Just when you thought you saw the worst....

I mean this probably isnt the worst, like 3rd world country throwing hooks over power lines... but this is pretty bad. I don't know the source of this photo, my buddy who is in the daily production world posted this on his facebook under his show fail moments....
enjoy.....
 

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Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

I've done a tie-in like that. It was a little neater (the cover went back on the box), but I did what had to be done. It looks odd, but done as shown it's not any more unsafe than anything else involving a temporary electrical tie-in.

The scariest part is that the box remains live the entire time you're working on it, which is why that neutral is spliced as shown.

Would I do it again? Probably not, but I don't have to any more.

Am I ashamed? No.

(The hanging quad boxes are much scarier than that feeder tie-in.)
 
Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

Looks like, "Hey, Bob, where are the tails?" "They're in the feeder trunk, Jim." "Nope, not there, I've looked everywhere." "What are we gonna do? We're 200 miles from nowhere." "Hack the cams off and tie in!"
 
Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

Looks like, "Hey, Bob, where are the tails?" "They're in the feeder trunk, Jim." "Nope, not there, I've looked everywhere." "What are we gonna do? We're 200 miles from nowhere." "Hack the cams off and tie in!"

Other than the panel being left open, there's no problem here. Cam feeder is high-strand so it's much larger than normal wire, and most people only have #2 or larger cam feeder. The breaker in the panel is obviously not able to handle wire that big; it's probably only a 100A breaker, expecting #3 normal copper wire. Using bugs to splice smaller wire to the tie-in tails is 100% fine, as long as the smaller wire going to that breaker can still handle the rated current.

This is a far, far better solution than hacking half the strands off your #2 feeder to fit under the lug - that is outright illegal.
 
Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

Looks like, "Hey, Bob, where are the tails?" "They're in the feeder trunk, Jim." "Nope, not there, I've looked everywhere." "What are we gonna do? We're 200 miles from nowhere." "Hack the cams off and tie in!"
I guess you guys wouldn't like the situation up here, cause " bob" or Jim wouldn't be getting any power, or they would be finding some #4 tails... Never mind getting in $hit for skinning the neutral...
And yes the quad boxes are equally wrong. Despite the bubble gum effort here, it wouldn't be remotely allowed. God bless America
 
Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

it's probably only a 100A breaker, expecting #3 normal copper wire.

That looks like #6 (at best) between the breaker and the tails. Is that big enough for 100A?
I'm thinking that breaker should be closer to a 60A one for that size?

In the old days I used to always carry a tie-in kit and I had a bunch of breakers, knock-out plugs and cable hole-clamps, I would at least try to get questionable shit hidden inside a closed panel when done. I would also band together 3 #8 lines into lug holes in the neutral bar instead of splicing it like they did. (I wanted the panel looking untouched when I left -other than the occasional new shiny knock-out hole plug)
I also left a trail of properly installed 60A range plugs at many of my regular venues (-although I've heard somewhere that a range plug not in a place where there's an actual range isn't code either.)
 
Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

That looks like #6 (at best) between the breaker and the tails. Is that big enough for 100A?
I'm thinking that breaker should be closer to a 60A one for that size?

In the old days I used to always carry a tie-in kit and I had a bunch of breakers, knock-out plugs and cable hole-clamps, I would at least try to get questionable shit hidden inside a closed panel when done. I would also band together 3 #8 lines into lug holes in the neutral bar instead of splicing it like they did. (I wanted the panel looking untouched when I left -other than the occasional new shiny knock-out hole plug)
I also left a trail of properly installed 60A range plugs at many of my regular venues (-although I've heard somewhere that a range plug not in a place where there's an actual range isn't code either.)

Upon further inspection, no, you can't really tap into the neutral like that, especially without de-energizing the whole panel.

You cannot parallel conductors until a threshold size is reached, but I don't have the code near me. The wire has to be BIG before you can parallel conductors, in the MCM range.

Range plugs are NOT 60A, they are NEMA 14-50 or NEMA 10-50 receptacles, the 14 having a neutral and ground, the 10 only having a neutral. A NEMA 6-50 is commonly used as a welding plug and offers no neutral, so cannot be used to acquire 120V.

I do have some NEMA 14-60 plugs, they are massive and really expensive, and look totally different than a range plug.

Maybe that is #6, the breaker could be rated less, or it could be in use against code.

The only proper way to tie into that neutral to get the kind of power they are probably using is with a very fancy thing that I own but can't remember the name of. It has jaws that go around the wire and clamp down, kind of like a super huge tap connector. Yes, it's legal.
 
Re: Just when you thought you saw the worst....

I do have some NEMA 14-60 plugs, they are massive and really expensive, and look totally different than a range plug.

They look quite similar and seemed to be very close in price -are you sure you're thinking of the right connector?
nema 14-50elrgrc02a.jpg, nema 14-60Cooper_Wiring_Devices_Nema_14-60_9460N.jpg

The 50 uses a molded pigtail whereas the 60 you can buy an actual connector-plug for, still way cheaper than the twist-style 50A California connector.

I'm right now working on renovating an old house and the 1948 electric stove uses the 60A one shown above. The house was still running with knob and tube type wiring and somebody added in a 60A cartridge fuse disconnect to feed just that stove as the house only had a 30A service for everything else!
(Needless to say I'm rewiring the entire house -but I am having the old stove restored as the enamel and trim is in perfect condition.)
 
They look quite similar and seemed to be very close in price -are you sure you're thinking of the right connector?
nema 14-50View attachment 6499, nema 14-60View attachment 6500

The 50 uses a molded pigtail whereas the 60 you can buy an actual connector-plug for, still way cheaper than the twist-style 50A California connector.

I'm right now working on renovating an old house and the 1948 electric stove uses the 60A one shown above. The house was still running with knob and tube type wiring and somebody added in a 60A cartridge fuse disconnect to feed just that stove as the house only had a 30A service for everything else!
(Needless to say I'm rewiring the entire house -but I am having the old stove restored as the enamel and trim is in perfect condition.)

The Copley Marriott in Boston has (or used to) the 14-60 in the ballroom baseboards. I still have the Male end from a show in the 80s. Anyone want to buy it?


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