On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 02:03:06 -0500, Micky
wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 14:25:43 -0000 (UTC), "E. Robinson"
wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 08:28:00 -0500, Micky wrote:

I don't think he can do that.

He has empty spots where a new breaker could be placed, but it clearly
says "Do not remove this twistout". I think he's stuck.

I noticed the same thing.
It seems to be full.

I was kidding. I thought it meant don't remove them until you need
to. But you all have convinced me it means something else.

Yes, there are half-wide breakers, if you have no more empty spaces.
But you have to buy two.

Looks like he is replacing half-wide already

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.

But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).

On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.


The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and with
no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit (which
goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs down the
wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs out drainage
hole at the bottom of the meter box
But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

The secret is to keep water OUT of the conduit.

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).


There is NEVER a "drip loop" in conduit.

On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 10:54:23 AM UTC-5, TomR wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.

But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).

What you describe in your last paragraph is exactly what I did when I had
water coming into my panel. There wasn't exactly a "drip loop" but there
was a dip in the service cable along its run. When I put a small slit in
the outer jacket, water dripped out for a few minutes. I never got water in
the panel again. I eventually fixed the root cause of the water getting
into the cable and put some silicon adhesive on the slit to seal it up.

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the
service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip
loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the
service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know
if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to
have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and with
no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit (which
goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs down the
wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs out drainage
hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not exactly sure
what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was using the term "conduit"
to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped, "service feed" that runs from the
bottom of the meter box down into the building and into the top of the
electrical panel inside the basement. It is the same kind and gauge of
cable as the service drop that comes down along the outside of the building
and goes into the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from the
bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of the panel, my
"conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit and into the panel.
The water was not running down the outside of the "conduit", it was INSIDE
the gray-wrapped cable and came out of the inside of that gray-wrapped cable
and dripped into the panel.

But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down
again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further
down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the
outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

The secret is to keep water OUT of the conduit.

Yes, of course

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have
cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop
in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).

There is NEVER a "drip loop" in conduit.

I thought that you wrote earlier that there must be a drip loop in the
conduit that I was describing as part of the code requirements when you
wrote,

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

But, maybe we were talking about two different things.

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 10:54:23 AM UTC-5, TomR wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the
service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip
loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the
service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really
looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter
box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know
if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water
getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to
have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.

But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to
flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down
again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further
down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and
trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the
outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have
cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let
the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into
the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting
inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop
in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).

What you describe in your last paragraph is exactly what I did when I had
water coming into my panel. There wasn't exactly a "drip loop" but there
was a dip in the service cable along its run. When I put a small slit in
the outer jacket, water dripped out for a few minutes. I never got water
in
the panel again. I eventually fixed the root cause of the water getting
into the cable and put some silicon adhesive on the slit to seal it up.

I understand. I wanted to do exactly what you did -- first put a slit in a
low point, then later solve the primary problem by keeping the water out of
the cable in the first place. But, in my situation there was no horizontal
run where I could even bend it a little to create a dip in the service cable
where I could cut a slit in the outer jacket.

On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the
service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip
loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the
service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know
if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to
have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and with
no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit (which
goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs down the
wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs out drainage
hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not exactly sure
what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was using the term "conduit"
to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped, "service feed" that runs from the
bottom of the meter box down into the building and into the top of the
electrical panel inside the basement. It is the same kind and gauge of
cable as the service drop that comes down along the outside of the building
and goes into the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from the
bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of the panel, my
"conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit and into the panel.
The water was not running down the outside of the "conduit", it was INSIDE
the gray-wrapped cable and came out of the inside of that gray-wrapped cable
and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down
again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further
down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the
outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

The secret is to keep water OUT of the conduit.

Yes, of course

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have
cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop
in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).

There is NEVER a "drip loop" in conduit.

I thought that you wrote earlier that there must be a drip loop in the
conduit that I was describing as part of the code requirements when you
wrote,

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

But, maybe we were talking about two different things.

