Another power pole question

[glassparman]

In Blanchard, mine is going directly to the main box where the meter is. It is tied in before the meter which I had never seen before. So there is no breaker. On my OEC bill, it lists a "security light" and I pay a flat rate of $7 a month. I'm assuming OEC connected it up.

Yours may be the same??

 

[Perplexed]

Why not just repurpose it as an outdoor electrical box?

Replace the rotten pole with a new one, remove the old electrical stuff, and install an outdoor breaker box with outlets - and leave it.

Think something like an RV hookup.
Or a convenient electric source for a future patio.

...But yes, find the breakers that feed it. Verify breakers/wiring is up to code and sized appropriately.

I thought about that, but there’s nothing in the yard around the box that would be useful - the box is 150 yards from the house, and the only thing nearby is the mailbox. With the thick wire coming up into the box through a broken piece of conduit, I’m thinking it’s coming directly from the utility pole - it’s not a simple piece of 10/2 Romex or anything like that. It’s big! I’d rather not futz around with a shovel next to such a wire until I find out just what it is and where the upstream breaker is.

 

[Perplexed]

In Blanchard, mine is going directly to the main box where the meter is. It is tied in before the meter which I had never seen before. So there is no breaker. On my OEC bill, it lists a "security light" and I pay a flat rate of $7 a month. I'm assuming OEC connected it up.

Yours may be the same??

There’s a breaker on the 4x4 post, so I’d guess it was a homeowner installation, but the size of the wire coming into the box gives me great pause about messing with it without knowing just why it’s so thick.

 

[okietool]

If you aren’t sure or just don’t know, hire an electrician.
The ground is too hard to dig a grave right now. Or any other time.

 

[SoonerP226]

Ordinarily, I'd think it was an electric company-provided light and they just made a paperwork mistake and never recorded it for billing, but I've never seen one that wasn't mounted on a utility pole. This sounds like homeowner shenanigans all the way, and I'd hire an electrician to resolve it, 'cause I'm not big on taking a nap in the forever box.

 

[KOPBET]

Call OKIE (811).

 

[SoonerP226]

Call OKIE (811).

I'm not saying don't do that, but would anybody mark that line, given that PSO has already said it's not theirs? AFAIK, Call OKIE only has the recorded utilities dispatch someone to mark their respective lines--f'rinstance, when OEC Fiber called them before running their line, OEC Electric, ONG, and AT$T only dispatched line chasers to mark their lines; they didn't mark my water line (from the well) nor my septic lines, nor even the buried service lines running from the house to the (detached) garage.

 

[-Pjackso]

https://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html
I own one. It's better than nothing, but not by much. Then again, it's only $25. I've made much worse purchases in the past.

In my case, I used this to chase down a bad wire in a thick wire loom. (Vehicle) With the bad wire being thin, and tons of other wires surrounding it - I suppose it did as well as it could.

In your case.... with the wire still being live, hmmmm. Not sure.

 

[-Pjackso]

I just tried this Harbor Freight item on a live 110v extension cord across my yard.
Connected the signal generator to the end of the cord (110v live wire), and tried to follow the cord using the receiver .
The receiver lost the signal after about 6 feet. It did pick up the AC noise much more then the signal, but unfortunately you have to be close to the wire for even that.

SO - it may track your wire using the AC noise and point you in the direction of the wire. The 110v voltage didn't effect the signal generator.

An electrician has better tools for following wires. Got any electrician friends?

 

[Waltercat]

There’s a breaker on the 4x4 post, so I’d guess it was a homeowner installation, but the size of the wire coming into the box gives me great pause about messing with it without knowing just why it’s so thick.

That 'thick' wire is probably XHHW [RHW] direct burial. How many are there? 2 or 3. Copper or Aluminum? Can you post a pic pf the wire.