Observations on a UPS - follow up to a previous post
Doc wrote:
On Aug 12, 8:45 pm, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:
My experience -- at least where I live -- is that the power is off for a
fraction of a second, or hours. There's rarely anything in-between.
In general, I'd say that's my seat of the pants impression too, though
not always. I also notice they'll often come in clusters.
The transformer - if that's the correct term for it - big gray
basically cylindrical unit on top of a power pole - near my house blew
once. Powerful **BOOM** and a huge column of flame. Not sure what the
fuel for the flame was, do they have oil in them? Also a bit
disconcerting since anyone nearby surely would have been in jeopardy
from flaming debris.
Needless to say, power was out for a while on that one.
Yes that transformer on top of the pole is what blew. The fuel was the
oil that acted as a dielectric insulator and heat dissipator. Older
versions have the liquid filled with PCBs (polybrominated biphenyls).
That stuff is quite hazardous.
FK
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