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After a surprise of finding water dripping out of my breaker box, I determined that the water was being wicked in through the service conduit. There is duct seal around the conduit connection to the electric meter and its integrity looks questionable.
It seems like this duct seal tends to fail pretty regularly and a good alternative is using silicone caulk. Is it best to just scrape off the old sealant, clean off the surface, and apply exterior-grade caulk?
Silicone caulk is nasty stuff and when it fails, cleaning it up to re-caulk is a real PITA. Check into some alternatives to silicone, like a poly sealant.
Is the meter located higher than the breaker box? If so that is going to present recurring problems.
Back to caulk. Caulk and sealants are two different things even though many people use the terms to describe the same thing, they are not.
Caulks tend to be rigid in composition when cured or dried while sealants remain flexible and so what they say, they seal. You are trying to seal something, not caulk it.
Duct seal likewise is not appropriate for sealing other things although many people do just that. Comes down to the right tool or material for the job.
You can replace the old conduit with one that is liquid tight but that means disconnecting the service conduit and relatively minor electric work.
One way to get that done is to contact the utility company since you'll be toughing their equipment and have them do it for you. You might have to sign a waiver because the connection to your breaker box might not be part of their usual service (customer owned equipment). Alternatively, you'd have your electrician there when the utility company removes the conduit and in concert, they perform the work. The utility company probably won't charge you since it is in their best interest to get this fixed as well.
All sealants eventually fail so correcting the conduit problem is the better way to go. Otherwise, how will you know the sealant failed unless you are checking it all the time? Fix it once.
My personal rule is if I will need to maintain it and a permanent solution is available, go with permanent and then not have to think about it anymore.
I had this problem. I was surprised that it didn't cause more issues.
If your breaker box is in the basement, and your meter is just above ground level, I think there is supposed to be a bend or dip in the conduit to bring it below the level of the breaker box. That way, any water that gets in should leak out at the low point.
The utility companies obligation ends at the point where they connect their wire to the meter box. Anything beyond that is your responsibility. An electrician can solve your problem.
After a surprise of finding water dripping out of my breaker box, I determined that the water was being wicked in through the service conduit. There is duct seal around the conduit connection to the electric meter and its integrity looks questionable.
So the source of the leak is where the conduit connects to the electric meter? Ask the electric provider to fix it at their cost.
Is the meter located higher than the breaker box? If so that is going to present recurring problems.
Back to caulk. Caulk and sealants are two different things even though many people use the terms to describe the same thing, they are not.
You can replace the old conduit with one that is liquid tight but that means disconnecting the service conduit and relatively minor electric work.
All sealants eventually fail so correcting the conduit problem is the better way to go. Otherwise, how will you know the sealant failed unless you are checking it all the time? Fix it once.
The service comes in at the roof line, goes straight down to electric meter, down into the basement.
I thought that silicone caulk would provide more flexibility and be more crack-resistant? I was not thinking of using non-silicone caulk.
I didn't realize there were fixes to the conduit, which would be a better option than relying on sealant. Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nodpete
The OP said that the water was leaking into their breaker box, not the meter box. If so, the utility has nothing to do with it.
OP, can you post a picture of the meter ?
While water is getting into the breaker box, I do think the water is getting into the electric meter because the water has to get into the conduit upstream of the meter.
Correcting any water intrusion issue is a multi-step process. Stop all the water you can from getting in at the source, then give any water that comes in a way out, and seal the innermost part of the envelope.
I would call the power company and at least ask them what they can do at the meter. They don't want water in there any more than you do. It may well end up being your responsibility though. That glob of gunk looks pretty crazy, but the fitting on top of that can is made to seal against round conduit, not the actual wire so someone stuck that on there to help seal. It would be best to replace the fitting and put a new one in with a conduit, running the wire inside that. Then make sure there is a weatherhead on top where the wires connect.
And the water may well be getting into the can inside the sheath of the entrance wiring and not the top of the can.
If this doesn't stop it, then you can see about stuff you can do inside.
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See if electric co. will fix it for free?
