We need to update some posts for electrical meters. We can just replace the old wood but I would like to use concrete post or maybe metal so it more durable. What would you advice? Do you have any pictures or maybe details for the setup? Thank you
I have only seen them in wood. I am guessing maybe not metal ( conductivity ) and seems like it would be hard to achieve cost savings with concrete if possible?
I would def use treated wood ( may be code any way but if you have a choice for longevity. And then concrete the base in. There are coatings you can add on the bottom of the wood but not sure if that save anything.
Two things to consider, are you on single poles or can you do multiple units at once on the same loop? That might be a way to save money.
Other thing stop consider. Make sure there is no issue with the electric company if you are moving around poles that they will connect onto it ( it never seems to be a straightforward thing each time we do it, always some different hoop to jump through but that might just have been me).
Other big thing to consider , the run from the meter TO the home. Typically we have been charge Per foot. so the shorter the run on the home from the meter, the more you will save on the connection. Keep this in mind when you are doing placement of poles if there are multiple homes going in and out. Also, if one meter is falling over you are replacing one, might make sense to swap both at the same time so your infrastructure increases over time ( which you might have to do anyways.
My last few additional notes, use a licensed /insured vendor .Get your permits pulled ( might not be able to do without it ) . Make sure call before you dig is located when trenching new lines or you cross check against utility lines on park schematic.
See what makes sense for your specific application.
Also, know the process if you are killing the power on a home with power to minimize the down time for a tenant and def keep the weather in mind depending if you are pre planning an outage.
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I have a park in northeast Ohio that will eventually require all of the multiple metering pedestals (13+) to be upgraded before service can be turned on. The condition of the pedestals varies from perfectly sound to ‘bump it with a mower and it’ll fall over’. There are also conditions where the underground wiring is no longer to code, overhead service poles need replacing and so on. To address your specific question, the requirement set forth by FirstEnergy in Ohio is that the support posts must be 3" min. galvanized rigid metal conduit caped and concrete encased in ground. Here is a link to a document Customer Guide for Electrical Service - Ohio that the local service tech gave me out of his van. Exhibit 13 & 14 deal specifically with mobile homes.
@Deleted_User_ME thank you very much for the detailed answer and all cautions.
@robertHolt Thank you. The detail on 54th page is amazing, this is what I want to do.
By the way I found some installation example outside accidentally.
Finally I found some time to post picture of the updated posts and the list of materials we used plus cost.
So here is the final result.
and here is the bill of materials if you want to do something similar. The cost of the project is $400
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I am slowly working through updating and upgrading all my power poles in my park. I have purposely separated all the ones on a common stand. I had to go through some issues to get permission to do this but I am finding out the hard way that once you combine them… the utility company and city seems to want the entire thing upgraded at once which makes it way more expensive. Maybe something to keep in mind if you intend to own the park long-term.
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Hello I dont know how long you posted this but im in a situation where They pulled the meter for a mobile home. So to reconnect power I need a permit from the city and It has to be inspected. There is 2 other meters there but the wood panel is falling apart. Im worried that if I get a inspection they will try make fix them all at once…how did your situation play out with the city?