Replies

1. 
   BillHartmann | Sep 30, 2009 04:24am | #1

   First the POCO does not run a ground from the pole to the house.

   They have a 2 hots and a neutral.

   And having the system grounded or not ground at the house is will not cause surges. It might affect if external surges cause a problem or not.

   Most likely there is a bad connection, often in the neutral in either the power co drop, transformer, or meter connection. But it can be past the meter or in the panel.

   Ge the power co out to check it. And if they don't find anything get an electrician out.

   This can be a serious problem that leads to fire.
   .
   William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

   
   

   ---

   Edited 9/29/2009 9:41 pm by BillHartmann

1. 
   DanH | Sep 30, 2009 04:40am | #3

   Change "back" to "bad"?
   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

2. 
   REempire | Sep 30, 2009 09:04am | #5

   Thanks fro taking the time to reply.

3. 
   Piffin | Sep 30, 2009 02:39pm | #6

   "Most likely there is a bad connection, often in the neutral in either the power co drop, transformer, or meter connection. "On my job we were upgrading the service from 100 amps to 200.
   The electrician got th e new stuff prepped in place and suddenly I was losing one leg in my panel occasionally. Thought maybe he had done something wrong because of the timing following his work prior to power company making the switch over. He came and started running some tests and found that there was corrosion in the old meter box making that leg swing from something like 28 volts to 212 volts 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   DanH | Sep 30, 2009 04:39am | #2

   > Can a faulty ground exacerbate power surges ?

   Yes. Or, to be more precise, a faulty NEUTRAL can CAUSE power surges. (The power company does not run a "ground" between pole and house -- just a bare neutral.) If there is a flaky neutral connection somewhere between the pole transformer and the breaker panel then voltages as much as 200V can be applied to 120V devices, with unpleasant results.

   If this problem began after the power company monkeyed with the wiring, you should call their emergency repair number TONIGHT and have them look for an "open neutral".

   If the problem has been ongoing (and replacing the wiring was an attempt to fix it), you should have an electrician check out things from the service entrance to the breaker panel, looking for self-same "open neutral".

   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
3. 
   Jeff_Clarke | Sep 30, 2009 04:47am | #4

   We had this problem years ago (light bulbs flickering, lasting a month or two, VCRs going bad etc.) - turned out it was a loose/corroded neutral at the street (as mentioned).   I discovered later that the main panel ground connector clamp (at that same time) had corroded apart and had fallen off the water pipe main ground <shudder>.   Didn't have GFIs back then either :o/

1. 
   Piffin | Sep 30, 2009 02:43pm | #7

   "light bulbs flickering, lasting a month or two, VCRs going bad etc"Reminds me of a house I built where they had the same problem.A month after they moved in, they had burned a lot of debris and tree stufff in a big bonfire - right immediately UNDER the power drop coming in and had charred the insulation brittle so some juice was jumping thru.
   Not visibly obvious. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   BillHartmann | Sep 30, 2009 03:32pm | #8

   "had charred the insulation brittle so some juice was jumping thru."That is why I always like to order the solid state electricity when I can.The liquid electricity can be messy..
   William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

1. 
   Jeff_Clarke | Sep 30, 2009 04:53pm | #9

   ... and it's only 10% juice these days anyway ;o)

1. 
   DanH | Sep 30, 2009 11:32pm | #10

   Yeah, and it's likely that Chinese juice to boot.
   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

2. 
   joeh | Oct 01, 2009 06:16am | #13

   Yeah, and it's likely that Chinese juice to boot.

   Yeah, but it's leaded juice.

   Dubble strength that stuff.

   Joe H

2. 
   Piffin | Oct 01, 2009 01:01am | #11

   That's why I'm careful not to turn my cordless drills upside down and spill the electrons on the floor. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   DanH | Oct 01, 2009 02:28am | #12

   You need one of the newer cordless units with the leak-proof batteries.
   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz