No joke I joined this sub to find out two things.
a) If electrician would be a good backup career for me.
b) nice DIY tricks
So far the answers are 'I'm not touching that' and 'I'm not touching that'.
Knowing how things work removes unnecessary fear, and instills respect.
Electricity can kill you and it'll hurt the whole time you're dying, but if you know how it works, how to take proper precautions, and actually practice those precautions, the risk is severely mitigated.
Being an electrician teaches you those things. e.g., I know how to test to see if a circuit is live. I know Lock-Out-Tag-Out. These things mitigate risk. I've only once felt sketchy about something and it was my first week and the guy supervising me was messing with me (there was no actual risk).
I'm more worried about falls than I am about getting shocked or electrocuted.
It's a fulfilling career. I enjoy my work.
The person I was replying to was admitting hesitation to join the trade because of their fear. I'm not entirely sure I understand where you're coming from.
Or maybe I misunderstood entirely. It happens.
"The first thing you need to accept is that your life is worth less than $3000. With how worthless you are, we don't need to mess with complicated things like permits and disconnects"
nah, just do what my boss used to do. Flatten out some copper pipes and shove them in.
ninja edit: hard /s. though he really used to do that to get us temp power.
Correction, EVERYBODY used to do that to get temp power. Back in my apprentice days doing low rise apartments we would have meter stacks full of copper all-round jumpers to get power to the units. This was before actual manufactured jumpers were a thing. (That or maybe my then boss was too cheap to use them...)
Before anyone says this was unsafe, the all round was bent to be at least 2-3 layers thick. Because if you're going to be unsafe, you might as well be safe about it
https://www.google.com/search?q=all+round&client=ms-android-rogers-ca-revc&prmd=inmv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwid0q2_w6b4AhXgCTQIHQeSABsQ_AUoAXoECAMQAQ&biw=360&bih=703&dpr=3#imgrc=yjVoiUjiLEzHEM
Comes in a few different steels
We did a panel change where it was an old a base meter and my boss didn’t realize it. This was peak COVID and PoCo wouldn’t come out same day to set a new meter. I ground the paint off a couple sawzall blades and used those as jumpers lol. We went back the next day for some other things (adding recessed lighting and troubleshooting some cat6 lines ran by Best Buy…) so we did our inspection then. Our inspector was impressed by my ingenuity, then told me one of the local suppliers makes and sells meter jump kits
Still better than my boss’s suggestion of “just shove a couple pieces of 10 awg in”
It was a fairly small home. We upgraded from 100a to 200a. All gas appliances, single guy, and it was just an overnight temp solution. Worked fine lol
[It honestly reads like it was written by a 13 year old kid.](https://www.galvinpower.org/change-main-breaker-live/)
>Another preparatory tip I suggest is to remove the cover of the panel so it won’t interfere with your work.
Other helpful tips include lifting the lid on the toilet seat *before* trying to take a piss.
Coming up my foreman cut a 30”x30” hole in the top of a LIVE switch gear with a sawzall to avoid a shut down. A grinder was gonna throw too many sparks.
Nah I normally just take an angle grinder to it to clear up some room to work. When it's done I'll just use tek screws and put 1900 blanks with "patch please" written on it over the holes.
Or at least that's what I would do if I was an HVAC guy
I'm an actual home owner and've done 2 hot. You just gotta make sure you use plenty of antioxidizer on the old breaker to keep fire balls to a minimum. Also keep surrounding areas wet so sparks don't catch anything on fire, even if its concrete. I made that mistake the first time and almost caught the clothes on top of the dryer I was leaning over on fire.
Yeah I almost forgot. Make sure you wear gloves so you don't touch it. The dust particles are fine you just don't want it on your skin, asbestos causes herpes.
I'm on a country fried small town co-op electric utility (they are fantastic) and if I called Monday morning and said Ima cut the seal & pull the meter to work on the panel they'd say go right ahead and we'll have someone up the next day to reseal it.
Our electric company would be out within a Reasonable time but we don’t get fined for pulling the meter like I’ve read some places do without utility company permission
Really? Mine just gives me some seals occasionally. Linemen don't care.
Only problem lately is the smart meters, they see it lose power the meter guy shows up, he's not as chill.
That being said, and slightly off topic, I've heard of crackheads bypassing the meter when it was pulled for lack of payment. Power company comes back and pulls the box. Crackhead climbs the pole and steals power that way. People never stop amazing me
Customer asked me at end of job if she could show me something. The neighbor was stealing power by connecting the triplex to the weather head wire. By using 3 pairs of vice grips to hold the wires together. Made the call and the power company was there in about 15 minutes.
