just a tip 4 you

[reppy007]

I know there are times when a troubleshooter or a 1 man crew leaves the customer without finding the problem,its fustrating,not being able to help.Blinking lights are the worst ones,some seem to lead to a neutral problem,and some not.To the naked eye all connections look good,could it be a lug on a transformer?Well some of those that can through you for a loop,only to be close to where you started checking voltage at.Ive found several problem areas inside the breaker box,usually @ the neutral lug inside,and the problem is that the really small rivit that holds it in place is broken.At night the pipe that goes from the meter to the breaker box sometimes will glo,the pipe now serving as the neutral trys to return to the system.Iknow some guys wont go that far and stop at the meter,that your choice,usually a small jumper is a quick fix.Also seen the line wires burn up sometimes in the breaker box,a splice will fix that one,i know,some guys wont splice there.But would you splice there if it were your home?And finally the blinking lights call that goes away as soon as you jump out of the truck,thats everyones favorite,one guy i knew used a blow dryer with leads and hooked it up to the meter jaws ,then he would check voltage,never know what the next guy will rig up.

[hotwiretamer]

I know there are times when a troubleshooter or a 1 man crew leaves the customer without finding the problem,its fustrating,not being able to help.Blinking lights are the worst ones,some seem to lead to a neutral problem,and some not.To the naked eye all connections look good,could it be a lug on a transformer?Well some of those that can through you for a loop,only to be close to where you started checking voltage at.Ive found several problem areas inside the breaker box,usually @ the neutral lug inside,and the problem is that the really small rivit that holds it in place is broken.At night the pipe that goes from the meter to the breaker box sometimes will glo,the pipe now serving as the neutral trys to return to the system.Iknow some guys wont go that far and stop at the meter,that your choice,usually a small jumper is a quick fix.Also seen the line wires burn up sometimes in the breaker box,a splice will fix that one,i know,some guys wont splice there.But would you splice there if it were your home?And finally the blinking lights call that goes away as soon as you jump out of the truck,thats everyones favorite,one guy i knew used a blow dryer with leads and hooked it up to the meter jaws ,then he would check voltage,never know what the next guy will rig up.

Fixing problems on the customer side of the meter can be a "double-edged sword". Your company could be held liable for problems later. Temp fixes can get you in trouble also.
Tightening connections, etc. is probably common for lineman to check/fix, but beyond that I would advise them to get an electrician.

[duckhunter]

We use a Super Beast. If you use the adapter, you can at least tell if the neutral problem is on the member's side of the meter. Hotwire is right about it being a 2-edge sword. We generaly will tighten a loose neutral for a member. But we never replace wire. And there are times you can see that a new piece of 4/0 would fix the problem and get the member back in power. We just don't take the chance.

[loose neutral]

Fixing problems on the customer side of the meter can be a "double-edged sword". Your company could be held liable for problems later. Temp fixes can get you in trouble also.
Tightening connections, etc. is probably common for lineman to check/fix, but beyond that I would advise them to get an electrician.

Repairing customer equipment can get you in some really hot water. While you may think you are doing someone a favor, you may also be setting yourself up for a court hearing. If your company policy forbids you to enter a customer's residence or work on customer's equipment, trust me, don't do it. Don't ask me how I know this. ;)

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmmm we also needa keep in mind that our fellow IBEW folks commonly known as Narrowbacks do this stuff for a living and actually feed their familys by doin it.they also are bonded where we aint. I do understand the lil ole lady deal but what happens when she gets it all confused n tells the firemarshall that the guy from the utility said he had it fixed.Its even dangerous to reset a customers main for em nowadays. Just imagine what a trained lawyer would do to you on the stand........... Do you know that a breaker trips for a reason? and did you check out the entire circuit before resetting it? The answer is always gonna be No and they wud make you look like the biggest idiot on the planet and Your company will pay thru the nose for what you tried to do as a courtesy to the customer.

[loose neutral]

You're exactly right Poot, you may also be taking work away from fellow brothers and sisters. In my case, I never even touched the customer's equipment. I did go inside the home because she was an old lady, it was March, and I didn't want her standing outside in the cold. She misunderstood everything that I told her and it ended up in court. You have to be really careful what you say and who you say it to. It shouldn't have to be that way, but unfortunately, it is.

