On 3/22/2011 3:13 PM snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca spake thus:
Now *that* could definitely be the cause of the OP's problem. But a bad or open neutral by itself could not explain that gradually increasing brightness that he described.
I'm beginning to think that Don Klipstein's question--"Are you sure the bulbs aren't CFLs?"--is a pretty good one, even though the OP said they were incandescent ...
I thought you were the guy who had Jesus there to protect you? You should be able to grab one of the mains in each hand and Jesus will save you. Isn't that why you religion freaks say "Jesus Saves".....
So much for your beliefs. I guess I was right, the only purpose of christianity is to rob people of their money. There is no God, except the almighty DOLLAR BILL !!!!!
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Just an fyi the neutral is not safe when it's floating. If it's floating then there is a voltage difference between it and the real ground you are standing on.
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Please don't get your electrical advice from any sales staff no matter who they work for! The suggestion that the "mains have to be cranked down extremely tight" is classic bad information. There is a reason that the labeling in panels includes torque specifications. "Extremely tight" could do as much harm as loose. The terminals are designed for a specific torque so use the correct tool or leave them alone.
As for tightening while energized that is a simple minded thing to attempt. Lugs can fail completely during tightening, especially if they are radically over torqued. That could lead to arc flash burns unless you are wearing an arc flash protective ensemble that is too expensive for a homeowner to own for just their own work and requires extensive training to use effectively.
The bottom line here is that electrical work is not just color to color! Ten percent of all structure fires are electrical in origin. That is one in every ten structure fires people! Although many tasks are within the reach of a talented amateur who is willing to invest the time to learn good technique some are not. The most important thing that a homeowner needs to develop to do electrical work safely is good judgment as to when to call in an electrician. Good judgment may come with experience but experience needn't come from bad judgment. Until you develop a feel for how tight the connections should be by having done hundreds of them you should use a torque wrench or torque screwdriver to do all of your panel terminations.
-- Tom Horne
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Please see my other reply on this topic of tightening the main lugs hot. It is an extremely dangerous task that ought only be done by a properly trained and equipped electrician. Plastic coated tools are no substitute for insulated tools that are wielded by a trained electrician wearing arc flash protective clothing. Attempting to tighten the main lugs of an electric panel while energized can lead to serious injury or death!
-- Tom Horne
messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@q40g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
The power company will come out for free, and turn the power off long enough for you to tighten and inspect the connections.
The problem may be on the power company's connections. They will check their's at the same time.
Our electrical co-op service guy loaned me his 1/2 Allen wrench and propped up on the wall and watched me tighten my side.
messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@q40g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
Arc flash is an unlikely occurence working on a hot feed with no heavy loads turned on. When working on live feeds ALWAYS shut off all load breakers or pull all load fuses so there is no LOAD on the system while working on it. No load means no arc flash unless your tool connects between live and neutral or ground. Common sense and a bit of care - combined with the right tools, will prevent that from happening.
Obviously, it is best to shut off the main before working on the switched side - but it is also good to shut off the main before working on the LIVE side for the same reason.
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In the NY downstate region, if you have an electrical problem, even one that's most likely a meter box or outdoor connection issue, you have to hire an electrician first. He diagnoses the problem and either does the repair, or if it is the utility companies domain, he contacts the power company to make the repair. If it is the power compaies domain, they will reimburse the customer for the electricians service charge.
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messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@q40g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
It would be a bit difficult to get arc flash in loose load wiring, where the current is limited to the load current.
You get arc flash by shorting a high current supply. It can occur downstream from a fuse or circuit breaker, but is worse on service wires. In a house, it could be from an allen wrench shorting H-N service wire terminals where there is likely 5,000 to 10,000A available for short circuit current, with minimal overcurrent protection upstream from the utility. The allen wrench vaporizes into a conductive plasma that can maintain the arc. Vaporized metal expands rapidly - an explosion. Heat can produce severe burns, as can vaporized metal condensing on you skin. And the explosion can produce shrapnel, like the remains of the allen wrench. You can get killed several different ways.
A metal tool shorting two legs (or hot and ground/neutral) together would be a heavy load, no?
Yes it would (for less than a second). I know that from first hand experience. I had a pair of needle nose pliers go phase to phase in a
240V panel. A sprinkler guy said he saw a flash from both doors of the electrical closet and then the lights on the entire floor went out.Lesson learned.......When changing a breaker in a hot panel, if you don't have the correct sized nut driver in your tool pouch, go get it. Do not use needle nose pliers.
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