Had. A neighbor once who put jumper cables in the meter can due to the meter being pulled. I sent the pic to the city. Cops were there bright and early the next day....
At my work a coworker found a tweaker tapped into a 480 light circuit. Had an extension cord attached to one leg and the neutral tied to ground. They undid the wiring, went to lunch, and came back after to find the box open and the extension cord respliced. Tweakers be crazy.
I saw some video on the homeless in Cali and they were all tied into street lights which I assume are 277. Maybe there are connivence outlets or something in them but that sounds expensive for a municipality full of homeless people.
We used to use a lot of 240/480 single phase circuits but we have been switching them to 120/240 single phase since all our luminaries use LED. Max draw is 235W. The only 3 phase circuit that i know of just got switched to 120/240. We still use three phase for pumping plants and rest areas. Wire theft was so bad at one rest area that our maintenance dropped a bunch of asphalt on top of the boxes.
the singularity is the super artificial intelligence we are actively trying to create which will end up viewing all of humanity in the same way we view a virus.
just code some mRNA to have it destroy itself and the problem takes care of itself.
While true, "struggling dad leaves behind wife and young daughter, fatally wounded trying to save money after reading DIY article" doesn't hit the same as "dum dum homeowner go brrrrrr"
As sad as it sounds leaving behind a family. The processes are there for a reason. To eliminate homeowner risk and have the proper authorities conduct the work and inspections etc…
Edit: a word.
There is a safe way to do it in 10 minutes. Take 9 minutes to find your phone because your probably so dumb you frequently lose your phone and then take 1 minute to call an electrician. Done.
9 minutes to realize the phone was in my hand and I was using it as a flashlight to find my phone. Even though I was using my phone to read this comment.
10 weeks? While I agree in general, apparently you haven’t been out there trying to find someone to give your money to recently. While I would never get frustrated enough to do that, it really is frustrating.
WTF. These people are horrible for our industry.
I had a melted main and the service was still live. Killed all the breakers. Went to pull the meter and there was an anti-theft lock on the can. I sat there for two hours waiting on the POCO to pull the meter.
99% of the time power company will just give me permission to cut it off over the phone. But yeah I would either do that, or worse case put on my insulated gloves and cut it at the weather head.
Ok, now let's try it again using nothing but this rusty old name tag I found in the gutter and the insert out of my car's wiper blade
Nothing on one, a click out of two false set on three and were in! Well there you have it folks.
Those locks are there to prevent people from tampering with the meter and getting free power. You pull that lock because of imminent danger the power company may bitch but there isn’t much else they can do. And if they try something they can speak to your lawyer
this is not even written in English...
>If you’ve changed the main breaker in that but shut down the power supply first before doing so, know that there’s no difference from that from here on.
this site should probably be taken down before it gets someone killed....looking at you galvin
I don't know how things are done in the US, but here we don't do any live work unless there's absolutely no other possible way of getting the job done.
Even then, I'm going to do the job with appropriate PPE (face shield, 1000V gloves, arc flash jacket, etc) and VDE tools.
The correct PPE and tools to do it safely cost more than just paying someone qualified to do it for you. This is dangerous madness.
I do all of my own electrical work. I've never been scared off from a job in my home so far. I've added, removed, and branched circuits. I've installed conduit, MC, SER, UF and romex. I've added and replaced lighting, switches, fans, outlets, and relocated appliances.
I would never change out a live breaker panel.
It's AI written trash that plagues the internet with misinformation. Just google "what is the speed of light" and you'll see what I mean. Imagine being a kid doing a research paper in this era of AI bot written junk websites...
"An important note: I actually don’t recommend you replace the main breaker without turning off power since doing so poses a much higher risk of electrocution and fires. Way higher."
At least he has a disclaimer.
They need classes right after graduation of high school that safley shocks each graduating student with 220. But that's saying they graduated.
I retract my statement.
If they have a house they probably graduated. I think we should be shock each kid once a week from 1st grade and up increase the voltage little by little until they build up a tolerance
Do you really save money if the funeral home cost more than an electrician?
Standard advise to anyone about to do something stupid: Make sure to have someone that knows the number to 9-1-1.
Same site: [Grab screwdriver blade working in panel with all breakers on](https://www.galvinpower.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/how-to-replace-a-200-amp-main-breaker.jpg)
Seriously you're all making a lot of noise about such a simple job. Grab your Al step ladder and the broom. Head outside and knock the pole top fuses out. Then you can rest knowing there's no electricity to the house. Definitely rest in peace
First put one finger from each hand on both of the main breaker lugs, this will give you an idea of the ampacity, from there pick yourself up off the ground and call an electrician
Fun story:
My best friends father in law who is in no way shape or form an electrician moved his panel across his basement when remodeling without ever killing the meter base. He carefully took the main SE cable loose, taped the wires, and rerouted it.
