All new breakers, outlets and switches done by an electrician, he can't figure out the problem. The power goes out and comes back on with no warning, doesn't trip the breakers. I don't know what else to check. Could it be outside the house?
2006-12-18 02:12:53 · 17 answers · asked by Garrett O 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The power that is supplied to you house is in phases. You have lost one of the 2 or three phases that the power company supplies to your home. Call them, they will send some one out to repair. it is their problem and should cost you nothing.
2006-12-18 02:15:51 · answer #1 · answered by lucidity4 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Residential homes typically have single phase service while industrial customers have 3-phase service, so I would disregard the previous answer about phases. This is not the problem. On the other hand, you usually have two, 120 volt feeds that are in-phase with each other. When they are both connected to a load, you have a 240 volt supply.
One 120 volt feed usually supplies everything on the left side of your service panel while the other feed supplies the right side of the panel. If the interrupted circuit is from loads all served from one side of the panel then you probably have a bad connection from one of these feeds serving the panel. The feeds run from the utilities lines to your meter and from the meter to the panel. It is the utilities problem only if it occurs before or at the meter.
If you did not have this problem before your electrician upgraded your service, then he should fix it at no charge. Then again if he can't figure it out, you may want to get another electrician or contact your utility.
2006-12-18 02:42:24 · answer #2 · answered by RJS 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You may need to replace the main breaker--could be bad on one side of a leg-- overheating --loosing connection on and off. Take the panel cover off and inspect for high heat / damage--also at this time look for loose connection on the two incoming power wires feeding into the main--both of these can cause your problem >> likely cause. Strange that a "electrician" can not figure out a electrical problem such as this . Merry Christmas.
2006-12-18 19:23:56 · answer #3 · answered by Spock 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
RJS and TonyS are correct. This usually happens at the 'weather head'. That is where the connection from the electric company comes to your house. This is, of course, only true if your service comes in from above groud source. Many companies consider this point to be the termination of there responsibility - not the meter. Which is BS! But, true. If your electrician wasn't able to figure this out, he or she is no electrician! Have the electrician pull of the panel cover and test voltage on each leg coming in. If there is no power at one of them, that is the problem. If it is below ground service, you still need to check the service to the meter. Remember these guys will charge you if it is not their problem!
Good Luck!
2006-12-18 13:11:06 · answer #4 · answered by macncletus 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your elcetrical panel has 2 legs. 110 volt breakers are connected to one leg and 220 volt breakers are connected to both legs.
If you're losing power to aproximately half the house at a time it's probably loss of power to one leg. If you are losing power to part of the 110 volt circuits and all 220 power, it's definitely loss of power to one leg. Have a qualified electrician check each leg coming into the house while you are experiencing partial power loss. If a leg coming into the house is dead, call the power company. If both legs are live coming into the house, have an electrician check each leg in the panel
2006-12-18 02:44:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
everything worked before electrician did work? he should have a tester to local problem, but it sound like one of the two legs of power are loose at the breaker panel, meter pole and or at the supply line from the power company. have electricion check it out and u may have to call the power supplier. did he pull a permit to do the work?
2006-12-18 02:22:21 · answer #6 · answered by john t 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
#1 try another electrician, #2 have yourself a voltage tester handy to test the power at the main breaker so the next time the power outage happens you can make sure you have 110v - 120v on both both phases of the incomming power. to test this properly you must test from ground to the main set screw connections of the breaker, both should read 110v-120v, and then test both main breaker connections to read 220v-240v. if this dose not read that way during the power outage, it means that the utilliy company has a loose connection or faulty equipment on thier end
2006-12-18 03:36:25 · answer #7 · answered by Justin W 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This may require that electrician to return. The connections either on the meter box or the main breaker box may be loose. The connections need tightened eventually from expansion.
2006-12-18 02:23:21 · answer #8 · answered by Lamont 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i wish i had more info about your situation.
what happens to the appliances that run at 240 volts?
is there still a voltage from one phase to the other phase when this happens?
hire a real electrician would be my first thought. a good electrician who understands theory wouldn't have a hard time figuring out a problem like this after taking some voltage readings.
2006-12-18 16:29:17 · answer #9 · answered by the4biddendonut 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had this problem. The power company had to come out and do repairs on the lines outside. It had nothing to do with volts or anything like that. It was a bad wire on the lines. Good luck!
2006-12-18 03:02:35 · answer #10 · answered by City 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