The lights flicker in my Mother-in-laws park model mobile home. Trying to track down the problem, we turned on the oven, and the lights got BRIGHTER. Turn off the oven and they dimmed down. Light flicker also happens when oven is not in use, maybe 2- 4 times per hour. Any one know the problem and how to fix? Unit is fed by a 50A 240V 1 phase service fed from resort distribution system. Resort maintenance have been called, and all they did was change the breaker, which did not help. Now they say it is her problem. Any suggestions?
A bad neutral or hot, yes. A ground, never. You could disconnect the grou nd connection and if the hots and neutral are ok, you would see no differen ce in light brightness or flickering. You trumpets really don't know much a t all and should stop taking about things you don't understand.
Explain how a ground can make the lights flicker in an otherwise properly working system, ie hots, neutrals are good.
Explain how removing a ground from the system that is otherwise properly functioning is going to cause the lights to flicker.
Wrong. The functioning neutral is where almost all the current is flowing and will continue to flow and removing the ground from an otherwise functional system will not cause the lights to flicker. IF it does, then you have other problems, eg a loose neutral. You really shouldn't give advice on subjects you know nothing about. So far, that's electricity and gun control.
Ground return Neutral exists basicallyonly in a small part of uber-rural Saskatchewan and I belirve small pockets in Oklahoma and kansas? Also uber-rural Nevada.
It's called SWER - Single Wire Earth Return.
Still common in the Australian Outback - "Mandeno's Clothesline"
" If the lights get dim pour some salt water around the power pole"
We must be thinking of different things. I'm thinking of two hot wires along with a neutral that also serves as equipment ground. Line to neutral/ground is 120. Line to line is 240.
That's the "normal" north American system, where the neutral does nor "serve as" the safety ground, but IS "bondedto" the safety ground. A bad connection on the "safety ground" will have no effect on the voltage on the circuits - only the "neutral" or "common". Because the system is a "center tapped 240" system, with 120 on each side of the line, if the neutral has a high resistance the transformer acts as a "voltage devider" and the rules applying to a series connected pair of resistors applies.
The transformer acts as a "voltage devider" - the voltage is shared proportionately to the load. With a "lifted neatral" and no load on one side of the line,and a heavy load on the other side of the line, the unloaded side will approach 240 volts, while the loaded side will aproach zero. If the loads are 100% balanced they will both get 120, andif one is roughly half the other, the low load side will see something like 180, and the high load will see something close to 60.
I know my numbers are not likely 100% accurate as I haven't stopped to do the figures, but the general description is true - and that's all I'm trying to explain here.
A bad "neutral" at the panel, on the meterbase, or "at the pole" will allow the voltage to "float" with varyingload from leg to leg.
A bad "safety ground" cannot do this as it carries no load current.
As an interesting offside - on a totally ballanced circuit the neutral also carries NO CURRENT WHATSOEVER.
The "safety ground" ONLY carries "fault current" when the line is shorted to "ground" by a fault.
he ground connection and if the hots and neutral are ok, you would see no d ifference in light brightness or flickering. You trumpets really don't know much at all and should stop taking about things you don't understand.
The above was where I was coming from too. If the system is otherwise intact and functioning correctly, a bad ground connection won't cause the lights to flicker or change intensity, because whatever small current i s flowing in the ground instead of the neutral, it's orders of magnitude less, to the point that it's insignificant.
I thought one side of transformer tap could increase when other gets loaded down. Just from memory. Only if there is a light load on the one side. Happened to me at least once.
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