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House electrical problem?

G

George

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi there
Is there anything, (apart from spikes) that could be wrong with an
electrical supply that would cause what appears to be higher than average
failures of electrical items?

I have had the electric company come out and do a test which involved
leaving a device plugged into a socket over a weekend and they said the
results were fine, with a good earth. Recently our landlord had an
electrician come and do something which involved taking all the bulbs out of
the lights and plugging another device in for 20 minutes or so, again it got
the all clear.

Yet we seem to go through electrical items very quickly, the most recent
being my PC monitor which burned out at the weekend. The kettle went a
couple of weeks ago, my PC PSU went bang just before that, the transformer
in a VCR went, our TV died a few times after repairs, bulbs blow frequently,
the cooker went bang about two months back, the red lights on sockets in the
kitchen blew etc.

So is it just coincidence or could there be something wrong with the supply
that the above tests don't look for or missed due to the short test period?

It's an AC UK supply.

tia
 
A

Andrew Gabriel

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi there
Is there anything, (apart from spikes) that could be wrong with an
electrical supply that would cause what appears to be higher than average
failures of electrical items?

I have had the electric company come out and do a test which involved
leaving a device plugged into a socket over a weekend and they said the
results were fine, with a good earth. Recently our landlord had an
electrician come and do something which involved taking all the bulbs out of
the lights and plugging another device in for 20 minutes or so, again it got
the all clear.

Yet we seem to go through electrical items very quickly, the most recent
being my PC monitor which burned out at the weekend. The kettle went a
couple of weeks ago, my PC PSU went bang just before that, the transformer
in a VCR went, our TV died a few times after repairs, bulbs blow frequently,
the cooker went bang about two months back, the red lights on sockets in the
kitchen blew etc.

The mind boggles.
So is it just coincidence or could there be something wrong with the supply
that the above tests don't look for or missed due to the short test period?

It's an AC UK supply.

If you have a TN-S system (see uk.d-i-y FAQ for supply type
identification: http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/electrical.html#system )
then a connection between neutral and earth in your house or in the
supply near your house can cause voltage spikes which significantly
shorten the life of filament lamps. The spikes happen when someone
else on a different phase has an accidental short to earth, so it
would only be likely to show up significantly in a residential area
where there are many homes on a 3-phase circuit with TN-S earthing.
Never heard of it damaging other appliances though. If you have RCDs
and the neutral-earth short is on the load side of them, it will
cause them to trip usually.

Another possibility is someone on your supply, probably a different
phase, is running a load like a heavy duty arc welder. This might
cause spikes due to neutral impedance. Filament lamps are particularly
sensitive to fluctuating supplies -- it causes amplified fluctuations
in their light output. Is any such effect visible?

In the worse case of a disconnected neutral in the supply and you
getting something approaching the 400V phase-to-phase voltage
momentarily, I can't see that blowing neon lamps on socket outlets
unless it was for a sustained period.
 
P

Paul

Jan 1, 1970
0
I had a similar problem with lamps (filament, fluorescent and sodium), tv,
video, cash register, coolers, fridges and a whole range of other items
constantly going wrong. Our electric company plugged a data recorder in for
two weeks and eventually traced the fault to other peoples "economy 7"
cutting out all at the same time (11pm) causing an over voltage of the
system. They then dropped the supply voltage from their transformer and all
has been fine since. The supply company then connected another data
recorder for another week for reassurance purposes. I don't think 20mins or
two days test is enough to highlight a problem like this, but it may be
worth your while asking your neighbours if they have the same problems, at
least 5 doors either side. I asked the site next door to us and they were
also blowing a lot of lamps which also suddenly stopped after the electric
company been.
Regards, Paul F.
 
G

George

Jan 1, 1970
0
George said:
Hi there
Is there anything, (apart from spikes) that could be wrong with an
electrical supply that would cause what appears to be higher than average
failures of electrical items?

Thanks for the replies. Our electric went off yesterday, (uncommon really)
for about 5-10 seconds and now the video won't work. Switch it off and on
and it comes on briefly then goes off again. Sigh.
 
G

George

Jan 1, 1970
0
George said:
Hi there
Is there anything, (apart from spikes) that could be wrong with an
electrical supply that would cause what appears to be higher than average
failures of electrical items?

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.
 
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