On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 5:40:39 PM UTC-6, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 10:54:23 AM UTC-5, TomR wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem, there is a
drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head (or
something like that), where the power line from the pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the electric
panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never really looked
carefully to see if there is a drip loop there. Since the water was
coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the meter box),
and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water getting
into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the meter
box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the wire into
the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point of the
loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire into a structure
etc.

But, I think that any water that is INSIDE a conduit will continue to flow
inside that conduit down into the drip loop then back up and then down again
to the lowest point in the conduit down below. If it were water inside a
hose, as new water flowed into the hose at the top of the hose the water
inside the hose would continue flowing down to the lowest point further down
at the end of the hose. This would be similar to a sink drain and trap --
where the trap is in effect a "drip loop". Similarly, water on the outside
of the sink drain would drip off at the bottom of the trap. But water
inside the drain line would continue to flow down to the end of the drain
line and would continue past the "drip loop"/trap.

In the scenario that I had where water was getting inside the conduit and
going into the panel, if the conduit had a drip loop in it, I could have cut
a small slit in the conduit wrap at the bottom of the drip loop to let the
water inside the conduit drip out there rather than continue down into the
panel inside the house in the basement. Of course, that would only have
been a temporary fix until I corrected the problem of water getting inside
the conduct from the meter box. In my case, there was no such drip loop in
that part of the conduit (from the bottom of the meter to the panel below
inside the house in the basement).

What you describe in your last paragraph is exactly what I did when I had
water coming into my panel. There wasn't exactly a "drip loop" but there
was a dip in the service cable along its run. When I put a small slit in
the outer jacket, water dripped out for a few minutes. I never got water in
the panel again. I eventually fixed the root cause of the water getting
into the cable and put some silicon adhesive on the slit to seal it up.

I've never had any luck with silicon adhesive, I had to use silicone caulk. snicker ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Sticky Monster

On 1/23/2016 7:51 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:
That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to give you
a deficiency report.

But, maybe we were talking about two different things.


I suspect it is a drip loop, to keep water from rolling
down the outside of the cable. Right before the cable
goes through the exterior wall.

Unlike a drain trap, which works for sewer gasses.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

In ,
typed:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to
give you a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem,
there is a drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head
(or something like that), where the power line from the pole
meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no
drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the
electric panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of
the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never
really looked carefully to see if there is a drip loop there.
Since the water was coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the
meter box), and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I
don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water
getting into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the
meter box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the
wire into the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop
is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point
of the loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire
into a structure etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and
with no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit
(which goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs
down the wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs
out drainage hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not
exactly sure what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was
using the term "conduit" to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped,
"service feed" that runs from the bottom of the meter box down into
the building and into the top of the electrical panel inside the
basement. It is the same kind and gauge of cable as the service
drop that comes down along the outside of the building and goes into
the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from
the bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of
the panel, my "conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit
and into the panel. The water was not running down the outside of
the "conduit", it was INSIDE the gray-wrapped cable and came out of
the inside of that gray-wrapped cable and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

Sorry to keep dragging this out, and I am not trying to be argumentative,
but what WERE you talking about? -- in particular when you used the term
"conduit". Thanks.

On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:24:56 -0500, "TomR" wrote:

In ,
typed:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to
give you a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem,
there is a drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast head
(or something like that), where the power line from the pole
meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no
drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the
electric panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of
the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never
really looked carefully to see if there is a drip loop there.
Since the water was coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the
meter box), and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I
don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of water
getting into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the
meter box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the
wire into the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop
is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low point
of the loop rather than running down on the outside of the wire
into a structure etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and
with no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit
(which goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs
down the wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs
out drainage hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not
exactly sure what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was
using the term "conduit" to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped,
"service feed" that runs from the bottom of the meter box down into
the building and into the top of the electrical panel inside the
basement. It is the same kind and gauge of cable as the service
drop that comes down along the outside of the building and goes into
the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from
the bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of
the panel, my "conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit
and into the panel. The water was not running down the outside of
the "conduit", it was INSIDE the gray-wrapped cable and came out of
the inside of that gray-wrapped cable and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

Sorry to keep dragging this out, and I am not trying to be argumentative,
but what WERE you talking about? -- in particular when you used the term
"conduit". Thanks.


