so the house has been empty for awhile. But the last time I was there, the door was kicked in and the power was switched off at the disconnect.


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We used to put small 6 ckt Sd D load centers on the side of traffic signal control cabinets. The late night street kids would give the load center a good wack and trip the main.
Dark signal
Call out
Reset and go home
 
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brantmacga said:
My grandparents owned a house and several acres on the panhandle coast of Florida. It was somewhat secluded and frequently burglarized. They would always cut the power off and the phone lines before breaking in. Locks became pointless as they would always cut them off. Everyone around them had the same experience. I haven’t been down there in a couple of years. My granddad died in 2019 and my grandma died a couple of weeks ago so the house has been empty for awhile. But the last time I was there, the door was kicked in and the power was switched off at the disconnect.


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Sorry to hear of you're loss of family members, My condolences extended to yourself & remainder of your family.
 
Jraef said:
Most areas of California have required a single outdoor main for decades, this has not been an issue I have ever heard of.
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California does not experience weather like the rest of us... ;) Oh, you mean the cutting of power by others. Well, it is the reason I had Ma Bell (remember them?) put the NIC (Network Interface Connection) box in my basement and not on the outside of the house. Thieves knew to disconnect the alarm by opening the NIC.
 
Frank DuVal said:
California does not experience weather like the rest of us... ;) Oh, you mean the cutting of power by others. Well, it is the reason I had Ma Bell (remember them?) put the NIC (Network Interface Connection) box in my basement and not on the outside of the house. Thieves knew to disconnect the alarm by opening the NIC.
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The house I had built in 1996 I had the phone and cable TV come in underground though the basement wall. That way any vandals or worse would not be able to just up to the side of the house and do anything.
 
Frank DuVal said:
California does not experience weather like the rest of us... ;) Oh, you mean the cutting of power by others. Well, it is the reason I had Ma Bell (remember them?) put the NIC (Network Interface Connection) box in my basement and not on the outside of the house. Thieves knew to disconnect the alarm by opening the NIC.
Click to expand...
Many residential alarm systems these days have battery backed up cellphone links to law enforcement. There's nothing a thief can do outside the house to disable them.
 
My brother texted me this overnight…. He owns a pharmacy that is a frequent target for burglary.

No disconnect needed …

4b7477b5a024146179d54f9839afcf52.jpg



Would-be thief pulled the meter and cut the phone lines, but he left right after this. Went down the street and broke into another pharmacy, and the cops caught him inside.


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Yes they are. We had a backhoe hit a service line that was 8” deep, pulled wires loose and was not able to cut the bolted ring off
 
brantmacga said:
My brother texted me this overnight…. He owns a pharmacy that is a frequent target for burglary.

No disconnect needed …


Would-be thief pulled the meter and cut the phone lines, but he left right after this. Went down the street and broke into another pharmacy, and the cops caught him inside.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

yeah, I pulled up to my brother's building one Sunday afternoon to check on it. Vandels had smashed the glass on the electric meter and the gas meter. I smelled a little faint of NG in the air when I pulled up, so I walked around the building to see where it was coming from. Gas people where out within a few minutes to fix it up and air out the building. The electric company just said "call us back when the gas issue is resolved"...
 
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