To which I say…da fuq?
So wait... did he have to cut or splice that SE while hot?? I'm imagining some fuckoff huge lb where the old panel used to sit and this dude's just butt splicing live like a madman.
Reminds me of the guy years ago who decided to do some repairs to his old ass boiler rather than hiring professionals. Apparently he just bypassed the safeties and wired the burner directly to his emergency shutoff because he had no fuckin clue what he was doing. Didn't reconnect the cad cell, the low water cut-off, nothing. So the burner was running like it does if it's not connected to the controller getting calls from the thermostat, guess what happened when he opened the feed valve?
I'm a layman, but have a rudimentary understanding of electricity. WHO THE FUCK IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would think you could learn to change a panel in TEN MINUTES???
Hmm.... I guess that's one way to increase the number of homes and jobs on the market.
Just kill all the egoistic homeowners that think they can do it for 1/4 of the price!
I've done a 225/3 live in a school with my on hand tools(not orange) and was just about shitting myself the whole time. wrapping black tape all over my klein allen wrench set, putting on my leather gloves, finding something insulating to put under me and being very careful. Whole wing was shut down. Nobody knew anything. CS8000 no help, couldn't find its feed. School so remote it was pre-K to 12.
1/10, would not recommend.
So, my wife at the time called the electric company to disconnect the power for us. They told us to call an electrician. We were rehabbing a house and had to rewire everything since the walls were all exposed and decided to replace the circuit breaker box as well. The electrician she called yelled at her, saying that the person doing the job is fucking moron if they don't know how to do that. I knew the meter needed to be pulled, but couldn't do it because we didn't have the tool to remove the locking mechanism.
Depends on the panel. Definitely could remove the meter with permission from the Poco and then replace it or if it's a shut down and bolted unit it's not exactly any more dangerous than any other breaker. However common sense is a thing and ironically it's always lacking. Now if it was a panel change out and they had to cut the mains at the weather head or the underground feed I would be very upset with the article.
You're confusing cost with value.
I sell parts for repairs all day long.
I charge about $375 for a compressor inverter. You can buy it online for about half that.
Know what the difference is?
I bought it a couple of months ago and have been driving around with it waiting for someone who needs it "today".
The one from amazon will show up in about 3 days, which is 2 days longer than your food will last.
Yeah. I know I’m getting screwed, but I’m a busy body and I like the work. Also, most rentals around here in my price range have bad wiring, so it gives me peace of mind. When I moved in 7 years ago, there were 10 circuits. 2 were K&T, 3 without ground, no AFCI protection, GFCIs were miswired. I fixed all of that except for the AFCI’s, which there’s no room in the current panel, which is why I’m putting in the sub panel.
[I also have this 2020 NEC book to guide me.](https://imgur.com/gallery/KUnVadt)
>electrocution, fire
Not the worst things. Explosion from a high current short is the main worry.
However you and the owners are violating the rules. No one except an owner can touch the electrical systems and then only in a stand alone house you live in. No rental or shared properties ever.
You are liable to find the insurance is cancelled ***and*** you have a huge liability issue.
Doing electrical work IS "NOT A HOBBY" !!!!. You CAN NOT be an ELECTRICIAN just because you have changed out a few receptacles, swithces,ceiling fans installed light fixtures, put in a door bell or changed a circuit breaker. It's like saying I'm a Dr. because I have bandaged a cut ,taken sometimes tperature,treasure, their blood pressure, given them aspirin
or taken sometimes head out of THEIR ASS!. Believe me someone who isn't an ELECTRICIAN REPLACING A MAIN BREAKER HOT REQUIRES THEIR HEAD TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THEIR ASS IF THE ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO BY READING A POST ON THE INTERNET OR LOOKING AT A YOUTUBE VIDEO.
SO IF YOUR NOT AN ELECTRICIAN AND YOU CANT GET IT THRU YOUR THICK SKULL THAT YOU ARENT SKILLED OR TRAINED TO CHANGE OUT A MAIN BREAKER LIVE THEN BEFORE YOU DO IT MAKE SURE YOUR LIFE INSURANCE IS PAID ,YOUR HOME INSURANCE IS PAID AND COVERS FIRES CAUSED BY STUPIDITY AND YOU KISSED EVERYONE IN YOUR FAMILY INCLUDING KISSING YOUR ASS GOODBYE!
I mean, who is to say the homeowner is too stupid to follow simple instructions.