I was talking about inside the meter base - the wires from the meter
to inside - which pass through a conduit. The wires MUST droop below
the bottom of the conduit inside the meter base before entering the
conduit. Frm meter to bottom of meter base and back up to the exit
point of the meter base and out through the conduit to the
distribution panel/service entrance box.

In ,
typed:
On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:24:56 -0500, "TomR" wrote:

In ,
typed:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to
give you a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem,
there is a drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast
head (or something like that), where the power line from the
pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no
drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the
electric panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of
the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never
really looked carefully to see if there is a drip loop there.
Since the water was coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the
meter box), and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I
don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of
water getting into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the
meter box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the
wire into the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop
is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low
point of the loop rather than running down on the outside of the
wire into a structure etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and
with no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit
(which goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs
down the wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs
out drainage hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not
exactly sure what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was
using the term "conduit" to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped,
"service feed" that runs from the bottom of the meter box down into
the building and into the top of the electrical panel inside the
basement. It is the same kind and gauge of cable as the service
drop that comes down along the outside of the building and goes
into the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from
the bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of
the panel, my "conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit
and into the panel. The water was not running down the outside of
the "conduit", it was INSIDE the gray-wrapped cable and came out of
the inside of that gray-wrapped cable and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

Sorry to keep dragging this out, and I am not trying to be
argumentative, but what WERE you talking about? -- in particular
when you used the term "conduit". Thanks.

I was talking about inside the meter base - the wires from the meter
to inside - which pass through a conduit. The wires MUST droop below
the bottom of the conduit inside the meter base before entering the
conduit. Frm meter to bottom of meter base and back up to the exit
point of the meter base and out through the conduit to the
distribution panel/service entrance box.

Okay, got it. My electric meter is on the side of the house and has a
service line coming down into the top of the meter box, and a service line
coming out of the bottom of the meter box and going down the wall and into
the house to the electric panel.

Water was getting in through the top of the meter box, filling up in the
bottom of the meter box, and then running INSIDE the service cable that
comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I wasn't able to open the meter
box because it requires a special key, and the utility company was unwilling
to come out and open it for me. So, I was never able to see if there are
any drip loops inside the meter box, but I doubt that there could be since
the service line comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I just did a
Google Images search of "electric service meters" and I saw lots of images
of the inside of the meter boxes with no drip loop inside.

To solve my problem, I used clear 100% silicone caulk and I caulked all
around the meter box, especially at the top, and around the front cover and
anywhere else that water could possibly get in. That fixed the water
problem. I have photos somewhere of the meter box, but I can't seem to find
them right now.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 9:19:32 AM UTC-6, TomR wrote:

To solve my problem, I used clear 100% silicone caulk and I caulked all
around the meter box, especially at the top, and around the front cover and
anywhere else that water could possibly get in. That fixed the water
problem. I have photos somewhere of the meter box, but I can't seem to find
them right now.

....but you're not the OP?

