Lost one leg of the 220 volts to my shop the other day

old · Jun 23, 2011

Yep went out the other day to do a little bit in the shop and the radio was not on and the lights would not work Started checking things today and found where the wires go into the shop had rubbed the roof and cut the one line. Mine you this wiring is old as in 20 plus years old and over head run on/in the old brown insulators of years gone by. I almost bet my electric bill will drop some since when I found where the problem was you could tell it had been shorting out off and on for a while. Either way it goes I hate trying to find problems like that

guido · Jun 23, 2011

Hello old,
Is your meter off? I think you nean 240Volts.
Hey!!!.......................... just kidding. I'm glade you found the problem, bare live wires could have cost you the building.
Guido.

Shetland Sheepdog · Jun 23, 2011

Lot harder when it's direct buryed!
BTDT many times over as a lineworker!

old · Jun 23, 2011

Ya that is why I did ot over head years ago. Figured at least that way if something went wrong I could splice it and have it good to go again for a while

old · Jun 23, 2011

All depends on what school you went to 110 or 120 or 220 or 240 all pretty much the same when it comes to AC voltage and who you are talking to as to what the number should be. The one nice thing is, is that this building has extra grounds as does all my buildings so when this type of thing happens it grounds out and causes little or no problems. It did take out a quarter size place in the roofing metal but that was it plus the time it took to find the problem

Shetland Sheepdog · Jun 23, 2011

I still like underground (except for the cost), but only in conduit!

showcrop · Jun 23, 2011

Hey old, do you still have your overhead line held up by the forked stick that you told us about few years ago? Maybe you better trace the installation back a little to check for other rubbing spots.

old · Jun 23, 2011

Different line that one your asking about is a 110 line going to the barn which feeds off of the shop 220/240 lines

old · Jun 23, 2011

Ya I have under ground to the house but it is in pipe and is a good bit heavier then this old stuff to the shop. Plus what I have coming into the house is copper and the stuff to the shop is aluminum

1936 · Jun 23, 2011

ComEd was moving the feed line into my house on the pole and left. That evening everything worked in the house except the cook stove. Called the power co. and they came out and checked the feed lines at the meter and only had one line hot. Guy told me that if I did not have a 220 stove I would have never know it and the meter would only turn at half speed and I would have had all the power I ever needed at half the cost. He also said they know about how much power a house uses - so free meals.

Tony in Mass. · Jun 23, 2011

Did you find the problem? We buried wires when I was a kid- mid 70's? Aluminum was just becoming legal, and cheap, so my dad buried the old copper wire to the garage, and went to the shop with heavy [#?] aluminum. Since then, never a problem with the copper line, had to -not dig up, but remove and clean all the terminals of the alum. about every 10-12 years. Corrodes differently, faster anyway, and always like yours, 110v lights came on, no 220 compressor etc. good luck

old · Jun 23, 2011

Have it fied. Where it goes in to the shop the wire was rubbing the roof metal and that in turn cut into it and that shorted things out so I have it fixed and added a better shield over it where it goes in so maybe I'll not have to why about it for say another 20 years. Hope it also helps cut my power bill some but if I know my luck it will not

buickanddeere · Jun 23, 2011

Sorry, BS on the half the cost idea.
My Maternal GrandFather took pride in wiring his and anybody else's 240V water heater to 120V. He was convinced water heating cost was cut n half.
All he did was turn the 4800W heating elements into 1200W heating elements.

36 Coupe · Jun 26, 2011

Aluminum underground is trouble.A water heater on the 240 line can feed the dead side when it comes on and give you dim lights.Found a lot of dead sides doing appliance service over the years.Worked on aluminum wound welders where the wire just breaks.I put copper underground to feed my shop in 1968,no problems.My first radio shop was fed with an over head line.Can still be done.

JMOR · Jun 26, 2011

(quoted from post at 23:19:22 06/23/11) Sorry, BS on the half the cost idea.
My Maternal GrandFather took pride in wiring his and anybody else's 240V water heater to 120V. He was convinced water heating cost was cut n half.
All he did was turn the 4800W heating elements into 1200W heating elements.

o, the power company man was correct. If a 240 power meter looses one line, it only is powered by the remaining line and will in fact register less for the same load. To be clear, both line 1 & line 2 hot to meter & 100watt bulb driven by L1, it registers 100w-hr in a hour, BUT only L1 hot (L2 dead), the same bulb resisters much less (~ half) than the 100w-hr in one hour.
That of course is not what your grandpa was doing.

old · Jun 26, 2011

Ah but the reason I said my bill should be a lot less now is because that wire that got cut is no longer shorting out to ground so that dead short will no longer be eating power and $$

Lost one leg of the 220 volts to my shop the other day

old

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guido

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Shetland Sheepdog

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old

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old

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Shetland Sheepdog

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showcrop

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old

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old

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1936

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Tony in Mass.

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old

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buickanddeere

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36 Coupe

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JMOR

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old

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