The weather-head on the electrical system is to keep water from entering the electrical mast when the wires run to the home overhead—-as opposed to going to the house underground.
It also helps protect the wires from mechanical damage as well as orient the wires so that they point down. We don’t want water that runs down the electrical wire to be able to run into the mast. This helps keep water out of the electrical meter box and the electrical panel itself. Water and electrical components brought together in this manner are not a good idea as it can lead to much corrosion of the electrical components. Here is a picture of a proper cap.
There are several defects in this picture—-of which the weather-head is NOT one of them. One of the defects is actually one of the most dangerous defects an inspector can find in a home—-a matter of life and death. The exposed connectors that connect the house wires to the utility company wires should be properly covered as contact between them and the electrical mast could be deadly.
In this next picture we can see where the cap is missing and the top of the pipe is wrapped with electrical tape to keep the water out—-obviously not a proper cap.
This is not a difficult fix—-just needs a proper cap installed by the licensed electrical contractor.
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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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