[electriklady]

In the area that I service, I know many electricians...so when the customer has a problem I give them their phone numbers. Most of them are at a loss when they have an electrical problem and ask if I know of any electricians...as a courtesy to the electicians, I carry their cards or have their phone numbers listed in my cell phone, I am more than happy to throw them some business. I have a couple that are very low priced, and if the customer is "on a fixed budget" I will call the electician and mention the "cash flow" problem and they usually cut the customer a break...I have a great working relationship with the electricians in our area...On the other side of the coin if I have to go in and convert an old A-base meter to a socket, it is not uncommon for me to render the customer permanently "lightless" just by the act of turning their power off. I could throw in a quick jumper, but I dont do that...I carry extra blocks with me and will replace the block if the lug or lugs will not tighten back up...after all they had lights until I arrived to change the meter so I feel an obligation to leave it the way I got there. Most electricians do not save old A-Base blocks on upgrade jobs, so it is kinda up to me. Burnt up lugs or broken blocks in a socket meter....well, I carry spare parts with me, and could fix it in a lot of cases, but I PREFER to give the job to the electricians.

[rcdallas]

Coop I worked you could get away with little things. Nowadays I've never once stepped foot inside a home and never will. Every now and then I bring them outside and show them good voltage on the load side of the meter socket and that's it.

It's more fun trying to explain we stop at the weatherhead. Even better when you do a hazardous disconnect until they get repairs.

Matter of fact I gotta run by a place tomorrow where I gave him 24 hours to make repairs or his service is cut.

liability liability liability

[rcdallas]

We use a Super Beast. If you use the adapter, you can at least tell if the neutral problem is on the member's side of the meter. Hotwire is right about it being a 2-edge sword. We generaly will tighten a loose neutral for a member. But we never replace wire. And there are times you can see that a new piece of 4/0 would fix the problem and get the member back in power. We just don't take the chance.

I have a super beast - 20 amps and a mega beast - 80 amps. It'll burn it open. :)

[duckhunter]

I'm a big fan of the "beast". We have some old ones with analog display still in use. But the Super Beast is on 3 different trucks. You can do a heck of a lot of troubleshooting in a short time with one.

[rcdallas]

I'm a big fan of the "beast". We have some old ones with analog display still in use. But the Super Beast is on 3 different trucks. You can do a heck of a lot of troubleshooting in a short time with one.

Didn't know the super beast had some digital displays. Mine has analog and one of them don't work. The mega beast I have is brand spankin new. Little bulky but nice. Just got in a time domain reflectometer (radar) for finding high resistance connections.

The adapter for the superbeast is a must to check the return on the neutral.

Really though one can do a lot with a simple hair dryer plugging 5 amps.

[electriklady]

"Really though one can do a lot with a simple hair dryer plugging 5 amps. "


That hairdryer is a great multi functional tool. Dont leave the shop without it.

[Swamprat]

In the area that I service, I know many electricians...so when the customer has a problem I give them their phone numbers. Most of them are at a loss when they have an electrical problem and ask if I know of any electricians...as a courtesy to the electicians, I carry their cards or have their phone numbers listed in my cell phone, I am more than happy to throw them some business. I have a couple that are very low priced, and if the customer is "on a fixed budget" I will call the electician and mention the "cash flow" problem and they usually cut the customer a break...I have a great working relationship with the electricians in our area...On the other side of the coin if I have to go in and convert an old A-base meter to a socket, it is not uncommon for me to render the customer permanently "lightless" just by the act of turning their power off. I could throw in a quick jumper, but I dont do that...I carry extra blocks with me and will replace the block if the lug or lugs will not tighten back up...after all they had lights until I arrived to change the meter so I feel an obligation to leave it the way I got there. Most electricians do not save old A-Base blocks on upgrade jobs, so it is kinda up to me. Burnt up lugs or broken blocks in a socket meter....well, I carry spare parts with me, and could fix it in a lot of cases, but I PREFER to give the job to the electricians.

That's very interesting, and very nice of ya, seriously.

Just seems to me you could get yourself in a bit of trouble doin that.
YOU recommending an electrician to a person, sure looks to me like a possible problem if somethin went wrong. When I was runnin a Trouble Truck, I got that question Alot. Whenever I was asked that, I'd always say, "I'm really sorry, but I can't recommend a specific electrician, maby talk to your neighbors and ask them for a reference."

