On Mar 12, 9:53*pm, woodchucker wrote:
On 3/12/2013 3:17 PM, John Grabowski wrote:



I just heard some water dripping here in our basement and was shocked
to see drops of water coming off the box of the fuse box.

I looked around outside and it looks like water is coming in where the
big tube of wires goes into the house. *It was dripping down the side
of the box outside and running down that outer insulation that covers
the wires.

I can see there is some water-proofing around that sheath of wires but
it looks old and rotted.

What kind of waterproofing can I use to fix this?

How dangerous is it to have a little bit of water dripping off the
bottom of the box in our house?

It really doesn't seem to be that much water but the idea of water and
a fuse box just seems extremely dangerous.

Thanks for any feedback.

*I've seen that happen a number of times. *Sometimes very old service
entrance cable has the outer sheath degrade to the point where rainwater
gets in and drips down through the meter into the box. In a situation
like that, the service entrance cable should be replaced. *Newer cables
can get water in from the weatherhead at the top which drips all the way
through to the panel. *The connector at the top of the electric meter is
also prone to taking in water.

The situation is not good. *Water can rust out the panel, but it can
also cause arcing inside of the box. *It can also cause corrosion on the
busbar and also cause the circuit breakers to fail.

I use GE Silicone 2 Gutter and Flashing caulk to fill in the weatherhead
and around the connector on the top of the electric meter. *I also caulk
inside of the meter on the cable that goes down to the panel. *Check
inside of the circuit breaker box for moisture on the bus bar. *You may
have to remove some circuit breakers. *If anything is wet, it will need
to be dried. *Use high voltage gloves when drying off the busbar with
paper towels. *Take a close look at the main circuit breaker to make
sure there is no corrosion on the terminals.

Don't listent to this whacko.
You don't use ge silicone on wiring. Silicone can cause black wire, a
rotting condition.

Goto home depot and pick up a rectangle of the gray entrance sealer. Its
just putty that you mold around the entrance. remove the old stuff and
mold new stuff around. Heavily and make sure it seats against the
building and wire. Done.. freshly packed.

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Jeff- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The bigger problem would seem to be a wiring route
where water on the wires can just go right on down
the wires, absent something to seal it. The typical
masthead route takes the wires down then back up,
entering under neath, where it's protected and water
can't just run in.

How exactly do these wires enter the building?