I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadnt caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?

On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadnt caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?


Depends. How big of a hole in how bit of a wire? Less material in the
wire means less capacity. Tiny hole, no big deal. Big hole can cause
problems when you run lots of power.

If you grazed a tiny bit, no big deal, but if you took out 3/4 of a
conductor, I'd replace.

wrote in message
...
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago.
Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but
other than that I hadn't caused any problems at all. I know I got
extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but
I'm wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn't caused any
problems?

Are you talking about your service drop from your POCO or some other wire?

If it goes directly into or out of your electric meter it should be
replaced.

On Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:28:42 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadn’t caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but I’m wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn’t caused any problems?

Did you wrap the wire with good electrical tape.

Putting in a doggie door, through the wall, a wire was nicked by a
sawzall blade. Tapped it -- it was not terrible. Bubba did it. I
found it :-)

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:18:59 -0500, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadn’t caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but I’m wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn’t caused any problems?


Depends. How big of a hole in how bit of a wire? Less material in the
wire means less capacity. Tiny hole, no big deal. Big hole can cause
problems when you run lots of power.

If you grazed a tiny bit, no big deal, but if you took out 3/4 of a
conductor, I'd replace.

I guess I'm alsways optimistic because I figured he drilled all the way
through the insulation but missed the wire. If it's like that, I'd fill
it full of silicone sealant I think. Pack it in good with a wooden
paint stirrer.

25 years ago I had my arms over a wrought iron fence to take a picture
when I dropped something and by reflex, I quickly bent down to pick it
up. Rammed the pointed iron rod into my inner elbow, about 1/2" x 1/2"
x 1/2". At the emergency clinic he was just going to sew it up when he
noticed I'd partly cut the tendon too. He charged an extra 25 dollars
to sew that up. How do I know I really cut my tendon? Might have been
a scam to get 25 more dollars.

JK

On 2/19/2019 3:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadnt caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?


My father had an underground cable to his shop that failed. I traced the
problem to just outside where the cable went into his basement using a
multimeter to probe for current leakage. The problem was that the cable
had apparently had it's insulation nicked during installation, and the
aluminum conductor had completely corroded away. The electrician that my
dad hired to fix it used 3 rolls of 3M electrical tape to cover the repair.

On Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:13:58 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:18:59 -0500, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadn’t caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but I’m wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn’t caused any problems?


Depends. How big of a hole in how bit of a wire? Less material in the
wire means less capacity. Tiny hole, no big deal. Big hole can cause
problems when you run lots of power.

If you grazed a tiny bit, no big deal, but if you took out 3/4 of a
conductor, I'd replace.

I guess I'm alsways optimistic because I figured he drilled all the way
through the insulation but missed the wire. If it's like that, I'd fill
it full of silicone sealant I think. Pack it in good with a wooden
paint stirrer.

25 years ago I had my arms over a wrought iron fence to take a picture
when I dropped something and by reflex, I quickly bent down to pick it
up. Rammed the pointed iron rod into my inner elbow, about 1/2" x 1/2"
x 1/2". At the emergency clinic he was just going to sew it up when he
noticed I'd partly cut the tendon too. He charged an extra 25 dollars
to sew that up. How do I know I really cut my tendon? Might have been
a scam to get 25 more dollars.

JK
The "scam" would be to sew you up and get to cut you open to fix it
whenit lets go - and get $2500- instead.

On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?

Unless you've got an unusual install, aluminum 4/0 SE cable is about $5/ft and a typical install might need 10 feet so that's about $50 bucks.Â* Add an hour drive time and two hours to swap the cable and you are looking at roughly $350.

Find an honest electrician.

Bob F writes:
On 2/19/2019 3:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadnt caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?


My father had an underground cable to his shop that failed. I traced the
problem to just outside where the cable went into his basement using a
multimeter to probe for current leakage. The problem was that the cable
had apparently had it's insulation nicked during installation, and the
aluminum conductor had completely corroded away. The electrician that my
dad hired to fix it used 3 rolls of 3M electrical tape to cover the repair.

And it will likely fail again.

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 19 Feb 2019 22:35:19 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:13:58 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:18:59 -0500, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadn’t caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but I’m wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn’t caused any problems?


Depends. How big of a hole in how bit of a wire? Less material in the
wire means less capacity. Tiny hole, no big deal. Big hole can cause
problems when you run lots of power.

If you grazed a tiny bit, no big deal, but if you took out 3/4 of a
conductor, I'd replace.

I guess I'm alsways optimistic because I figured he drilled all the way
through the insulation but missed the wire. If it's like that, I'd fill
it full of silicone sealant I think. Pack it in good with a wooden
paint stirrer.

