Not sure I’m understanding what your saying.
Are you saying the circuit is open somewhere, or the problem is at the terminals?
Do you think it’s the power line going into the main? Or a neutral?
I would like to thank you and chefguy for for all your answers also!
a loose/intermittent connection could show a voltage with a meter and when you tried to get useful current from it then it might fail.
some of your symptoms you’ve related might indicate a bad connection to one or both hot wires, some symptoms might indicate a bad neutral connection. because of the number and types of symptoms it is something it would take seeing to figure out.
I was hoping that you were coming back to tell us what had been found. I was a little surprised that you are still asking questions.
You have an intermittent problem that is quite possibly a bad connection in a main wire, with occasional sizzling sounds. No offense, but this needed taken care of two days ago. CALL AN ELECTRICIAN ASAP. Seriously, this is the type of thing that can burn your house down very easily. You also are risking very severe damage to anything electrical in your house.
I am not at all comfortable telling you that you can even wait until Tuesday so you don’t have to pay emergency hours to the electrician. My best advice to you right now is to call the power company and tell them that you are pulling the meter, then go out, clip off the security tag, and pull the meter out to kill power to the entire house.
[quote=“Balthisar, post:37, topic:552251”]
Over the years, I’ve pulled the meter at my house a few times. I’m still alive. Before I did it the first time, I’d called to try to get the power company to come pull it. They asked me why I just didn’t pull it myself. They said if I pulled it, to just let them know and they’d come out to put a new clip on sometime the next week.
I’ll admit, my power company is a small rural electric cooperative and things are pretty informal. But for anyone who knows how to pull a meter, it’s just not that big a deal.
i wouldn’t recommend anyone pulling a meter (without an emergency) without putting a secure cover designed for it on it. an energized open meter socket is an extreme hazard.
it is a very good point that you are minimally living with a hazard to your devices and maximally to your home.
you could switch the main breaker off and live without electricity until you got an electrician.
if you had to keep electricity on then don’t use range or any appliance that uses a large amount of current. unplug electronics like tv and audio. only use clocks and a few low wattage incandescent lights.
Hello again,
I still have not found an electrician in my town. Of the two that answered the phone, they both said they would call back and never did. I think they prefer commercial over residential.
I’ve been asking everyone I know and no luck so far. I think I’ll call the POCO back and ask them if they know someone who can come out and look at it for me.
I did not know that it is dangerous for me to be using the electric while all this is going on.
I prefer not to pull the meter, even though I know how. Is there not still a risk of getting shocked even with the meter pulled? I like it: Better safe than sorry!
with the meter pulled the 2 hot wires are disconnected, the neutral still would be connected.
the act of pulling the meter and having an open live meter socket is a large hazard. if someone made contact inside they would die. if something got into the socket it could start your house on fire. meter sockets with power to them are only safe with a meter in it or a rigid cover designed to keep it safe.
turn the main breaker to off and you should be fully safe.
Where do you live that has this shortage of electricians? There must be out of work electricians somewhere who would relocate.
From Indiana, but have lived in Tennessee for a few years now. I’m sure I wouldn’t have this problem if I was in Indiana.(finding an electrician)
It may just be that southern hospitality I hear so much about!:rolleyes:
I wish I had a license! I’d make a fortune here!
Tennessee has electricity?
No Comment!
The TVA has provided Tennessee with an abundance of electricity. Now books, that’s a different matter:D
I don’t recall who’s joke this is, change the state based on circumstances:
I got arrested in Tennessee, for reading. But they had to let me go, because nobody could prove what I had was a book:D
I know there’s a redneck joke here somewhere, where is Mr. Foxworthy when you need him?
Well, it is the state that gave us the Scopes Monkey Trial and prohibited the teaching of evolution in schools. I think the law was repealed in about 1967, but there was a movement to re-institute it in the mid-90s or so. I don’t know if it became law again.
Unless the loose or corroded connection is on the main breaker, where the lines from the meter connect.
If you pull the meter, take a large piece of something non-conductive (like cardboard) and duct tape that over the meter socket so nobody can accidentally touch the terminals. (Carefully! – those are live connections.) Then get the electrician there ASAP.
If you open the main breaker and there is a loose wire that is arcing under load it will not arc because it will have no load.