Warning: I lost a whole day's pay on a 'quick' panel swap in Tacoma because I didn't check the main feed first.

The homeowner said the old Federal Pacific panel was just buzzing, so I quoted a straight swap. Got the new Square D Homeline in, went to kill the main, and found the utility's overhead service drop was so corroded it started arcing when I touched it. Had to call for an emergency disconnect, wait 4 hours for the power company, and eat the labor cost. Has anyone else gotten burned by not doing a full service check before even giving a quote?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_roberts24d ago

Ugh, that's brutal! A similar thing happened to me with an old cloth-wrapped service cable in an attic. Looked fine from the panel, but the second I moved it to get a better angle, the insulation just crumbled. Sparks everywhere, and I had to make the same call. Now I poke around the whole service mast and weatherhead before I even pull out my quote book. It adds ten minutes but saves a huge headache.

stellat4624d ago

Tell me about it. I learned that lesson the hard way too, back when I was still dumb enough to trust anything that looked okay from one angle. I was in a crawlspace and just nudged a wire with my knee. Whole section turned to dust and left me in the dark with a real bad smell. My quote book got a lot thicker after that day.

zara_sanchez24d ago

Man, @stellat46's crawlspace story just made my shoulder hurt. I had a service mast last year that looked solid, but the whole thing was just paint over rust. My ladder slipped when a mounting strap gave way, and I nearly went for a ride. The homeowner just kept saying his dad put it up in the '70s.