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 10:19:32 AM UTC-5, TomR wrote:
In ,
typed:
On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:24:56 -0500, "TomR" wrote:

In ,
typed:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to
give you a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem,
there is a drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast
head (or something like that), where the power line from the
pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no
drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the
electric panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of
the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never
really looked carefully to see if there is a drip loop there.
Since the water was coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the
meter box), and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I
don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of
water getting into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the
meter box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the
wire into the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop
is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low
point of the loop rather than running down on the outside of the
wire into a structure etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and
with no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit
(which goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs
down the wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs
out drainage hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not
exactly sure what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was
using the term "conduit" to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped,
"service feed" that runs from the bottom of the meter box down into
the building and into the top of the electrical panel inside the
basement. It is the same kind and gauge of cable as the service
drop that comes down along the outside of the building and goes
into the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from
the bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of
the panel, my "conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit
and into the panel. The water was not running down the outside of
the "conduit", it was INSIDE the gray-wrapped cable and came out of
the inside of that gray-wrapped cable and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

Sorry to keep dragging this out, and I am not trying to be
argumentative, but what WERE you talking about? -- in particular
when you used the term "conduit". Thanks.

I was talking about inside the meter base - the wires from the meter
to inside - which pass through a conduit. The wires MUST droop below
the bottom of the conduit inside the meter base before entering the
conduit. Frm meter to bottom of meter base and back up to the exit
point of the meter base and out through the conduit to the
distribution panel/service entrance box.

Okay, got it. My electric meter is on the side of the house and has a
service line coming down into the top of the meter box, and a service line
coming out of the bottom of the meter box and going down the wall and into
the house to the electric panel.

Water was getting in through the top of the meter box, filling up in the
bottom of the meter box, and then running INSIDE the service cable that
comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I wasn't able to open the meter
box because it requires a special key, and the utility company was unwilling
to come out and open it for me. So, I was never able to see if there are
any drip loops inside the meter box, but I doubt that there could be since
the service line comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I just did a
Google Images search of "electric service meters" and I saw lots of images
of the inside of the meter boxes with no drip loop inside.

To solve my problem, I used clear 100% silicone caulk and I caulked all
around the meter box, especially at the top, and around the front cover and
anywhere else that water could possibly get in. That fixed the water
problem. I have photos somewhere of the meter box, but I can't seem to find
them right now.

Water in my panel was the main reason that my wife got an $800 bathroom fan.

I had just finished installing a new fan/heater unit in her bathroom,
complete with a timer switch for the heater and a humidity sensor for
the moisture. The fan, the fancy switches, the 12g wire, the 20A breaker,
etc. cost me a few hundred bucks. That was fine, she is worth it. ;-)

What hurt was when I turned off the main breaker to pull the wires into the
panel and then couldn't get the main to reset. I tried about 10 times until I
gave up and called an electrician friend. While I was on the phone with him,
it decided to finally catch. He said to leave it alone and he'd look at it
the next day. After he looked over the panel, we decided that by the time he
found a new main breaker for that old box, which was full and a real mess
anyway, it was probably time to just replace the panel, get more space,
better grounding, etc.

When I took the old main breaker apart, all of the interior contacts were
covered with rust from the water that had gotten into the panel a few years
prior. No wonder I had a hard time resetting it.

That's why I like to say that my wife now has an $800 bathroom fan.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 12:59:16 PM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:

When I took the old main breaker apart, all of the interior contacts were
covered with rust from the water that had gotten into the panel a few years
prior. No wonder I had a hard time resetting it.

Just for clarification: Rust? On copper contacts and bus bars?

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

stuff snipped

What hurt was when I turned off the main breaker to pull the wires into
the
panel and then couldn't get the main to reset. I tried about 10 times
until I
gave up and called an electrician friend. While I was on the phone with
him,
it decided to finally catch. He said to leave it alone

Pearls of wisdom.

and he'd look at it the next day. After he looked over the panel, we
decided that by the time he found a new main breaker for that old
box, which was full and a real mess anyway, it was probably time to
just replace the panel, get more space, better grounding, etc.

I am currently in the same position. Was going to do the new panel this
last weekend but Mother Nature had other plans. Can't wait to pull the main
breaker and Dremel it open. I'll bet it's grim inside the main breaker.

When I took the old main breaker apart, all of the interior contacts were
covered with rust from the water that had gotten into the panel a few
years
prior. No wonder I had a hard time resetting it.

