"Stormin Mormon" wrote:
The one time I saw this, the electrician pulled the lead in wire, that had
been from the meter to the panel box. He set the wire on the ground, and
used his Simpson VOM to read from hot to hot -- there was less than
infinity resistance. I didn't see on his meter how many tens or hundreds of
K-ohms, but there would have been current flow, with 220 VAC applied.

That may be, but you haven't specified anything
significant. How much resistance makes all the
difference in the world.

But the original point was that a single *connection*
that is corroded and offers a high resistance is a fire
hazard, but will *not* cause a higher power bill.
That's how it works.

For a given run of wire, as you are describing, if there
is enough power lost to leakage between the conductors
to raise the power bill significantly, the insulation is
going to suffer serious damage and soon result in a
direct short. But, until there is a short, it will not
reduce the power available to other loads.

Another issue, which obnoxious John wants to discuss, is
a high resistance cable loop. That's a whole different
beastie, and is a very common problem. It *will*
increase the power bill, and might cause damage to
electric motors that require high torque for starting
(motors driving compressors in refrigeration units are
good example).

These are all significantly distinct problems and should
not be confused with each other. The OP's is correct in
saying that his investigation of high power usage lead
him to discover potentially dangerous problems. His
description did not make it clear enough that he knew
the discovered problems were not the cause of the high
power usage, and that lead to some ornery comments by
Mike, who was technically correct but had misread what
the OP meant.


--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Floyd L. Davidson" wrote in message
...
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:
He's not talking resistance -- he's talking about a short circuit. Please
be
sure of your terms before you call someone else names, and insult them.

I've known of houses with broken down insulation in the lead in wire,
creating a high energy bill. So, it's a real condition.

More total bull****. That would burn the house down
long before you got the bill. As Mike said, if the
connection where so hot it was shining brightly in the
daylight... and indeed that is what it would take to
create a high energy bill, and it *would* set fire to
something.

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)