Electrical Engineering - Is Edison responsible for power loss in house?

Author

Is Edison responsible for power loss in house?

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com

2006-08-13, 1:25 pm

Last week we lost all power in the house. When the power was restored,
we had only partial power. I called Edison to report it. They said
several thousand customers had a power outage. They asked me to turn
off all the breakers for two minutes, then turn them back on and i
should have all power, but we had only partial power. Edisom came out
and checked all the circuits and GFCIs and all were fine. When i
mentioned the outage, he said my problem didn't have anything to do
with the outage., that i should call an electrician. I'm wondering if
he said this to not make Edison responsible.Could the partial power
loss have been caused by Edison? If so, how would i prove it?

Nirodac

2006-08-13, 1:25 pm

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com wrote in
news:1155485071.853439.83510@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

> Last week we lost all power in the house. When the power
> was restored, we had only partial power. I called Edison to
> report it. They said several thousand customers had a power
> outage. They asked me to turn off all the breakers for two
> minutes, then turn them back on and i should have all
> power, but we had only partial power. Edisom came out and
> checked all the circuits and GFCIs and all were fine. When
> i mentioned the outage, he said my problem didn't have
> anything to do with the outage., that i should call an
> electrician. I'm wondering if he said this to not make
> Edison responsible.Could the partial power loss have been
> caused by Edison? If so, how would i prove it?
>
>

I assume you mean, some CIRCUITS work and some don't.

If thats the case then Edison gave you the right information
in resetting the breakers.
Did you reset the MASTER breaker in your panel also.

Edison, I would think, verified that you had both phases at
the breaker panel

Sounds like you may have lost one of the two feeds coming into
your location. Is it all the breakers on one side of the
panel that have no power?

If thats the case have an electrician verify the incoming
power feeds to your panel, then check the master breaker.

I going a long way here on assumptions.
And if your not familiar with AC power, DON'T, remove the
breaker panel cover, it could be deadly!!!

gfretwell@aol.com

2006-08-13, 1:25 pm

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:59:20 GMT, Nirodac <nirodac@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Is it all the breakers on one side of the
>panel that have no power?
That is not how the busses are arranged. It is every other slot so a 2
pole breaker will pick up both phases.

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com

2006-08-13, 1:25 pm

Correct. Some circuits work and some don't. I turned off the master
breakers and all the other breakers as requested by Edison.According to
them, all the breakers have power.
Nirodac wrote:
> shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com wrote in
> news:1155485071.853439.83510@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
>
>
> I assume you mean, some CIRCUITS work and some don't.
>
> If thats the case then Edison gave you the right information
> in resetting the breakers.
> Did you reset the MASTER breaker in your panel also.
>
> Edison, I would think, verified that you had both phases at
> the breaker panel
>
> Sounds like you may have lost one of the two feeds coming into
> your location. Is it all the breakers on one side of the
> panel that have no power?
>
> If thats the case have an electrician verify the incoming
> power feeds to your panel, then check the master breaker.
>
> I going a long way here on assumptions.
> And if your not familiar with AC power, DON'T, remove the
> breaker panel cover, it could be deadly!!!

Nirodac

2006-08-13, 1:25 pm

gfretwell@aol.com wrote in
news:r3nud2p7cvbibea4j45ndhvlrpu7vu2ld6@4ax.com:

> On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:59:20 GMT, Nirodac
> <nirodac@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> That is not how the busses are arranged. It is every other
> slot so a 2 pole breaker will pick up both phases.
>

Yeah, that's correct, sorry my bad, I new that, mind fart I
guess.

Sooo, my post should have read, is it every second breaker
(circuit)on BOTH sides of the panel, that seem dead.

I should also have added, If you turn your cloths dryer (High
heat setting) or electric stove ON, do some of the circuits seem
to have partial power. If so, then you've lost one phase,
either from the utility company, or one of your two master
breakers.

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com

2006-08-13, 5:28 pm

We don't lose more power if the stove or dryer are used. The power loss
is the same. Nirodac wrote:
> gfretwell@aol.com wrote in
> news:r3nud2p7cvbibea4j45ndhvlrpu7vu2ld6@4ax.com:
>
>
> Yeah, that's correct, sorry my bad, I new that, mind fart I
> guess.
>
> Sooo, my post should have read, is it every second breaker
> (circuit)on BOTH sides of the panel, that seem dead.
>
> I should also have added, If you turn your cloths dryer (High
> heat setting) or electric stove ON, do some of the circuits seem
> to have partial power. If so, then you've lost one phase,
> either from the utility company, or one of your two master
> breakers.

Nirodac

2006-08-15, 3:25 am

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com wrote in
news:1155503491.197999.213180@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

> We don't lose more power if the stove or dryer are used.
> The power loss is the same. Nirodac wrote:
>
>

No No, you miss understood what I was saying.

If you turn on your dryer, the heater element (electric dryer
that is) will be placed across your two phases of power (240
volts). If one phase is missing, the current from the one
remaining phase will feed back, through the heater element,
and try and power the circuits on the other phase, which are
NOT powered from the missing phase. Lights should glow dimly.
Don't try any motor powered devices as this could damage the
motor.

However am I right in guessing, you are implying, your stove
and dryer are working, if so, you must have both phases.

It would be really odd for more than one breaker to fail at a
time. Is it every second breaker/circuit that has failed.

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com

2006-08-18, 1:25 pm

The problem has been solved. One outlet, which was actually working had
a bad wire. I diddn't think a hot outlet could still be the source of
the problem. Thanks.
Nirodac wrote:
> shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com wrote in
> news:1155503491.197999.213180@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:
>
>
> No No, you miss understood what I was saying.
>
> If you turn on your dryer, the heater element (electric dryer
> that is) will be placed across your two phases of power (240
> volts). If one phase is missing, the current from the one
> remaining phase will feed back, through the heater element,
> and try and power the circuits on the other phase, which are
> NOT powered from the missing phase. Lights should glow dimly.
> Don't try any motor powered devices as this could damage the
> motor.
>
> However am I right in guessing, you are implying, your stove
> and dryer are working, if so, you must have both phases.
>
> It would be really odd for more than one breaker to fail at a
> time. Is it every second breaker/circuit that has failed.

Nirodac

2006-08-19, 3:25 am

shareyourknowledge@hotmail.com wrote in
news:1155913490.785034.64040@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

> The problem has been solved. One outlet, which was actually
> working had a bad wire. I diddn't think a hot outlet could
> still be the source of the problem. Thanks.
> Nirodac wrote:
>
>

Thanks for the follow-up, always nice to know the final
outcome.

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