It's quite a coincidence that both of us are having main breaker troubles.
Mine's well over 30 years old so I suppose it was time. I found what was
alleged to be NOS (new, old stock) replacement on Ebay but I've been burned
by what I call NODS (new old DEAD stock) before. My main breaker seems to
be similarly corroded and I wonder if it was water getting it or just
condensation damage over the years or or perhaps just inherent vice. Won't
know until next week.

That's why I like to say that my wife now has an $800 bathroom fan.

Did you do the new panel yourself? Sounds like it from the price. I was
considering doing it myself but now with the new electronic meters Pepco can
tell pretty quickly when you've pulled the meter and they send a crew out to
investigate so it's time to do it all nice and legal like.

At least now I can install AFCIs on the bedroom and kitchen circuits easily
now (weren't enough neutral connections in the old panel). I was thinking
of getting a smart panel but their prices really smart. I've been trying to
keep the panel load as low as possible until the panel is replaced.

Not sure what happens if the main breaker fails but I hope any fireworks are
contained inside the circuit box.

--
Bobby G.

On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:59:12 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 10:19:32 AM UTC-5, TomR wrote:
In ,
typed:
On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:24:56 -0500, "TomR" wrote:

In ,
typed:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to
give you a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem,
there is a drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast
head (or something like that), where the power line from the
pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no
drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the
electric panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of
the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never
really looked carefully to see if there is a drip loop there.
Since the water was coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the
meter box), and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I
don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of
water getting into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the
meter box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the
wire into the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop
is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low
point of the loop rather than running down on the outside of the
wire into a structure etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and
with no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit
(which goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs
down the wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs
out drainage hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not
exactly sure what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was
using the term "conduit" to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped,
"service feed" that runs from the bottom of the meter box down into
the building and into the top of the electrical panel inside the
basement. It is the same kind and gauge of cable as the service
drop that comes down along the outside of the building and goes
into the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from
the bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of
the panel, my "conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit
and into the panel. The water was not running down the outside of
the "conduit", it was INSIDE the gray-wrapped cable and came out of
the inside of that gray-wrapped cable and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

Sorry to keep dragging this out, and I am not trying to be
argumentative, but what WERE you talking about? -- in particular
when you used the term "conduit". Thanks.

I was talking about inside the meter base - the wires from the meter
to inside - which pass through a conduit. The wires MUST droop below
the bottom of the conduit inside the meter base before entering the
conduit. Frm meter to bottom of meter base and back up to the exit
point of the meter base and out through the conduit to the
distribution panel/service entrance box.

Okay, got it. My electric meter is on the side of the house and has a
service line coming down into the top of the meter box, and a service line
coming out of the bottom of the meter box and going down the wall and into
the house to the electric panel.

Water was getting in through the top of the meter box, filling up in the
bottom of the meter box, and then running INSIDE the service cable that
comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I wasn't able to open the meter
box because it requires a special key, and the utility company was unwilling
to come out and open it for me. So, I was never able to see if there are
any drip loops inside the meter box, but I doubt that there could be since
the service line comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I just did a
Google Images search of "electric service meters" and I saw lots of images
of the inside of the meter boxes with no drip loop inside.

To solve my problem, I used clear 100% silicone caulk and I caulked all
around the meter box, especially at the top, and around the front cover and
anywhere else that water could possibly get in. That fixed the water
problem. I have photos somewhere of the meter box, but I can't seem to find
them right now.

Water in my panel was the main reason that my wife got an $800 bathroom fan.

I had just finished installing a new fan/heater unit in her bathroom,
complete with a timer switch for the heater and a humidity sensor for
the moisture. The fan, the fancy switches, the 12g wire, the 20A breaker,
etc. cost me a few hundred bucks. That was fine, she is worth it. ;-)

What hurt was when I turned off the main breaker to pull the wires into the
panel and then couldn't get the main to reset. I tried about 10 times until I
gave up and called an electrician friend. While I was on the phone with him,
it decided to finally catch. He said to leave it alone and he'd look at it
the next day. After he looked over the panel, we decided that by the time he
found a new main breaker for that old box, which was full and a real mess
anyway, it was probably time to just replace the panel, get more space,
better grounding, etc.

