[Hammarlund] "Hammarlund Historian" site down?

[James A. (Andy) Moorer]

Indeed, the thought occurred to me to do the replacement myself. I've 
certainly repaired enough power supplies, including 1800 V transmitter 
supplies, but there were a couple of complicating factors that gave me 
pause:
(1) The last 4" or so of one of the cables from the meter (outside) is 
fried. Insulation bubbled and pealing off. The end of the cable would 
have to be "cleaned up", as the electrician put it. There is enough 
slack in the wire to trim it. Moreover, the wires are held down to the 
breaker by the biggest Allen set screw I've ever seen. I checked locally 
- it appears I would have to order a "lineman's" wrench specially for 
this single use (heavily insulated handle in case you want to use it "hot").
(2) The fellow from Duke Energy scared me a bit when he pointed out that 
he was not allowed to reconnect the power unless he approved (signed 
off) on the repair job. I think I know how to make it look and work 
properly, but suppose there is some funny regulation I've never heard 
of? I just thought I'd rather let someone licensed to do it, even if it 
means waiting a few more days.

Maybe I'm just being a bit timid, but I really don't like messing around 
with a breaker box that is in an ideal position to set the entire house 
on fire if I don't do it correctly (it is indoors in the basement in a 
wooden cabinet).

-A

On 1/21/2022 8:50 PM, jthorusen at centcoast.com wrote:
> Greetings to Andy and the Forum:
>
>     That's a long time to be without power... and especially heat!   I gather
> from your comments that you have a replacement breaker in hand.   If I were
> you, I would change it out myself.
>
>     To do this, first call your local electric company and tell them you are
> going to break the seal on your electric meter.  (If you can't reach them,
> Monday will probably do... just so you notify them promptly.)  Then go ahead
> and cut the wire and remove the seal.   This should allow you to remove the
> retaining ring around your meter.   Once you have the ring off, just grasp
> the meter firmly and pull straight out.   It is retained by the friction of
> its electrical contacts and the retaining ring, so it should pull out
> without too much difficulty.
>
>     Once you have the meter out, BOTH sides of the main breaker are cold.
> You can then proceed to replace it.   When you are done, re-install the
> meter and then close your new main breaker.   You should be good to go.
> The electric company should show up in a few days and put a new seal on the
> meter.
>
>     Just in case you have a really strange hook-up, do verify that both sides
> of the main breaker are cold before proceeding.... but I've never heard of
> an installation where the meter is AFTER the breaker.
>
> Good Luck,
> Jim T.
> KB6GM
> jthorusen at centcoast.com


-- 
James A. (Andy) Moorer
www.jamminpower.org