[Boatanchors] Re: power problems?

[Ian]

Eugene,

Were I having that problem, I'd first call the power company and explain
your problem and see what they can do to advise you.  If you're in a rural
area and near the end of a line there could be insufficient capacity on
their transformer due to new construction along the line over the years
without an updating of the capacity.  Or even in a city area you might be on
a line where the transformer hasn't been upgraded over the years as new
houses and increases in the load has become much heavier.  The power company
wants you to use as much electricity as possible and they might well send
one of their employees who is a qualified electrician or, as you suspect
better yet a licensed professional engineer to take a look AT NO COST TO
YOU.

As suggested by others, you should have a 200 A MAIN PANEL and the wire
coming from the pole should be sufficient for 200A.

The observation someone made that it's likely the capacity of the main drop
to the house is probably pretty much the main problem.

You should be able to at least "eyeball" the size of the 3 wires feeding the
breaker panel.  (Either overhead or if underground see what they looks like
coming into the bottom of the main panel.)  Around here if they were
overhead and separate wires, with flaking insulation or even bare areas, I'd
immediately think they're under sized and were probably sufficient for a 65A
feed when the house was built but not upgraded when things went to 200A.
The feed from the pole likely wasn't properly upgraded when the house main
panel was upgraded to 200A.   That would usually require the power company
to be involved and an electrician tries to do things him/herself to get the
job done faster and without having to involve the power company.  Was the
change to 200A done with proper permits and inspection?

My house, built in the mid 1950s had 65A service overhead and in the early
1970s I put in a 100A underground feed main panel.  I now wish I'd put in a
200A panel but it was nearly 3X the cost of the 100A one and as a teacher
funds were tight at the time and I was doing all my own work and wiring (and
it passed the building inspectors with no problem).  The power company put
in the underground feed in the hand dug trench I dug 3 feet deep from the
power pole to the new panel underground end of the feed conduit.  I do feed
a sub panel at the other end of the house with a 50A main breaker and that
feeds a major addition that I put on the house several years later. 

What size are the main breakers for the sub panels?  By eye how large is the
wire feeding them?   Remember that the wire has to be larger as the distance
between the sub panel and the main panel becomes longer.

I would think 220/240, as suggested by somebody would be a smart move and
get your amplifier on it to stop the flickering of the lights.  Too bad your
pump isn't 220/240...  That might help a lot.  And were it mine, I'd feed it
from the main panel and not one of the sub panels.

Just my 1 cent worth because it's probably not worth 2 cents!  <grin>

Good luck.  I hope you get a "fix" without a lot of cost.

Ian, K6SDE





> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:boatanchors-
> >>bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Eugene Hertz
> >>Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:19 PM
> >>To: WB6BLV; boatanchors at mailman.qth.net; greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
> >>Subject: [Boatanchors] Re: power problems?
> >>
> >>Thanks, John and list members
> >>
> >>House has 200 amp service. Service comes into the garage. There is a
large (coupla feet
> >>tall) load center (breaker panel) there for half of the house filled
with breakers. Then
> >>there is another large panel in the basement (same size, coupla feet
tall) which is fed from
> >>the one in the garage nearly all full. This has the other half the house
on it. Service was
> >>installed around 2000 and the wiring is mostly new. Although the wiring
in the shack is
> >>probably from 1962 when the old part of the house was built. Then about
half the house
> >>was added in 2000 with new wire.
> >>
> >>I suspected the main feed from the pole was undersized for this
reason... Although the
> >>well pump is connected to the panel in the basement, lights connected to
the main panel
> >>in the garage still dim for a split second when the pump kicks on/off.
Well pump is brand
> >>new (2 wire, not 3 wire) about 4 months old. So it makes me think that
the load is causing
> >>a voltage drop at the main panel, probably due to undersized cable from
the pole.
> >>
> >>What kind of current can your sola's handle?
> >>
> >>Several folks mentioned the sola ferroresonant CVT type products. Here
is a link from
> >>list member W4AMW:
> >>http://www.solaheviduty.com/products/powerconditioning/cvs.htm
> >>
> >>Sounds like I might need to find a local electrical engineer, not just
an electrician to help
> >>figure this one out (there goes the $$$ !)
> >>
> >>Thanks to everyone. I now have some very good avenues to explore
> >>Eugene