When I took the old main breaker apart, all of the interior contacts were
covered with rust from the water that had gotten into the panel a few years
prior. No wonder I had a hard time resetting it.

That's why I like to say that my wife now has an $800 bathroom fan.

You got off cheap. My panel replacement, including permits and
inspections, came to just over $3000. I went with a Square D QO 32
slot 125 amp panel plus 1 arc fault and 2 2 pole GFIs - and it was
all aluminum wiring - which had to be inspected throughout.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 9:19:32 AM UTC-6, TomR wrote:
In ,
typed:
On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:24:56 -0500, "TomR" wrote:

In ,
typed:
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 19:04:40 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 10:54:21 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jan 2016 23:35:44 -0500, "TomR"
wrote:

That's what the "drip loop" is there for. Around here if the
inspector doesn't find that "drip loop" he is very likely to
give you a deficiency report.

On the property where I had the water-inside-panel problem,
there is a drip
loop up at the top of what I think maybe is called the mast
head (or something like that), where the power line from the
pole meets the service
drop that goes down into the top of the meter box.

Where it comes out of the bottom of the meter box, there is no
drip loop.
It just runs down into the building and into the top of the
electric panel.
I don't know that I have ever seen a drip loop on that part of
the service
line coming into a building (below the meter), but I never
really looked carefully to see if there is a drip loop there.
Since the water was coming
from inside the meter box (getting in through the top of the
meter box), and
was running INSIDE the wire going from there to the panel, I
don't know if
a
drip loop in that line would have prevented the problem of
water getting into the panel inside the house.

If the wire from the meter droops below the conduit exiting the
meter box to the inside of the building, water cannot follow the
wire into the building and into the panel.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the purpose of a drip loop
is to have
water that is on the outside of the wire drip off at the low
point of the loop rather than running down on the outside of the
wire into a structure etc.

The water is not IN the conduit. It gets into the meter box, and
with no drip loop the water runs down the cable into the conduit
(which goes out the back of the meter box), With the loop, it runs
down the wire to the bottom of the loop and drips off - then runs
out drainage hole at the bottom of the meter box.

Maybe we are not both talking about the same thing. I am not
exactly sure what the term "conduit" means, but in my case I was
using the term "conduit" to mean the heavy gauge, gray-wrapped,
"service feed" that runs from the bottom of the meter box down into
the building and into the top of the electrical panel inside the
basement. It is the same kind and gauge of cable as the service
drop that comes down along the outside of the building and goes
into the top of the meter box.

Using my definition of "conduit" to mean that cable that runs from
the bottom of meter box down into the building and into the top of
the panel, my "conduit" DID have water running INSIDE that conduit
and into the panel. The water was not running down the outside of
the "conduit", it was INSIDE the gray-wrapped cable and came out of
the inside of that gray-wrapped cable and dripped into the panel.

Not what I was talking about at all --

Sorry to keep dragging this out, and I am not trying to be
argumentative, but what WERE you talking about? -- in particular
when you used the term "conduit". Thanks.

I was talking about inside the meter base - the wires from the meter
to inside - which pass through a conduit. The wires MUST droop below
the bottom of the conduit inside the meter base before entering the
conduit. Frm meter to bottom of meter base and back up to the exit
point of the meter base and out through the conduit to the
distribution panel/service entrance box.

Okay, got it. My electric meter is on the side of the house and has a
service line coming down into the top of the meter box, and a service line
coming out of the bottom of the meter box and going down the wall and into
the house to the electric panel.