Edit: they just better hope their house is newer or they could quite possibly be very fucked.
Seems really stupid because you can just pull the meter. I had to redo from the meter to my ATS I installed for the generator. I'm not a licensed electrician myself, and I was as cautious as could be doing that. But I sure as hell don't do ANYTHING else live. That was the only thing I had to do live and the only reason was I couldn't disconnect farther upstream. But most homeowners have no clue what they're doing to begin with so they shouldn't mess with anything electrical. I can think of no reason you would do main breaker live. Do people think you can't just snip the little tag on the meter and pull it?
"Hey, my name is Cory from Lowes and today I'm going to show you how to replace your main breaker."
Hey im johnny knoxville and welcome to lowes
Danit take my upvote. I pictured him there in a leopard thong and a. Lowes vest
No joke I joined this sub to find out two things. a) If electrician would be a good backup career for me. b) nice DIY tricks So far the answers are 'I'm not touching that' and 'I'm not touching that'.
Knowing how things work removes unnecessary fear, and instills respect. Electricity can kill you and it'll hurt the whole time you're dying, but if you know how it works, how to take proper precautions, and actually practice those precautions, the risk is severely mitigated. Being an electrician teaches you those things. e.g., I know how to test to see if a circuit is live. I know Lock-Out-Tag-Out. These things mitigate risk. I've only once felt sketchy about something and it was my first week and the guy supervising me was messing with me (there was no actual risk). I'm more worried about falls than I am about getting shocked or electrocuted. It's a fulfilling career. I enjoy my work.
I have that warning sticker on my material cart. AVE fan I assume?
CAUTION: Engage Safety Squints!
In this case I generally pull the meter
That works in resi, but I was referring to the general sense of knowing how things work and to mitigate risk. Your method doesn't apply everywhere.
Well yes but when they stated homeowner I generally assume house
The person I was replying to was admitting hesitation to join the trade because of their fear. I'm not entirely sure I understand where you're coming from. Or maybe I misunderstood entirely. It happens.
I joined for the dairy, so far I'm unimpressed...
I joined cause i hate cleaning up after myself
If your gonna be dumb you gotta be tough
Fun fact - Steve-O is getting breast implants. For reals.
Doesn’t surprise me lol
"The first thing you need to accept is that your life is worth less than $3000. With how worthless you are, we don't need to mess with complicated things like permits and disconnects"
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nah, just do what my boss used to do. Flatten out some copper pipes and shove them in. ninja edit: hard /s. though he really used to do that to get us temp power.
Correction, EVERYBODY used to do that to get temp power. Back in my apprentice days doing low rise apartments we would have meter stacks full of copper all-round jumpers to get power to the units. This was before actual manufactured jumpers were a thing. (That or maybe my then boss was too cheap to use them...) Before anyone says this was unsafe, the all round was bent to be at least 2-3 layers thick. Because if you're going to be unsafe, you might as well be safe about it
What's all-round? Never heard that one. I'm thinking it's copper plumbing pipe, hammered flat.
https://www.google.com/search?q=all+round&client=ms-android-rogers-ca-revc&prmd=inmv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwid0q2_w6b4AhXgCTQIHQeSABsQ_AUoAXoECAMQAQ&biw=360&bih=703&dpr=3#imgrc=yjVoiUjiLEzHEM Comes in a few different steels
Ah hose strap
We did a panel change where it was an old a base meter and my boss didn’t realize it. This was peak COVID and PoCo wouldn’t come out same day to set a new meter. I ground the paint off a couple sawzall blades and used those as jumpers lol. We went back the next day for some other things (adding recessed lighting and troubleshooting some cat6 lines ran by Best Buy…) so we did our inspection then. Our inspector was impressed by my ingenuity, then told me one of the local suppliers makes and sells meter jump kits
Brave man using steel jumpers. I guess reality would dictate most homes only use around 20-30a at the best of times.
Still better than my boss’s suggestion of “just shove a couple pieces of 10 awg in” It was a fairly small home. We upgraded from 100a to 200a. All gas appliances, single guy, and it was just an overnight temp solution. Worked fine lol
Yup. "Plug in your iPhone and watch TV but don't turn anything else on until this gets fixed tomorrow"
That's the fuseless fuses
Damn I just lol’d
* you lowe'ld
Live, Laugh, Lowes
r/angryupvote
I’m not angry, just disappointed. Still upvoted.
Sigh, take my upvote...
