Need some advice, meter base mounting on wall

[tmcleod]

Hi everyone, this looks like a fantastic forum for my ongoing garage project.

So I'm trying to get power out to a 2-bay pole building garage that I recently bought. I've got about a 200 foot ditch dug to the transformer, conduit buried underneath a driveway, all that stuff done. Now I need to get my 320 amp meter base mounted to the outside wall of the shop.

I'm in Washington state and I can't find any information on requirements for meter bases beyond needing to be sturdy and roughly at eye level with space surrounding to work in. Is there anything else I need to know?

Since the shop sides are metal with vertical ridges, I believe I'll need some sort of standoff. I have some strut channel laying about, should I simply thru-bolt through the meter base, strut channel, and garage wall? Or use the specialized channel nuts...? I've never worked with unistrut before, what's common practice?

I've also heard a little bit about possibly needing plywood behind the meter?

Here's a picture (hope I did that right), the meter is going pretty much right on the corner, I'm thinking I can tie into the corner pole by the door if I need to for strength.



Looking forward to any advice you guys have. Thanks in advance

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Why on earth did u go with a 400a service for a garage?

What loads will u have? One man shop?

U should check with your PoCo regarding their specific requirements.

I cant definitively tell in your picture- is there enough flat space for the meter pan?

What is behind the sheetmetal?

 

[dw1]

Hi everyone, this looks like a fantastic forum for my ongoing garage project.

So I'm trying to get power out to a 2-bay pole building garage that I recently bought. I've got about a 200 foot ditch dug to the transformer, conduit buried underneath a driveway, all that stuff done. Now I need to get my 320 amp meter base mounted to the outside wall of the shop.

200' for a 320/400 amp service is going to be very costly $$
What size conduit did you run? have you thought about this wire pull any?

I'm in Washington state and I can't find any information on requirements for meter bases beyond needing to be sturdy and roughly at eye level with space surrounding to work in. Is there anything else I need to know?

Since the shop sides are metal with vertical ridges, I believe I'll need some sort of standoff. I have some strut channel laying about, should I simply thru-bolt through the meter base, strut channel, and garage wall? Or use the specialized channel nuts...? I've never worked with unistrut before, what's common practice?

I've also heard a little bit about possibly needing plywood behind the meter?

Here's a picture (hope I did that right), the meter is going pretty much right on the corner, I'm thinking I can tie into the corner pole by the door if I need to for strength.



Looking forward to any advice you guys have. Thanks in advance

Since it looks like your meter is not on a driveway side, I usually mount the center of the meter 5'6" to the center of the meter (Check with your power company as wylie said to see what their requirements are).
You can add 2x6 gerts inside your barn, I added 3/4" plywood ontop of the added 2x6's. My PVC conduit came up into the bottom of the meterbase, I then came out of the back of the meterbase, into the back of my panel- inside my barn. I used unistrut to mount my meterbase to, some have used allthread rod and EMT conduit ******* to hold the meterbase off the wall.
Good luck!!

 

[ard]

So I'm trying to get power out to a 2-bay pole building garage that I recently bought. I've got about a 200 foot ditch dug to the transformer, conduit buried underneath a driveway, all that stuff done. Now I need to get my 320 amp meter base mounted to the outside wall of the shop.

So is this a new parcel, with only a shop and no otehr electric service? And the 320A will be the service for the property? Initially the shop, but perhaps in the future a home?

That might make sense....

In terms of the meter base- I'd want to avoid any material that degrades in water being on the outside. I.e. Plywood. If the meter can straddle two of the ribs, I'd support them on the inside with unistrut, stand offs, even wood that conforms to the shape- and bolt the meter base to the ribs. Silicone caulk at all penetrations. Maybe even flashing to deflect water away.

 

[tmcleod]

Why on earth did u go with a 400a service for a garage?

What loads will u have? One man shop?

U should check with your PoCo regarding their specific requirements.

I cant definitively tell in your picture- is there enough flat space for the meter pan?

What is behind the sheetmetal?

The 400a service was actually a choice by the previous owner, who bought the meter base and other hardware but never got the power project done. I realize that's a lot of power but that's where we're at. Possibly have another structure on the parcel someday.

Flat space for meter pan...not sure, are we referring to just a flat spot on the wall? My issue is the corrugated nature of the wall and not being sure what the best practice is for mounting to it.

Behind the siding are horizontal 2x6's fastened to posts. Behind the 2x6's is (slightly thicker than) 3/16 thick plywood sheeting.

If I use unistrut as a standoff, can I just bolt all the way through the meter, unistrut, and wall?

Regarding laws and restrictions, the only thing anyone has told me so far is that it has to be sturdy and at eye level, so I thought I'd throw it out there and see if any potential WA state folks on the forum might have additional input.

I appreciate the help so far. Going to try to clean up the ditch today and lay the cable...anyone have advice on keeping a ditch clear and clean when it rains every day?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Oh ok so u have a 400a meter pan.

Has the PoCo said they would install a 400a service?

Just because u have a 400a meter pan doesnt mean u have to have 400a service hooked to it.

 

[tyme2par4]

The 400a service was actually a choice by the previous owner, who bought the meter base and other hardware but never got the power project done. I realize that's a lot of power but that's where we're at. Possibly have another structure on the parcel someday.

Flat space for meter pan...not sure, are we referring to just a flat spot on the wall? My issue is the corrugated nature of the wall and not being sure what the best practice is for mounting to it.

Behind the siding are horizontal 2x6's fastened to posts. Behind the 2x6's is (slightly thicker than) 3/16 thick plywood sheeting.

If I use unistrut as a standoff, can I just bolt all the way through the meter, unistrut, and wall?

Regarding laws and restrictions, the only thing anyone has told me so far is that it has to be sturdy and at eye level, so I thought I'd throw it out there and see if any potential WA state folks on the forum might have additional input.

I appreciate the help so far. Going to try to clean up the ditch today and lay the cable...anyone have advice on keeping a ditch clear and clean when it rains every day?

Personally I would bolt the strut to the wall, then bolt the meter base to the strut. That way, if you ever have reason to remove or replace the meter base, it's just a couple short bolts to the strut.

 

[tmcleod]

Oh ok so u have a 400a meter pan.

Has the PoCo said they would install a 400a service?

Just because u have a 400a meter pan doesnt mean u have to have 400a service hooked to it.

Yes, the plan for new 400 amp service has already been approved by PUD. They didn't have any problems with it at all, and I went over it all with their engineer.

Since I've never worked with unistrut before, are those nuts sufficient to hold the meter base up with the strut channel vertical? Or should I do vertical standoffs and two horizontal struts fastened to them that the meter would then be bolted to?

 

[Furd50]

I would mount the Unistrut horizontally, bolting through the strut and siding with reinforcing blocking inside. Then using the spring-mounted nuts bolt the meter pan to the strut. I would use no less than 3/8 inch bolts and use flat washers inside the meter pan.