Inspectiong Main Panel if its raining....

Ive never did a home inspection in the rain. If it is raining
What should a Home Inspector do about inspecting the main panel ?

David

Just be careful and use common sense. In most cases, the panel is somewhat protected from direct rain fall.

I wouldn’t stand in a puddle during wind driven rain, but that just me :wink:

That’s the key;-)

Guess I’m lucky, most of my panels are inside, but I’m with Jeff . . . be careful!

ummm!! puddled water…electric…Im not doing it…

I’m wondering what rain is.

thanks MR. Ray.

Hi to all,

I always teach that inspectors should check for stray voltage on the panel covers before even thinking about removing them, this is even more important when dealing with exterior panels as wet or damp ground will provide a better electrical return path than typical interior locations.

Buy a Voltage tic, and be carefull out there :wink:

Regards

Gerry

I totally agree with these guys, be careful out there, stay out of the puddles while playing with electricity. must just be my part of the country they grow the electric panels on the inside, it good to hear about other parts of the world.

Above all Be safe!

In all my years, I’ve only seen two (2) service panels that were located on the interior of the house or garage. . .

Very common to have a panel on the outside of the home here. I’d say 30% of them.

In my area ofthe country ( Virginia ) I would sy 95% of the electrical panels are inside the dwelling or garage. When I was out west doing some seminars I saw alot of them outside…gotta be ready for either.

I would say if you are on an inspection and it is raining…save the panel for when it calms down a little…kinda like I dont walk roofs in the rain…so do other things and in that few hours of an inspection it may calm down a bit.

Be aware of your surrounding, and as Jerry stated aways TICK your panel for “Objectionable Current”…I prefer to use stray voltage for some other areas…lol

I agree with russel…what is rain??? hopefully we get some this weekend.

It is very common around here to see one (or sometimes two) 200 A service panels located right next to the meter, partly because the fire department insists on having an outside disconnect. So most of the time it is just 200A breaker(s), although sometimes you will find a feeder for a well pump there as well. From there the service will be routed to one or two indoor distribution sub-panels.

Thanks everybody, luckily I havent encountered the rain !!

It’s supposed to be here today, along with snow in our local mountains. I don’t mind the “wet,” but I could do without the “cold.” I guess I’ll be wearing a couple extra layers for today’s inspections. . .

Rain? No sweat. Here’s how the pro’s do things:

Sweet !!!

Ask the realtor to do it. :smiley:

I would never ask a Realtor to check the panel but I would be glad to let them hold my hand while they stand in the water.