Todays' service call

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480sparky

480sparky

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Iowegia
Had a nice service call today... replace 40-year old wallpacks with new ones. Sunny, no wind, in the 70s. Quiet back lot of a commercial building, so no vehicular traffic.

As I replaced the first light, all I could think of is the line from Ghostbusters..... "I've been slimed!":cool:

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At least two gallons of water was inside the fixture when I opened it.
 
it seems every time we open wallpacks were in for a nasty surprise.

i opened up a wallpack at a nursing home a few months ago and found a couple dead mice stuck behind the reflector near the lamp. poor little guys
 
mdshunk said:
I have already had to drill a drain hole in wallpacks that persistently got water in them.
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What was funny was there was duct seal all over these things.... stuffed around the 12s coming in from the box, along the top and back against the wall, caulking run between the glass diffuser and frame.... no one must have caught on that the gasket between the two parts was simply gone at the top.

electricalperson said:
it seems every time we open wallpacks were in for a nasty surprise.

i opened up a wallpack at a nursing home a few months ago and found a couple dead mice stuck behind the reflector near the lamp. poor little guys
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They died warm & cozy, though! :D
 
With the slimy water and mercury vapor lamp that was probably in its 40,000th hour, that wall pack probably put out a good 10 lumens. ;)
 
peter d said:
With the slimy water and mercury vapor lamp that was probably in its 40,000th hour, that wall pack probably put out a good 10 lumens. ;)
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Someone had been into the fixture and disconnected the hot wire. Otherwise, it was tripping the breaker.
 
mdshunk said:
I have already had to drill a drain hole in wallpacks that persistently got water in them.
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What sucks is when you get the call to fix them and all that water has had a chance to freeze.:roll: I hate chipping the ice out of lights....

I fix wall packs off an extension ladder, doesn't everybody?:smile:
 
mdshunk said:
Probably so, but he was changing them. I was just curious. They suck to change off an extension ladder.
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I was originaly told that one light was out, so I just figured I'd be up the ladder once or twice. Upon arrival, they wanted all 4 changed out. "What the heck", I thought, "No sense driving all the way back just for a couple hours' work". Not my first choice, but a ladder it was.

Kicker: Once I got done, they told me the pole light out front doesn't work either. :mad:

Cow said:
What sucks is when you get the call to fix them and all that water has had a chance to freeze.:roll: I hate chipping the ice out of lights....

I fix wall packs off an extension ladder, doesn't everybody?:smile:
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Turn 'em on and let the fixture melt the ice. :)
 
480sparky said:
Kicker: Once I got done, they told me the pole light out front doesn't work either. :mad:
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If you happen to have a climbing belt, you can latch on an extension ladder and lean pretty far back without tipping the ladder. I've been darned near horizontal with that method, but I ratchet strapped the top of the ladder to the pole.
 
Once I had to replace a dozen of them about 25 ft. off the ground with an extension ladder, it was on a warehouse that had a giant open field next to it for the wind to pick up and hit me sideways, it was bitter cold, took me forever and I was a nervous wreck the whole time. I will forever hate wallpacks from that experience.
 
mdshunk said:
If you happen to have a climbing belt, you can latch on an extension ladder and lean pretty far back without tipping the ladder. I've been darned near horizontal with that method, but I ratchet strapped the top of the ladder to the pole.
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It's a 40' pole.
 
A bucket truck to change out a couple of wall packs or pole ballasts?
What's next PPE's to change a 20I BL breaker in a 120/208 panel?
I'm just kidding, extension ladders suck when working on poles
or wall packs.Funny thing is lifts are never in the bid when changing
pole or pack ballasts. I think all estimators should perform Yoga
on top of an extension ladder to change a pole ballast.Before
telling me "A lift is'nt in the bid." :D
 
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