I am a little confused about this 4 phase service wire setup. The 4th, bare messenger wire, does not continue down the pole to the meter or anywhere else. I don’t think this looks correct as I believe that wire should be the neutral for for the system. Or is this just a support cable? BTW this building is a mess with so much more electrical that a sparky will evaluate this all, I just want to learn for myself.
Two possibilities, one its actually single phase as you’ve mentioned or it’s 3 phase, 3 wire, Delta with no neutral. You would need to inspect the service disconnect to figure out the system and the voltage.
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Unfortunately, I was not able to open the main service panel since the business was in operation and could not interfere with their power. But a sub-panel down stream shows 3 phase.
Each service wire on the exterior is “labeled” with a stripe, 1,2, and 3. Is this an indication of 3 phase? Kind of looks like some recent work to the old frayed service wires-“shocked” to see what I saw inside.
The second photo appears to be 3 phase, 3 wire because the neutral is wire nutted and not connected. And there are no 120 volt circuits.
So it appears to be a 3 phase delta service then. I guess I have not seen this style of service as I am learning that with the neutral it is 3 phase star, which is what I am familiar with. The curious thing for me is that I could not locate any GEC for this system.
This building also just got flooded,again, from Beryl. Hopefully this time the electrical inspector actually takes a look at this building before they give a CO- live wires hanging out everywhere.
From the few photos that you’ve provided it’s obvious that this entire system needs to be evaluated and corrected by a licensed electrician.
Ya, that is putting it nicely. Their insurance told them the same thing and they didn’t believe them and wanted a second opinion. I think being flooded with 4’ of water exactly 1 year and a day again is a telltale to walk away.
I don’t see a masthead?
Be sure to log these labels. All of them. They will often have the information you seek.
These field labels say 240 volts?
And what is this?
I catalog all this information, including distinguishing field labels from manufacturer labels. Unless you use special equipment, there are times when we just don’t know all the voltages etc. but you can describe what is there which is important.
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From what is shown in the photos it should be 3Ø, 3 wire, Delta which is 240 volts.
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That’s great information, Thanks!
The OP is all over the place with 4 phase, 3 phase, 4 wire, 3 wire etc. So my point for him was to log everything. It’s tedious but necessary in my opinion and it will often reveal the nature of the system and provide a professional overview.
He also alluded to his role in this which was to evaluate the system.
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Based on the NEMA standards any flooded or water damages should have been replaced.
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