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Author Topic: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?  (Read 7402 times)

Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2017, 01:17:58 PM »

Agreed - lots of certification time spent on conduit fill calculations, but not much time spent on theory and usage, other than for HVAC applications.

Not only that, but all too often a less experienced/qualified person winds up doing hte hands.  Working with an HVAC contractor that had to go to a new home that burned down back around Christmas.  Seems an electrician's helper was left to finish up a few loose ends.  When the homeowner brought him a 120 V baseboard heater to wore up, he volunteered it would be more efficient if it was fed with 220 Volts.

No doubt the lack of a monitoring relay for residential comes down to money.  It simply doesn't happen often enough to justify the extra cost and inconvenience.  I still have customer's complaining about the cost and "headache" of GFCI's where they are required. ::)
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Steve Swaffer

Jonathan Johnson

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Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2017, 12:25:43 PM »

No doubt the lack of a monitoring relay for residential comes down to money.  It simply doesn't happen often enough to justify the extra cost and inconvenience.  I still have customer's complaining about the cost and "headache" of GFCI's where they are required. ::)

...while they have no problem plunking down extra cash for designer light fixtures.
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Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #12 on: March 16, 2017, 10:51:00 PM »

So maybe a missing neutral detection device would be a good plan.  This picture was sent to me last night by my daughter-they had some tree work done, and went to church before the work was finished.  They got a call that there had been an "incident", but all that was damaged was the internet cable and they would be back in the morning and their insurance would cover it.  They are too far away for me to be onsite and help, but that might have been a good thing.  When I saw this picture, grandpa was a little upset that someone left a hazard like this for his grandkids (and kids :) ) to be around.  I told my daughter that with that level of understanding they had no business doing tree work!

They did not notice any lights dimming, etc-which leads me to believe their home was getting its neutral connection through metallic water pipes and/or gas lines connecting the homes on the neighborhood.  I told them to shut off the main breaker and find somewhere else to stay for the night.
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Steve Swaffer

Erik Jerde

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Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2017, 12:23:15 AM »

So maybe a missing neutral detection device would be a good plan.  This picture was sent to me last night by my daughter-they had some tree work done, and went to church before the work was finished.  They got a call that there had been an "incident", but all that was damaged was the internet cable and they would be back in the morning and their insurance would cover it.  They are too far away for me to be onsite and help, but that might have been a good thing.  When I saw this picture, grandpa was a little upset that someone left a hazard like this for his grandkids (and kids :) ) to be around.  I told my daughter that with that level of understanding they had no business doing tree work!

They did not notice any lights dimming, etc-which leads me to believe their home was getting its neutral connection through metallic water pipes and/or gas lines connecting the homes on the neighborhood.  I told them to shut off the main breaker and find somewhere else to stay for the night.

Help me out, I'm not entirely certain what I'm looking at here.  The overhead lines do look a bit janky it it's hard to tell in the dark.
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2017, 01:23:25 AM »

Help me out, I'm not entirely certain what I'm looking at here.  The overhead lines do look a bit janky it it's hard to tell in the dark.

Zoom in on the weatherhead.  The service drop has come untwisted and appears to be missing a conductor...
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"If you're passing on your way, from Palm Springs to L.A., Give a wave to good ol' Dave, Say hello to progress and goodbye to the Moonlight Motor Inn." - Steve Spurgin, Moonlight Motor Inn

Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2017, 12:55:33 PM »

Zoom in on the weatherhead.  The service drop has come untwisted and appears to be missing a conductor...

Exactly-the silver colored messenger strand is broken.  This wire does 2 important functions-it has one steel strand that actually supports the wire, the rest of the strands are aluminum and they provide the neutral connection.

Steve
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Steve Swaffer

ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Is this a floating neutral, or another problem?
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2017, 12:55:33 PM »


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