Preventing Copper Theft & Wire Theft by Welding, The answer is simply NO!
Welding is NOT NEC or UL compliant and can alter the structural integrity of the equipment, device or pole.
This has been a low cost solution for some only to find out later it was not the most cost effective strategy. These access points are there for a specific reason and will be very costly down the road to repair. Not to mention it goes against codes and/or may adversely affect the integrity of the device.
Fast Cheap solutions will cost you three times or more in the future…
Don’t let metal theft hold you hostage.
In one case with ten 20’ poles with the hand holes welded shut, a ballast went bad tripping the breaker and the Electrician was forced to charge the customer for a lift to troubleshoot in a busy parking lot over customers vehicles or after hours for a higher rate.
What should have been 2 hours of troubleshooting, one hour of repair, a lift for a day, and a ballast turned into 12 hours of troubleshooting, a lift for two days, and the same ballast. The result was an additional $1000 in cost to the customer.
What will happen when (not if) one or more of the other 19 ballasts go out?
There is a better solution – “THE POLELOCK” The Pole Light Wire Theft Prevention Solution