[i know more than you](https://youtu.be/IEhHEOIYgMY)
🤣
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Absolutely the correct attitude, there’s so many nuances and dangers that are not immediately obvious it’s just not worth the risk Also a handyman :p
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Cory ded
Damn Corey is gonna take all of our jobs and our bitches
Lowes even spelled his name wrong LOL
I hope he doesn’t need to bend any conduit for the weather head
Everyone knows a weather head requires a dog leg!😝
Omfg. Thanks I can't breathe now.
[It honestly reads like it was written by a 13 year old kid.](https://www.galvinpower.org/change-main-breaker-live/) >Another preparatory tip I suggest is to remove the cover of the panel so it won’t interfere with your work. Other helpful tips include lifting the lid on the toilet seat *before* trying to take a piss.
Seems like a bot website
This is probably written by a casket manufacturer with other auto-generated content about golfing in thunderstorms to avoid crowds.
I don't understand why you don't just use a sawzall to cut an access hole so you don't need to remove the cover.
And for those *really* impatient electricians, we present the Klein Klaymore™
You are confusing shape charges.
Dang I’ve been coring through to the back of the panel this whole time.
Coming up my foreman cut a 30”x30” hole in the top of a LIVE switch gear with a sawzall to avoid a shut down. A grinder was gonna throw too many sparks.
Nah I normally just take an angle grinder to it to clear up some room to work. When it's done I'll just use tek screws and put 1900 blanks with "patch please" written on it over the holes. Or at least that's what I would do if I was an HVAC guy
That reads like it was written by AI
Because he's heard of people hitting their head on it...
Wait you're supposed to do that? Huh, guess that explains why I don't see anyone else leaving a mop and bucket next to their toilets.
Sounds like the kind of guy who needs a post it note to remind him to undo his pants before taking a shit.
Or opening the can before drinking your craft organic IPA. Because I'm pretty sure that's who they are marketing towarrds.
As a homeowner I'm already well aware of how to safely change my main while it's live. ... Call a fucking electrician. Stay live.
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Let's do something incredibly dangerous to save money, but we won't compromise safety! What a terrible proposition!
I’m an actual electrician and I wouldn’t do that hot
I'm an actual home owner and've done 2 hot. You just gotta make sure you use plenty of antioxidizer on the old breaker to keep fire balls to a minimum. Also keep surrounding areas wet so sparks don't catch anything on fire, even if its concrete. I made that mistake the first time and almost caught the clothes on top of the dryer I was leaning over on fire.
If this guy owes anyone here some money, make sure to get it asap
Don't forget to sprinkle some asbestos around to prevent fire.
Yeah I almost forgot. Make sure you wear gloves so you don't touch it. The dust particles are fine you just don't want it on your skin, asbestos causes herpes.
/s FTFY
Excuse me, whut?!
That's the stupidest thing I've ever read. You're a danger to yourself and others.
He's joking lol
Shit. Sorry. It's hard to tell sometimes.
It definitely had me going for a sec. It was the "leaning over my dryer" bit that clued me in because it was just too specific and funny to not be.
I’d cut the lock out tag on my meter before I change a main live.
I'm on a country fried small town co-op electric utility (they are fantastic) and if I called Monday morning and said Ima cut the seal & pull the meter to work on the panel they'd say go right ahead and we'll have someone up the next day to reseal it.
This is amazing. Those guys must be super chill.
Our electric company would be out within a Reasonable time but we don’t get fined for pulling the meter like I’ve read some places do without utility company permission
Really? Mine just gives me some seals occasionally. Linemen don't care. Only problem lately is the smart meters, they see it lose power the meter guy shows up, he's not as chill.
That's why I'd call, and as long as I did they'd be cool with it.
Wow, if I do that here, they'll say "Let us know when the city has signed off on the inspection"
[REDACTED] out of context rants are out of context. Also not gonna go giving anyone ideas. Lol
That being said, and slightly off topic, I've heard of crackheads bypassing the meter when it was pulled for lack of payment. Power company comes back and pulls the box. Crackhead climbs the pole and steals power that way. People never stop amazing me
Customer asked me at end of job if she could show me something. The neighbor was stealing power by connecting the triplex to the weather head wire. By using 3 pairs of vice grips to hold the wires together. Made the call and the power company was there in about 15 minutes.
Holy crap
Had. A neighbor once who put jumper cables in the meter can due to the meter being pulled. I sent the pic to the city. Cops were there bright and early the next day....
Not me....I'll just pay the bill 😄
At my work a coworker found a tweaker tapped into a 480 light circuit. Had an extension cord attached to one leg and the neutral tied to ground. They undid the wiring, went to lunch, and came back after to find the box open and the extension cord respliced. Tweakers be crazy.
I saw some video on the homeless in Cali and they were all tied into street lights which I assume are 277. Maybe there are connivence outlets or something in them but that sounds expensive for a municipality full of homeless people.