25 years ago I had my arms over a wrought iron fence to take a picture
when I dropped something and by reflex, I quickly bent down to pick it
up. Rammed the pointed iron rod into my inner elbow, about 1/2" x 1/2"
x 1/2". At the emergency clinic he was just going to sew it up when he
noticed I'd partly cut the tendon too. He charged an extra 25 dollars
to sew that up. How do I know I really cut my tendon? Might have been
a scam to get 25 more dollars.

JK

A lesser used abbreviation. Just kidding.

The "scam" would be to sew you up and get to cut you open to fix it
whenit lets go - and get $2500- instead.

Yeah, I got off cheap.

I was just kidding before. He was a very nice guy who apologized for
having to charge the extra $25.

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 7:19:05 PM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadnt caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?


Depends. How big of a hole in how bit of a wire? Less material in the
wire means less capacity. Tiny hole, no big deal. Big hole can cause
problems when you run lots of power.

If you grazed a tiny bit, no big deal, but if you took out 3/4 of a
conductor, I'd replace.

Sounds like a troll to me. How about the part about the lights
flickering? Why would the lights flicker, unless the drill completed
a circuit and drew huge amps, in which case there would be a lot more
to worry about than the lights flickering and the hole.

On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:20:39 GMT, (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:

Bob F writes:
On 2/19/2019 3:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadnt caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but Im wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasnt caused any problems?


My father had an underground cable to his shop that failed. I traced the
problem to just outside where the cable went into his basement using a
multimeter to probe for current leakage. The problem was that the cable
had apparently had it's insulation nicked during installation, and the
aluminum conductor had completely corroded away. The electrician that my
dad hired to fix it used 3 rolls of 3M electrical tape to cover the repair.

And it will likely fail again.
Forget the Likely - it WILL fail again . 3 rolls of tape won't make
it any beter than one. It needs a "self vulcanizing" or "self sealing"
tape, or better yet a jell filled connector. Undeground cable
connector kits have a gell-filled heat shrink tube - 2 layers. When
you heat the shrink tube the tube shrinks and the jell melts and
squeases out the ends. The second longer piece goes over top and
double seals the joint.

Clare Snyder posted for all of us...



On Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:13:58 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:18:59 -0500, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 2/19/2019 6:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadn?t caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but I?m wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn?t caused any problems?


Depends. How big of a hole in how bit of a wire? Less material in the
wire means less capacity. Tiny hole, no big deal. Big hole can cause
problems when you run lots of power.

If you grazed a tiny bit, no big deal, but if you took out 3/4 of a
conductor, I'd replace.

I guess I'm alsways optimistic because I figured he drilled all the way
through the insulation but missed the wire. If it's like that, I'd fill
it full of silicone sealant I think. Pack it in good with a wooden
paint stirrer.

25 years ago I had my arms over a wrought iron fence to take a picture
when I dropped something and by reflex, I quickly bent down to pick it
up. Rammed the pointed iron rod into my inner elbow, about 1/2" x 1/2"
x 1/2". At the emergency clinic he was just going to sew it up when he
noticed I'd partly cut the tendon too. He charged an extra 25 dollars
to sew that up. How do I know I really cut my tendon? Might have been
a scam to get 25 more dollars.

JK
The "scam" would be to sew you up and get to cut you open to fix it
whenit lets go - and get $2500- instead.

He is a scam. The sawbone would probably charge him more because the doc
would have to double his malpractice insurance and since he is on the AH
list would have to get the AH rider.

--
Tekkie

On 2/20/2019 1:45 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:20:39 GMT, (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:

Bob F writes:
On 2/19/2019 3:28 PM, wrote:
I accidentally drilled a hole in the service entry wire a few months ago. Other than the light briefly flickering when it initially happened but other than that I hadn€„¢t caused any problems at all. I know I got extremely lucky! I got a quote from an electrons of 925$ to replace it but I€„¢m wondering if it needs to be replaced since it hasn€„¢t caused any problems?


My father had an underground cable to his shop that failed. I traced the
problem to just outside where the cable went into his basement using a
multimeter to probe for current leakage. The problem was that the cable
had apparently had it's insulation nicked during installation, and the
aluminum conductor had completely corroded away. The electrician that my
dad hired to fix it used 3 rolls of 3M electrical tape to cover the repair.

And it will likely fail again.
Forget the Likely - it WILL fail again . 3 rolls of tape won't make
it any beter than one. It needs a "self vulcanizing" or "self sealing"
tape, or better yet a jell filled connector. Undeground cable
connector kits have a gell-filled heat shrink tube - 2 layers. When
you heat the shrink tube the tube shrinks and the jell melts and
squeases out the ends. The second longer piece goes over top and
double seals the joint.


I believe the electrician did use some kind of jell filled connector. I
will never know if it fails, as my father has died, and the house has
been sold. I did tell the new owner about the repair, and where it was,
when my siblings went there to spread his ashes on the 15 acre property
where he spent his last 25 years.