Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
My power comes from a line that is about 2000 feet long and my drop
comes from about the middle. It is just two wires, hot up high and the neutral lower. About a month ago one of my trees took out the neutral before my drop. Nevertheless I still had power. What gives? Eric |
#2
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
On Thursday, 17 October 2019 21:08:13 UTC+1, wrote:
My power comes from a line that is about 2000 feet long and my drop comes from about the middle. It is just two wires, hot up high and the neutral lower. About a month ago one of my trees took out the neutral before my drop. Nevertheless I still had power. What gives? Eric I'm guessing you're American from the phrasing. Here in UK neutral feeds often have multiple ground points. NT |
#3
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
|
#4
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
|
#6
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
On Thu, 17 Oct 2019 23:44:28 -0400, Tom Biasi
wrote: On 10/17/2019 4:08 PM, wrote: My power comes from a line that is about 2000 feet long and my drop comes from about the middle. It is just two wires, hot up high and the neutral lower. About a month ago one of my trees took out the neutral before my drop. Nevertheless I still had power. What gives? Eric Are you sure the lower one is a neutral? Do you have 220 volts available? The top wire is 17,000 volts. The lower is the neutral. Both are tied to a transformer that feeds my house and one across the street. The neutral is also tied to a ground at the pole. There is at least one pole before mine that has a wire going to ground from the neutral. And yes, I did have 220 while the neutral wire was down. I am amazed that the ground could work so well. Maybe it's because the ground here is so wet. Eric |
#7
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
|
#8
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
On 10/18/2019 12:41 PM, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
.... ----- 17,000 -----)Â* (----- 240 ---- Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* )Â* (___.________ Neutral _____ Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* )Â* (Â*Â* |Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* | Â* XÂ*Â* Neutral --+-)Â* (---|--240 ----Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* | Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* |________|Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Gnd Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* | Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Gnd Oops ... those "240" legs are really 120 each. |
#9
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
On Fri, 18 Oct 2019 12:41:25 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
wrote: On 10/18/2019 11:25 AM, wrote: The top wire is 17,000 volts. The lower is the neutral. Both are tied to a transformer that feeds my house and one across the street. The neutral is also tied to a ground at the pole. There is at least one pole before mine that has a wire going to ground from the neutral. And yes, I did have 220 while the neutral wire was down. That's pretty scary, actually. If the ground at the pole was broken, or marginal, the primary would be grounded by your & your neighbor's service ground rods. I.e., your service would be part of the 17,000 volt circuit. In the very worst case, if your grounds were broken, you would have 17,000 volts on your houses' circuits, just waiting for a path to ground. ----- 17,000 -----) (----- 240 ---- ) (___.________ Neutral _____ ) ( | | X Neutral --+-) (---|--240 ---- | |________| Gnd | Gnd I am amazed that the ground could work so well. Maybe it's because the ground here is so wet. Eric Part of it working so well is that most of the current in one leg returns through the other leg. It's only the difference that returns through the ground. E.g., if there were 10 amps of load on 1 leg and 12 on the other, only 2 amps would flow through the ground. When I first saw the line down I was leaving my place. I saw a cable on the ground and thought it was a stay that broke. But then I looked up and could see the neutral was broken, not a cable stay. When I called PSE I told them I had a neutral line down. They told me to treat it as if it was a live wire. I then said "Does that mean I shouldn't lick my finger and touch it?". The woman I was talking to just got silent for a couple beats and then repeated her admonition. Eric |
#10
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
On 10/18/2019 4:14 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 18 Oct 2019 12:41:25 -0400, Bob Engelhardt wrote: On 10/18/2019 11:25 AM, wrote: The top wire is 17,000 volts. The lower is the neutral. Both are tied to a transformer that feeds my house and one across the street. The neutral is also tied to a ground at the pole. There is at least one pole before mine that has a wire going to ground from the neutral. And yes, I did have 220 while the neutral wire was down. That's pretty scary, actually. If the ground at the pole was broken, or marginal, the primary would be grounded by your & your neighbor's service ground rods. I.e., your service would be part of the 17,000 volt circuit. In the very worst case, if your grounds were broken, you would have 17,000 volts on your houses' circuits, just waiting for a path to ground. ----- 17,000 -----) (----- 240 ---- ) (___.________ Neutral _____ ) ( | | X Neutral --+-) (---|--240 ---- | |________| Gnd | Gnd I am amazed that the ground could work so well. Maybe it's because the ground here is so wet. Eric I then said "Does that mean I shouldn't lick my finger and touch it?". The woman I was talking to just got silent for a couple beats and then repeated her admonition. Eric Do you also joke with TSA at airports? |
#11
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
How is this possible?
|
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Britain will be made to pay "as much as possible, for as long as possible" | UK diy | |||
Britain will be made to pay "as much as possible, for as long as possible" | UK diy | |||
Britain will be made to pay "as much as possible, for as long as possible" | UK diy | |||
Is it possible to use the roadside fire hydrants?? | UK diy |