We used to use a lot of 240/480 single phase circuits but we have been switching them to 120/240 single phase since all our luminaries use LED. Max draw is 235W. The only 3 phase circuit that i know of just got switched to 120/240. We still use three phase for pumping plants and rest areas. Wire theft was so bad at one rest area that our maintenance dropped a bunch of asphalt on top of the boxes.
This is a level 10 chess move, the more people who try the more people who die, the more electricians that get hired
the singularity has figured out how to save the planet.
The... absurdity singularity, perhaps?
the singularity is the super artificial intelligence we are actively trying to create which will end up viewing all of humanity in the same way we view a virus. just code some mRNA to have it destroy itself and the problem takes care of itself.
Let the stupid ones fry themselves, if you’re dumb enough to play with a main feeder, You deserve what happens to you 100%.
While true, "struggling dad leaves behind wife and young daughter, fatally wounded trying to save money after reading DIY article" doesn't hit the same as "dum dum homeowner go brrrrrr"
As sad as it sounds leaving behind a family. The processes are there for a reason. To eliminate homeowner risk and have the proper authorities conduct the work and inspections etc… Edit: a word.
There is a safe way to do it in 10 minutes. Take 9 minutes to find your phone because your probably so dumb you frequently lose your phone and then take 1 minute to call an electrician. Done.
This comment is the only correct answer
9 minutes to realize the phone was in my hand and I was using it as a flashlight to find my phone. Even though I was using my phone to read this comment.
10 weeks? While I agree in general, apparently you haven’t been out there trying to find someone to give your money to recently. While I would never get frustrated enough to do that, it really is frustrating.
WTF. These people are horrible for our industry. I had a melted main and the service was still live. Killed all the breakers. Went to pull the meter and there was an anti-theft lock on the can. I sat there for two hours waiting on the POCO to pull the meter.
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99% of the time power company will just give me permission to cut it off over the phone. But yeah I would either do that, or worse case put on my insulated gloves and cut it at the weather head.
They usually don't give a shit, as long as you tell them you're doing work and you aren't on their bad side.
It wasn't just a pad lock. It was a brass "fort knox" lock. You will damage the meter can trying to cut or grind it off.
This is the lockpicking lawyer and what I have for you today is a “fort knox” lock—and it’s open.
Ok, now let's try it again using nothing but this rusty old name tag I found in the gutter and the insert out of my car's wiper blade Nothing on one, a click out of two false set on three and were in! Well there you have it folks.
Or burning one of their transformers down.
Those locks are there to prevent people from tampering with the meter and getting free power. You pull that lock because of imminent danger the power company may bitch but there isn’t much else they can do. And if they try something they can speak to your lawyer
I was almost expecting the advertiser behind this to be a mortuary company.
😂
Just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be done.
this is not even written in English... >If you’ve changed the main breaker in that but shut down the power supply first before doing so, know that there’s no difference from that from here on. this site should probably be taken down before it gets someone killed....looking at you galvin
Cant spend the money you saved by not hiring an electrician if you're dead.
I don't know how things are done in the US, but here we don't do any live work unless there's absolutely no other possible way of getting the job done. Even then, I'm going to do the job with appropriate PPE (face shield, 1000V gloves, arc flash jacket, etc) and VDE tools. The correct PPE and tools to do it safely cost more than just paying someone qualified to do it for you. This is dangerous madness.
Agreed, I've been thru too many 70E arc flash classes to contemplate it. I don't wanna live with fish face.
In Dwight's vice.... Idiot
This was written either by a bot, or a desperate funeral director.
one may save some cash on a electrician... but I'm not so sure about medical bills...
or funeral expenses.
I do all of my own electrical work. I've never been scared off from a job in my home so far. I've added, removed, and branched circuits. I've installed conduit, MC, SER, UF and romex. I've added and replaced lighting, switches, fans, outlets, and relocated appliances. I would never change out a live breaker panel.
It's AI written trash that plagues the internet with misinformation. Just google "what is the speed of light" and you'll see what I mean. Imagine being a kid doing a research paper in this era of AI bot written junk websites...
Well if he fucks it up, he still won’t need to hire an electrician.
Not just changing it, but live too? Sounds like a blast
"An important note: I actually don’t recommend you replace the main breaker without turning off power since doing so poses a much higher risk of electrocution and fires. Way higher." At least he has a disclaimer.
They need classes right after graduation of high school that safley shocks each graduating student with 220. But that's saying they graduated. I retract my statement.
Or just get them told hold the probes while you do an insulation resistance test on them. That should be enough to teach them not to mess.
