Hooking up the electricity to a home is no amateur job. But then again, I am a qualified electrical engineer and have worked with 10.000 Volt systems for the Provincial Power Conpany. So after Arnoud managed to drive an 8 feet grounding rod into the rocky soil, I went and got me the biggest main lug box, that hooks up to the enormous aluminum cables.
This 200 A box should be enough for many many years.
So finally my 150 ft extension cord to the power pole is obsolete and power now runs into the Home underground.
As the water heater runs on 220, it has a special connection with its own circuit breaker. Water will heat up 4x faster now.
Since our mother is no longer alive, I say it on her behalf: be careful, boy!
I was extremely careful and do respect 200A connections, but you are right, mom would have given me the same advice.
You are one lucky guy when making the connections under live conditions.
PS as a HSE and as a friend I have to say this.
There is a switch in the box on the pole, so I certainly did not connect wires live. That would be irresponsible. But that said, I did have to connect those 3/4″ aluminum cables inside the box at the bottom end that at the top of the box has a live strip. But that is 30cm up from where I was connecting the wires.
But never the less, it is a scary thing to do, as it has a lot of power.