Water was getting in through the top of the meter box, filling up in the
bottom of the meter box, and then running INSIDE the service cable that
comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I wasn't able to open the meter
box because it requires a special key, and the utility company was unwilling
to come out and open it for me. So, I was never able to see if there are
any drip loops inside the meter box, but I doubt that there could be since
the service line comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I just did a
Google Images search of "electric service meters" and I saw lots of images
of the inside of the meter boxes with no drip loop inside.

To solve my problem, I used clear 100% silicone caulk and I caulked all
around the meter box, especially at the top, and around the front cover and
anywhere else that water could possibly get in. That fixed the water
problem. I have photos somewhere of the meter box, but I can't seem to find
them right now.

Standard practice around here is to use gray duct seal which is like modeling clay in texture to build a cone around the SE cable where it enters the connector at the top of the meter box. This keeps any water from seeping between the SE cable and the rubber grommet in the compression connector. Inside the meter box, there are small drain holes in the back corners of the bottom of the meter box usually from the factory that should be kept open. If there were no holes, I'd drill a 1/8" hole in those locations. Those weep holes can become plugged if calk is run across the bottom of the meter box.. I always ran a bead of calk across the top and sides of the meter box but not across the bottom so that no water could get trapped between the box and the wall. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Meter Monster

In ,
Uncle Monster typed:
On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 9:19:32 AM UTC-6, TomR wrote:

Water was getting in through the top of the meter box, filling up in
the bottom of the meter box, and then running INSIDE the service
cable that comes out of the bottom of the meter box. I wasn't able
to open the meter box because it requires a special key, and the
utility company was unwilling to come out and open it for me. So, I
was never able to see if there are any drip loops inside the meter
box, but I doubt that there could be since the service line comes
out of the bottom of the meter box. I just did a Google Images
search of "electric service meters" and I saw lots of images of the
inside of the meter boxes with no drip loop inside.

To solve my problem, I used clear 100% silicone caulk and I caulked
all around the meter box, especially at the top, and around the
front cover and anywhere else that water could possibly get in.
That fixed the water problem. I have photos somewhere of the meter
box, but I can't seem to find them right now.

Standard practice around here is to use gray duct seal which is like
modeling clay in texture to build a cone around the SE cable where it
enters the connector at the top of the meter box. This keeps any
water from seeping between the SE cable and the rubber grommet in the
compression connector. Inside the meter box, there are small drain
holes in the back corners of the bottom of the meter box usually from
the factory that should be kept open. If there were no holes, I'd
drill a 1/8" hole in those locations. Those weep holes can become
plugged if calk is run across the bottom of the meter box. I always
ran a bead of calk across the top and sides of the meter box but not
across the bottom so that no water could get trapped between the box
and the wall. ^_^

Thanks. I did do the gray duct seal routine back then and, in addition, I
did the clear 100% silicone caulk routine.

Yesterday, I was able to find the old thread that I started here regarding
that problem back in 2013. The topic of the thread was "Unlocking electric
meter box -- water problem", and it was started by me (TomR) on 6/8/2013 at
3:16 PM Eastern Time.

Looking back, I now remember that the water that was getting into the box
was not getting into the wire coming out of the bottom due to the box
filling with water at the bottom (as I wrote above). I know that because in
re-reading the thread I realize that I did put a drain hole in the bottom of
the box and that didn't correct the problem of water gett into the electric
panel.

The problem that I had at the time was that I could not open the meter box
to look inside and see what was going on. The box cover had a special
locking mechanism on it that I couldn't unlock. Either the utility company
or an electrician with a special tool could have unlocked the front box
cover. The utility company refused to do that for me, and I didn't want to
hire an electrican just to open the box and look inside.

So, the solution that I was left with was to first just try sealing and
caulking the box completely from the outside, and that worked.

I assume that the water that was previously getting into the box was somehow
running down the wires and into the INSIDE of the cable that comes out of
the bottom of the box. But, since I couldn't open the box, I could not
verify exactly what was going on inside the box. I just know that my
sealing and caulking routine on th eoutside of the box solved the problem.