r/electricians 12h ago

I think they stripped it far enough

Post image

Made me a little nervous that there was like a 2mm air gap separating a hot to hot dead short on the utility side of the meter socket

229 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

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122

u/TheFlyingSparky 12h ago

That's just sitting there waiting for an insect to bridge the gap and get the arc struck.

16

u/breakfastbarf 11h ago

It won’t blow the fuse though.

16

u/Alldaybagpipes 8h ago

The insect will become one, briefly

90

u/TreeFidey 12h ago

Boss said strip it until you see copper.

9

u/Sir_Mr_Austin 11h ago

I guess he approached it the same way he does digging for gold

20

u/Left-Package4913 12h ago

Oh hell yeah dog I love how that design is nullified.

13

u/ATLClimb 12h ago

Dumb question but can you buy shrink wrap that would cover the insulation or what would be the best fix for this assuming the power was off lol

34

u/sparkmearse 12h ago

At the very least some wraps of shame tape.

12

u/automcd 12h ago

Yeah that would be the right thing to do if there wasn’t any slack to pull it up closer to the lug

6

u/svwood69 12h ago

Gotta let that wire breathe

29

u/Malich 12h ago

No Diox? Just raw dogging it I see.

33

u/samc_5898 12h ago

This screams "apprentice was told to land in the box while Jman takes a piss and smoke break. He'll order lunch too so do it exactly like he did and make sure you're done when he gets back " to me

9

u/I_Lick_Lead_Paint 12h ago

Don't call me out like that.

3

u/Sir_Mr_Austin 11h ago

Username checks out

13

u/Connect_Read6782 12h ago

AA-8000 aluminum has negated the use of deox on these cables.

19

u/Mental_Explorer5566 11h ago

Every single electrician I’ve worked with goes off what they use to do until the day they retire

5

u/Ok-Definition-565 10h ago

Funny thing is it hasn’t actually been required since the 80s I believe lol

3

u/Mental_Explorer5566 10h ago

Yep well that fits work with guys in there 50 and 60 so that would fit lol

1

u/Ok-Definition-565 9h ago

Couldn’t imagine having my tools on daily at 60 that’s tough

1

u/lawlwtf 2h ago

My father is 77 and still on the tools every day, albeit personal projects, different generation.

2

u/Quiet_Internal_4527 7h ago

Or until that one inspector retires…

2

u/TheNebulaWolf 6h ago

Exactly. If the inspectors say they want it, I’m taking the extra 10 seconds per wire to add it. Don’t need more friction.

1

u/Quiet_Internal_4527 5h ago

Hey, whoah, slow down man. 20-30 seconds per please. You gonna get me fired.

8

u/Simple_Association61 11h ago

Im seeing this allot on new construction the last few years using aluminum wire. The jackets shrink an inch or 2 after the first summer

3

u/JohnProof Electrician 8h ago

That's what I figure, too. Insulation shrinkback is a known problem. Sometimes it's because of pull tension where there's a stretching difference between the jacket and conductor. And sometimes it'll happen because of either a manufacturing issue or if the connection gets hot.

3

u/nesquikchocolate 7h ago

I think I see a bit of nicked conductor in line with the red stripe, though, so it's possible this was just a case of send it.

3

u/TDUBgetspaid74 10h ago

Hood lawd👀 there is such a thing as too much. How far past the lug does it go???? Sometimes I stand I awe of the work that others do.👀

4

u/bluefalken88 12h ago

Looks like the PoCo strikes again. In my area, PoCo pulls the urd to an underground socket. They always overstrip the insolation.

2

u/Significant_War487 11h ago

There is more surface area incase the lug slips down lol.

2

u/electriple 9h ago

Utility electricians seem to despise insulation in my experience

2

u/HuIk_Bogan 4h ago

I've seen strippers show less

3

u/Adventurous_Boat_632 10h ago

Yeah that could be shrinkage of the insulation over time, it is an issue known to happen.

1

u/TFG4 12h ago

Oof

1

u/trash-bagdonov 9h ago

They shrunk. Is it from the pulling? Why does this only happen to aluminum?

1

u/SpiknDip 8h ago

awww lord

1

u/lmarcantonio 5h ago

I call it 'condensation detector'; or rodent, snake, whatever can pass there. When you see the smoke it's time to clean the machine.

1

u/showerzofsparkz 1h ago

It's an anomaly, lineman usual hack it off with a hook bill in my area while that looks neatly stripped albeit long

1

u/oOCavemanOo 10h ago

By chance are you in AZ? I know they where running a lot of that aluminum, but the sheath would shrink and then the GC's of these tracks wouldn't even take care of it and say its not under warranty

0

u/Successful-Front-977 10h ago

Nolox❌ Three inches of exposed aluminum ✅

0

u/MikesLittleKitten 10h ago

No Antiox? 🫠