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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 12:02:28 PM

housesub4you

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Well, at least we are all on the right track get it checked out fast. You learn something everyday. (makes note to harrass H.S. Shop teacher and english teacher to)

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 12:23:56 PM

popeye1250

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If the land lord/lady don't get an electrician in there to fix it right away just go to the nearest Fire Station and report it.
They'll do something about it.
They don't want to be going to house fires at 0300 in the morning for something that could have been prevented by proper maintainence.

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 12:34:04 PM

E2Sweet

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Sounds like random over-voltages. It's possibly a problem in your breaker panel, but could be an issue with the transformer on the pole that feeds power to your dwelling. Yes, indeed report it to your power company immediately. I'd also contact the dwelling owner and let them know you need an electrician to investigate immediately. What you're experiencing is a fairly common cause of electrical fires. While you're waiting for the power company and electrician to show up and investigate, I'd purchase a fire extinguisher (just in case) which will run about $15. They're always good to have around anyway.

Don't try to fight a large electrical fire, and DO NOT splash water on an electrical fire.... Water is a conductor and electricity travels much faster than you can throw/splash/spray it...

Good luck!

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 12:35:49 PM

apiercedkitty

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While an issue with a transformer is rare - they do malfunction. i lost my furnace, hot water heater, most of my ceiling fans and power for over a week before it was diagnosed. Call the electric company and see if they can check their end while an electrician checks the house. Good luck!

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 12:53:10 PM

PanthersMom

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it could be an outside problem, like someone messed with the power lines, but unlikely. in our case i lost many major appliances when a new neighbor took down trees in his yard and pulled down power lines, causing a power surge to hit at least five families. i now have a new fridge, washer, dryer, freezer and a couple tv's. thank god for homeowner's insurance. but since it doesn't cost anything to have the power company check their connection, i'd do that too to cover all the bases.
PM

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 3:23:52 PM

kittinSol

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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

If the land lord/lady don't get an electrician in there to fix it right away just go to the nearest Fire Station and report it.

I knew you had an ounce of sense in there somewhere

.

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 5:21:26 PM

DarkSteven

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I can't visualize how an overvoltage would be possible. I'd suspect a ground connection that failed, probably internittently.

If you don;t have renter's insurance, this would be a darn good time to buy some.

And faery MAY be right about holding back rent in Canada, but that is NOT legal in the US and could get you evicted.

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 5:30:50 PM

Smith117

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lynnxz

I rent a room from a family- and I've lived here for a couple of years now.

Lately- the electrical appliances have taken to blowing the f**k up, and generally scaring the poo out of me. First, an outlet blew, blowing the plastic plug piece across my room. Later on that week, my hair dryer quit in a flurry of sparks and smoke, and this morning, a 2 day old lightbulb exploded out of the fan, showering hot broken glass all over me at 3 in the morning.

Wtf?

I have no clue about electric problems- what's going on?

You've angered the resident of the room. Find a preacher and perform a sayonce, or an exorcism.

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 6:11:12 PM

Sanity

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Over voltage usually occurs when the neutral wire of the circuit is miswired into the other "hot" leg of a panel instead of to the neutral, which is a fairly common amateur mistake. In the USA you generally have two hot legs, a neutral, and a ground coming in to typical homes and apartments. Each hot leg is about 115 volts to neutral but across the two hot legs you have 230 volts, and that higher voltage is used for large appliances and other power hungry devices but when plugged into something designed for 115 volts the things described in the OP occur. But again, measured across to a ground or neutral each incoming power leg should be 115 volts apiece, which is what you should have across the two I I sockets of a standard outlet.

Another way over voltage occurs is if a wire inside a transformer crosses and sends more power down one of the legs than it is supposed to. 130 volts is not uncommon, and that burns out standard light bulbs fairly quickly but they won't explode. You need a little more than that, and transformers do go bad. If you ever hear one explode nearby you'll think it's a stick of dynamite going off.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DarkSteven

I can't visualize how an overvoltage would be possible. I'd suspect a ground connection that failed, probably internittently.

If you don;t have renter's insurance, this would be a darn good time to buy some.

And faery MAY be right about holding back rent in Canada, but that is NOT legal in the US and could get you evicted.