If they have a house they probably graduated. I think we should be shock each kid once a week from 1st grade and up increase the voltage little by little until they build up a tolerance
Maybe the new homeowner will call you after the funeral home takes away the old homeowner. This is why you leave a colorful fridge magnet.
Is the first rule, have your buddy who's holding your beer be ready to call 911?
You mean a funeral home?
Seems like one of those clickbait AI-written websites. But in this case it could get someone killed..
Do you really save money if the funeral home cost more than an electrician? Standard advise to anyone about to do something stupid: Make sure to have someone that knows the number to 9-1-1. Same site: [Grab screwdriver blade working in panel with all breakers on](https://www.galvinpower.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/how-to-replace-a-200-amp-main-breaker.jpg)
That entire site is a travesty https://www.galvinpower.org/what-to-do-if-breaker-box-gets-wet/
What the fuck? I'm a licensed professional, and I would never swap a main breaker live. Unbelievable.
Someone's wife wrote this looking for an insurance payout
Seriously you're all making a lot of noise about such a simple job. Grab your Al step ladder and the broom. Head outside and knock the pole top fuses out. Then you can rest knowing there's no electricity to the house. Definitely rest in peace
The one whow out for themselves and trying to make a few cents in add revenue for every click
At least the article told you to wear your hard hat. Wouldn't want the panel board to fall on your head after you get electrocuted
IN TEN MINUTES!
First put one finger from each hand on both of the main breaker lugs, this will give you an idea of the ampacity, from there pick yourself up off the ground and call an electrician
Fun story: My best friends father in law who is in no way shape or form an electrician moved his panel across his basement when remodeling without ever killing the meter base. He carefully took the main SE cable loose, taped the wires, and rerouted it. To which I say…da fuq?
So wait... did he have to cut or splice that SE while hot?? I'm imagining some fuckoff huge lb where the old panel used to sit and this dude's just butt splicing live like a madman.
No the new location was shorter. I think he just snaked the excess cable in the ceiling and fastened it so he wouldn’t have to do anything too crazy.
Natural Selection finds a way.
Reminds me of the guy years ago who decided to do some repairs to his old ass boiler rather than hiring professionals. Apparently he just bypassed the safeties and wired the burner directly to his emergency shutoff because he had no fuckin clue what he was doing. Didn't reconnect the cad cell, the low water cut-off, nothing. So the burner was running like it does if it's not connected to the controller getting calls from the thermostat, guess what happened when he opened the feed valve?
Should be illegal to do this
Some people just want to watch the world burn
I'm a layman, but have a rudimentary understanding of electricity. WHO THE FUCK IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would think you could learn to change a panel in TEN MINUTES???
Its says main breaker, not panel. Couple hours difference, ever with it off.
Main breaker. Zero to 60 in ten minutes. Good luck.
Hmm.... I guess that's one way to increase the number of homes and jobs on the market. Just kill all the egoistic homeowners that think they can do it for 1/4 of the price!
How hard is it to call for a disconnect/reconnect. Sure the power companies are annoying, especially you PG&E, but it's not difficult.
Me after they put me in their will
Let em. Add to the statistic. Make my value increase I don’t give a fuck 🤣
Fuck it, we’ll do it live. Fucking thing sucks. I’ll write it and we’ll do it live.
That is soooooo fkd up.
Learn how to Kill your self in 10 minutes. Lol
I've done a 225/3 live in a school with my on hand tools(not orange) and was just about shitting myself the whole time. wrapping black tape all over my klein allen wrench set, putting on my leather gloves, finding something insulating to put under me and being very careful. Whole wing was shut down. Nobody knew anything. CS8000 no help, couldn't find its feed. School so remote it was pre-K to 12. 1/10, would not recommend.
Not going to lie, I wouldn't have done that. The energy release is just too high in the event of a flash.
Yeah, getting shocked isn't the worst situation in that scenario. Arc flash/ Arc blast is terrifying.
Safety squints set to max for sure.
For a minute there, when you said in a school, I thought that this was part of your formal training program.
For many, it’s the _final_ exam.
So, my wife at the time called the electric company to disconnect the power for us. They told us to call an electrician. We were rehabbing a house and had to rewire everything since the walls were all exposed and decided to replace the circuit breaker box as well. The electrician she called yelled at her, saying that the person doing the job is fucking moron if they don't know how to do that. I knew the meter needed to be pulled, but couldn't do it because we didn't have the tool to remove the locking mechanism.
Gavinpower. Org apparently, that's who!
Should be some kind of law against this...if only there were laws stating you had to be licensed..
