The power is all cut off.
whatever circuits are desired to keep can be easily identified.
The others, simply trace back the color of your choice.
Place the battery, not at the box, but at the outlet, switch, junction box of choice and one can locate all the outlets, switches, etc on that circuit.
I've done it several times using even a ohm meter. And a long length of wire.
While you're at it is also possible to check leakage to emt.
fwiw, pulling in new wire and cleaning up any past fubars may be a good option for op.

Joel I worked for the power company for 40 years. Make sure there isn't any step down transformers in the garage. The last thing you want to do is backfeed one and kill yourself. I don't know how it is up there but for us once a service was removed the building had to be inspected and brought up to code.



Mike

Same here in So Cal.

Once we disconnect the service line. There must be an inspection to energize again.

You might try calling the electric company and try to see if they have a record of the service voltage that was last used on the account.

Is the meter still there? Sometimes it is and it will have a serial number in it that will help when you call into the electric company

You should also find out what voltage is available.

What might have been available to that location 10 years ago might not be available now. Typically would apply to 3 phase power. Facilities may have been removed if they only served that building. Or only served yours and other buildings that have been also removed.

Sometimes they put service poles to feed gas station storage tank monitoring equipment. That could be the last service ran to the property. That may have a slightly different address depending on where it was on the property or to distinguish it different than the building.

You can also get very good educated guesses on available voltage by seeing what services are fed from the secondary distribution overhead wire. Like if a house is also feed by pole that also would feed your building; it’s probably 120/240v 3W 1ph.

But it could have two sets of secondary distribution wires. The second might be 3 phase. Or might be duplicate voltage of the first. But then you know to keep investigating and follow wires back to feeding transformer or transformer bank (3-ph).

There was a three phase service, and a single phase service. The three-phase was used for the convenience store coolers and for the 25 hp carwash pump, maybe other stuff too. I don't need any three-phase, that is all going to be abandoned. Single phase is enough to run lights, furnace, air conditioner, and well. They also had an off-peak electric water heater that had its own meter and panel.. I don't know if I want to fiddle around with the off-peak, or just wire up to the regular panel.
The building was built in about 83, so it's not like I have a bunch of old most chewed cloth covered knob and tube stuff. I just need to sort it out and figure out what I'm going to use and what to abandon. Thanks for all your help guys

Will they let you only bring single phase into the building like you want? If the panels and distribution that's in there now is 3 phase it'll need to be replaced with single phase and that's probably something they would want to see done by an electrician. You might be better off getting an electrician to trace whatever you want at the same time. It does't take them that long and even if they label stuff and you can remove what you don't want yourself the time saved would probably be worth it.

Theres another approach.

If you have and electrical contractor that you like hire them to get the power restored and disconnected the unwanted, and you demo it.

Most power companies require a letter from an ec if power has been off for more than 12 months.

Or you can power it up and hopefully not hurt yourself or someone else or the building.

It’s sounds like there were 3 meters

1 phase
1 phase “off peak”
3 phase

He just wants to use the 1 phase.

Your probably going have to check with your power company and local building dept. They all have different requirements in different areas. You'll probably have to pay an EC to pull a permit and clean things up before the power company will energize the service. They are not going to have any liability put on them. Beings that it is a commercial property the build dept. will probably require that an EC do the work. You might as well find out now as you will have to sooner or later. Talk to your local authority having jurisdiction whether that being the city, county or state..

He didn't know what else is on 3 phase. My point is that if anything still needed is hooked up to 3 phase panel either the panel will need to be replaced or the stuff re-wired to a single phase panel already there. Which is a also good idea to replace those panels either way when it's that old and don't know what's been done to it over the years.

I don't understand the aversion here it seems to 3 phase, it adds a lot of value IMO to a commercial building for future potential owners

True. But place has been vacant over 10 years. Doesn’t exactly sound like potential Walmart property

3ph Service usually cost more per month.

What 3 phase voltage is it? If 277/480 then need step down for 120 stuff. If 120/208 or 120/240 3ph then you can wire 120 1ph circuits.

Sounds like he’s not running any 3 ph equipment

And there’s a service panel and outlets already setup for 1ph.

Sounds like he’s just is trying to label and account for what’s what.

Sounds like a fun project! Wise move to purchase the acreage adjacent to yours.

I was just at a car lot North of the Twin Cities and the guy there had converted a car wash into his business building. He'd made each wash bay into a separate garage stall with lifts, tools, etc. It was really slick for the car lot needs. Nice looking facility as well.

No need for 3 phase, I will just be using it as office space and storage and a parking stall in the car wash. 3 phase here is a separate meter and a separate billing with a hefty monthly minimum that I don't need. By the time I'm ready to get rid of the place, it will be bulldozer/redevelopment time. Along with my adjacent parcel, I now have 7.5 acres with 800+ feet of frontage on a US highway in a growing outer ring suburb with utilities available. Someone will want that for something big in the future. I just hope I live long enuff for it to pay off!

Beating a dead horse here it seems, not sure I understand why 3 phase costs more from the utility, usually the main power monthly costs are per kw used, 3 phase has no other real downside, if OP ever finds a use for it, like with a "real" compressor, lathe, mill, etc it will be a real plus if functional, all other normal "single phase" equipment can usually run off of a 3 phase system, and if hell bent on downsizing the existing wiring, ditch the single phase distribution. My leaning towards the 3 phase here is assuming its a 120/208V 3 phase, if a higher voltage system, never mind.

3 phase has higher base charges and higher KWh charge. Each voltages served has different rates.

Residential rates are less than commercial rates. Ag rates different than commercial rates. Water pumping rates different than barn/equipment rates... on and on

Commercial rates have levels/classes of avg KW per month. IE: up to 20kW, 21-199kW, etc

With Smart Metering we can do Time of Use rate. So charged different for peak vs off-peak use. Charge you car in middle of night for cheaper off-peak rates.

Your Public Utility Commissions dictates this stuff.

Not sure what your point is here, the Op's application is not residential, and other then maybe the difference in a base monthly charge between an existing 3 phase meter service and an existing single phase metered service, he is still only being charged for the electricity (KW) he uses, nobody should think think 3 phase consumes more kw for the same task, actually it might be slightly less.

It's the cost to the utility. Three phase has to have either 2 or 3 transformers to supply power single phase only 1. So we have to run 3 high voltage power lines,install 3 transformers instead of one. So not only is a 3 phase service higher but the cost of a single phase is higher based on what amp service it is also. So 100amp is less than 200 etc. Each time the amps goes up we have to install bigger wire,transformer,and generate more power.

Exactly

All I need to run is a small office. Maybe I need to find a 3 phase coffee pot.