Really don't understand your comment here.
"I carry spare parts with me, and could fix it in a lot of cases, but I PREFER to give the job to the electricians"

Just out of curosity, why wouldn't you replace a Lug, or a block for a customer, and decide to give the job to an electrician? Not tryin to aggrivate or nothin My Lady....just honestly don't understand your rational.

[Pootnaigle]

In most cases the meter can is the responsibility of the customer therefore altering it would be no different than replacing a breaker box leaving the utility Liable. I usta do purdy much the same thing That Becky did but they flat out told us not to reccomend an electrician, so I would always tellem I knew 3,give em the names and let them decide on one ......... or Not.

[T-Man]

We would not recommend an electrician either. The problem came from the ones who were not recommended. they felt the power company had favorites and where loosing business by not being on the favored list. They wanted the customer to choose and paid big money to put a larger ad in the Phone book or advertize in a big way, and the power company had no business making decissions for customers like that. So we got instructed not to recommend anyone. I had a few times I felt bad for the home owners but couldn't help in that way. I could tell them what was wrong so they understood what they needed and not get flimflammed, but didn't recommend anyone.

[duckhunter]

We provide the base for new construction. There are two other utilities in out service area. If the member uses a meter base from someone else, we don't repair it. We provide a new base and let the member hire an electrician. But in most cases we repair an old one. Although, we do come a cross an old 60 amp base once in a while. No more parts for them.

[Pootnaigle]

We had one electrician in town that never ever threw away anything. He had piles n piles of stuff he had taken out over the years n seperated it into groups. So If a customer needed a part for a 60 amp can 9 times outta 10 he had it. Or a discontinued breaker, a lid for a meter can, didnt matter. I,ve seen him use scrap wire in the service riser to help hold down the costs for less wealthy folks.When he retired some years ago he sold his business to the journeyman he trained as an apprentice and worked under him for years. both really good guys and honest as the day was long.

[reppy007]

We had one electrician in town that never ever threw away anything. He had piles n piles of stuff he had taken out over the years n seperated it into groups. So If a customer needed a part for a 60 amp can 9 times outta 10 he had it. Or a discontinued breaker, a lid for a meter can, didnt matter. I,ve seen him use scrap wire in the service riser to help hold down the costs for less wealthy folks.When he retired some years ago he sold his business to the journeyman he trained as an apprentice and worked under him for years. both really good guys and honest as the day was long.

......Poot Ive seen people like that,they will save a piece for 20 yrs before ever using it..........comes in handy............but sometimes a backyard can start looking like Sanford & Sons yard..........we still have a few Lamonts here in Houston.

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmm this wuznt in his backyard it wuz at his shop. I dont bleve he ever threw away even a peice of conduit. It literaly took up a half acre and was piled so high you couldnt see over it.I think just before he retired he sold it all off for scrap metal prices.

[reppy007]

Ummmmm this wuznt in his backyard it wuz at his shop. I dont bleve he ever threw away even a peice of conduit. It literaly took up a half acre and was piled so high you couldnt see over it.I think just before he retired he sold it all off for scrap metal prices.

poot read your pm box,im writing now..give me a few

[tramp67]

Didn't know the super beast had some digital displays. Mine has analog and one of them don't work. The mega beast I have is brand spankin new. Little bulky but nice. Just got in a time domain reflectometer (radar) for finding high resistance connections.

The adapter for the superbeast is a must to check the return on the neutral.

Really though one can do a lot with a simple hair dryer plugging 5 amps.

I prefer the analog display, it can show fluctuations much better than a digital display, kind of like the old analog voltmeters versus the new digital ones. Sometimes the numerical display and changing value really doesn't mean anything, but you can pretty much bet your paycheck on a fluctuating meter needle.

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmm yall prolly already know this but on most of the digital Voltmeters there is also a bar graph at the bottom of the display. That bar graph will move way faster that the digital readout. and help clue you that there may be a prollem somewhere.

[reppy007]

Ummmmm yall prolly already know this but on most of the digital Voltmeters there is also a bar graph at the bottom of the display. That bar graph will move way faster that the digital readout. and help clue you that there may be a prollem somewhere.

......actually ,i didnt know,,,,,,,,at least I havent seen one........like Tramp said,I too like the analogs better....at least for troubleshooting..........the digitals sometimes show a ground when theres not one...........the analogs show a ground and you can bet it is a ground.