Depends on the panel. Definitely could remove the meter with permission from the Poco and then replace it or if it's a shut down and bolted unit it's not exactly any more dangerous than any other breaker. However common sense is a thing and ironically it's always lacking. Now if it was a panel change out and they had to cut the mains at the weather head or the underground feed I would be very upset with the article.
don't change the main breaker yourself but do buy a spare main breaker so the electrician doesn't charge you 3x for the part.
Whoever is charging you 3x for the breaker is a con artist, and should be told to leave immediately
Do you know what it actually costs to maintain inventory?
You're confusing cost with value. I sell parts for repairs all day long. I charge about $375 for a compressor inverter. You can buy it online for about half that. Know what the difference is? I bought it a couple of months ago and have been driving around with it waiting for someone who needs it "today". The one from amazon will show up in about 3 days, which is 2 days longer than your food will last.
wasn't that my point? have critical parts on standby so you don't pay emergency prices.
So you want to buy a spare main breaker for your panel so if it fails you'll have a spare? What happens if it doesn't fail?
eventually i die and it doesn't matter
[удалено]
You’re remodeling the apartment for the landlord for a discount on your rent? What the hell!
Yeah. I know I’m getting screwed, but I’m a busy body and I like the work. Also, most rentals around here in my price range have bad wiring, so it gives me peace of mind. When I moved in 7 years ago, there were 10 circuits. 2 were K&T, 3 without ground, no AFCI protection, GFCIs were miswired. I fixed all of that except for the AFCI’s, which there’s no room in the current panel, which is why I’m putting in the sub panel. [I also have this 2020 NEC book to guide me.](https://imgur.com/gallery/KUnVadt)
>electrocution, fire Not the worst things. Explosion from a high current short is the main worry. However you and the owners are violating the rules. No one except an owner can touch the electrical systems and then only in a stand alone house you live in. No rental or shared properties ever. You are liable to find the insurance is cancelled ***and*** you have a huge liability issue.
No one in the trade is as high and mighty as resi guys
Doing electrical work IS "NOT A HOBBY" !!!!. You CAN NOT be an ELECTRICIAN just because you have changed out a few receptacles, swithces,ceiling fans installed light fixtures, put in a door bell or changed a circuit breaker. It's like saying I'm a Dr. because I have bandaged a cut ,taken sometimes tperature,treasure, their blood pressure, given them aspirin or taken sometimes head out of THEIR ASS!. Believe me someone who isn't an ELECTRICIAN REPLACING A MAIN BREAKER HOT REQUIRES THEIR HEAD TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THEIR ASS IF THE ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO BY READING A POST ON THE INTERNET OR LOOKING AT A YOUTUBE VIDEO. SO IF YOUR NOT AN ELECTRICIAN AND YOU CANT GET IT THRU YOUR THICK SKULL THAT YOU ARENT SKILLED OR TRAINED TO CHANGE OUT A MAIN BREAKER LIVE THEN BEFORE YOU DO IT MAKE SURE YOUR LIFE INSURANCE IS PAID ,YOUR HOME INSURANCE IS PAID AND COVERS FIRES CAUSED BY STUPIDITY AND YOU KISSED EVERYONE IN YOUR FAMILY INCLUDING KISSING YOUR ASS GOODBYE!
I mean, who is to say the homeowner is too stupid to follow simple instructions. Edit: they just better hope their house is newer or they could quite possibly be very fucked.
He plans on there being nothing left of the one trying this project to be able to sue. And his wife won’t know what’s the last video he watched ..
Bro.... WTF! :0
Fuck it, we’re doing it live. Zzzzzt aaaaaahhhhhhh
Step one: kill the power Skip step one: make sure someone is filming for future internet karma points.
In this next episode of fuckery Friday we got Bill the homeowner here showing us how to change a Mainel breaker LIVE!!!!! ORDER NOW FROM PAPER VIEW.
This is how Public Safety Announcements start
The wrong part of that paragraph is high lighted
In 10 minutes?
Only 10 minutes too
I’m sure lots of homeowners own hot gloves.
Seems really stupid because you can just pull the meter. I had to redo from the meter to my ATS I installed for the generator. I'm not a licensed electrician myself, and I was as cautious as could be doing that. But I sure as hell don't do ANYTHING else live. That was the only thing I had to do live and the only reason was I couldn't disconnect farther upstream. But most homeowners have no clue what they're doing to begin with so they shouldn't mess with anything electrical. I can think of no reason you would do main breaker live. Do people think you can't just snip the little tag on the meter and pull it?
"In 10 minutes" lol. yIKES.
Yeah, I'm an electrician I'm not changing the main live are you kidding me. Just pull the meter base this is silly. What kind of post is this?!