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 7:42:52 PM

Termyn8or

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Sanity is pretty close on this one, but I have done this type of work, I have changed/upgraded several panels, and have also satisfied the toughest electrical inspector in Cleveland.

The MOST likely problem is an intermittent neutral. The best way I can put this in laymen's terms is this, the power coming into your house is not 110, it is 220. However it is center tapped in the middle. It is the neutral at that point and it must have a connection. If not, just like when you charge mismatched batteries, it can overcharge some of them while leaving the others dead, or deader.

It is rare that a problem on the grid or in a transformer would cause the voltage to spike on a regular basis. Anything like that would eventually completely fail, or if it's on the grid, would be corrected. At my shop I had been paid more then once by the power company. That is when the fault is on their end.

This fault can be insidious. I know on many houses in Cleveland, the neutral is fused at the pole. This is not only unnecessary but is stupid. If the house has proper grounding and the neutral is tied to the ground, which it is in most installations, the Earthe is supplying the neutral, but it is not as good a connection as it should be. This can go on for years, and a buddy of mine had it happen. It was the neutral to the pole.

Some lightbulbs alway burned out fast, and there were some other problems. He didn't call me because he knows how to check it out himself. He called the power company, and indeed they admitted that he had a dropped neutral, and in this case the problem was on the transformer up on the pole, so he wasn't the only one affected, but apparently the only one that noticed. To my knowledge anyway. People were calling electricians right and left maybe, I dunno.

Thing is, that is a good option now that I think of it, they should not charge you to check their own lines. Once it gets into the house it costs money, but it may be a good idea to call them first. The problem could be outside and if it is it will be fixed for free in most places. I know here it would. Here they are responsible for the lines up to your meter box, you or the landlord take it from there. But that is here and it might not be the same there.

But still I would call them first.

T

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 8:05:42 PM

Sanity

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That makes sense, it could be. Instead of going to ground / neutral the power is jumping through an ungrounded neutral. Could be. One cause for that would be a loose neutral feeder connection somewhere, at the main coming in being most likely. It should be blackened and burned if that's the case, and the power would be back feeding through a device like a light bulb on one leg back through the neutral circuits and instead of going to ground like it's supposed to it's causing intermittent surges. I've never seen that but it's sure possible, that's how electrical power works.

I still think that the odds are better though, that someone who didn't know what he or she was doing rewired something improperly at the panel or in a junction box somewhere.

That or it's gremlins letting the smoke out of her things. You see, everything electrical runs on smoke, and once you let the smoke out they quit working.

< Message edited by Sanity -- 8/13/2008 8:39:00 PM >

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 8:05:53 PM

candystripper

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There is sinister explanation no one has put forth, and I'll probably get flamed, but WTF.

Here's the deal: if you live in a rented dwelling, your landlord may have decided it's better to get the insurance payout than to stay in the rental biz. He needs the building to be pretty well destroyed to accomplish this, and there aren't many accidentially-on-purpose ways to destroy a building other than arson.

While many people think of arson as pouring gasoline all over the place and throwing a match, that is scarcely the best or only way to commit the deed.

F**k with an old electrical system...not sure how.....and just wait. This works best on buildings which are totally wood-construction and have a natural gas supply, but it can be done to brick, concrete...anything.

Whatever is going on is nothing to f**k with. My advice is move as soon as possible.

candystripper

< Message edited by candystripper -- 8/13/2008 8:12:10 PM >

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 9:34:51 PM

Vendaval

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Do you have a working fire alarm and fire extinguisher in your room? If not the property owners need to install both ASAP. If they do not, then I highly recommend purchasing both items yourself and saving the receipts to present for reimbursement. You can try any hardware store for the alarm and extinguisher. Check the ratings on the fire extinguisher for types of fires. The local fire department can give you the best advice.

Does the family live in the rest of the house?
If so, they are risking their own safety if they do not
fix this problem. That is an important talking point.

Keep written records of what has been happening and when, the days and dates and time you have communicated with the property owner, save your receipts, how much replacing each item has cost you, etc. And taking out renter's insurance is a very good idea.

Can you afford to move into a new place or stay with some friends?

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RE: My room is exploding. - 8/13/2008 10:22:31 PM

philosophy

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..basically, bottom line.......this is a non-trivial problem. It needs to be addressed as soon as possible.......hours rather than days.

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