Partial power loss

DamoKen

Hi, had a couple of power cuts last night,only for a second or two each time. Really weird cuts, first one only the TV went and then came back on, second one all power I think. Came back on more or less straight away but seems to be reduced power. Plasma TV seems dead as is the oil boiler which is just over a year old. Led lights are giving normal light, older bulbs are either really dim or not turning on. All working lights are flickering now and then. Freezer seems to be gone although fridge light is on albeit very weak. Kettle took an age to boil,toaster is just warming bread, cooker clock is on but light on its switch is off etc etc

We're in a detached house on a single connection off the main road. Cable is still attached but getting knocked about a fair bit with the wind. House is very old, around 200 years. In it just over a year or so and got it rewired with a new fuseboard when we moved in. All switches are up.

Any ideas? Could it be something simple my end? Single glazed sashes so like a fridge at the moment. Got a baby with a cold so need to get the boiler back on asap!

Cheers

meercat

Hard to diagnose from here but seems like an esbn problem

If your house is recently rewired then check in meter cabinet that main switch is up(although this is unlikely your problem here)

DamoKen

meercat wrote: »

Hard to diagnose from here but seems like an esbn problem

If your house is recently retired then check in meter cabinet that main switch is up(although this is unlikely your problem here)

Thanks Meercat, yeah everything is up on the board. Talked with a couple of neighbours further up the road from us. Apparently everyone is without power so looks like we've got off lightly considering we've got some power,reduced as it is.

Never experienced it before, up till now if there's been a power cut everything's off. That's experience from living in estates until recently though

I'll report as a fault.

Cheers

tabby aspreme

Reduced voltage will burn out electric motors very quickly, turn off all appliances until full power is restored

DamoKen

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Reduced voltage will burn out electric motors very quickly, turn off all appliances until full power is restored

Thanks Tabby, would that apply to phones charging via a surge protector? All major appliances are switched off at the sockets.

Would 110v power tools via a transformer be ok to run? In the middle of doing renovations so good way to pass the time with no TV 😊

Finally any idea what the cause could be? Read somewhere that it's if you're reduced to single phase when one of the the connections coming in is damaged but that was an American forum so not sure if relevant here.

Bruthal

DamoKen wrote: »

Thanks Tabby, would that apply to phones charging via a surge protector? All major appliances are switched off at the sockets.

Would 110v power tools via a transformer be ok to run? In the middle of doing renovations so good way to pass the time with no TV ��

Finally any idea what the cause could be? Read somewhere that it's if you're reduced to single phase when one of the the connections coming in is damaged but that was an American forum so not sure if relevant here.

Sounds like a connection or cable/transformer fault outside on the network. They can be intermittent, and make and break as they deteriorate. I would not be using anything anyway until its fixed. In some cases, a neutral failure supplying several houses can cause uneven voltage splits between houses depending on loads they have on.

A phase gone on the high voltage side of trasformers can cause low voltage on the side supplying houses. Thats probably not the case here though.

DamoKen

Bruthal wrote: »

Sounds like a connection or cable/transformer fault outside on the network. They can be intermittent, and make and break as they deteriorate. I would not be using anything anyway until its fixed. In some cases, a neutral failure supplying several houses can cause uneven voltage splits between houses depending on loads they have on.

A phase gone on the high voltage side of trasformers can cause low voltage on the side supplying houses. Thats probably not the case here though.

All good, ESB crew out and fixed it in the last hour. Amazed with how quickly they got it done considering the weather conditions (still blizzard conditions here). Even got a call after to make sure we're back on, really impressed with them. Asked what the problem had been and how we were the only house with any power. He said a few fuses had blown in the transformer. There may have been some arcing with a small amount of leakage. Not my area of expertise but all good now and hearing back on

Risteard81

DamoKen wrote: »

Bruthal wrote: »

Sounds like a connection or cable/transformer fault outside on the network. They can be intermittent, and make and break as they deteriorate. I would not be using anything anyway until its fixed. In some cases, a neutral failure supplying several houses can cause uneven voltage splits between houses depending on loads they have on.

A phase gone on the high voltage side of trasformers can cause low voltage on the side supplying houses. Thats probably not the case here though.

All good, ESB crew out and fixed it in the last hour. Amazed with how quickly they got it done considering the weather conditions (still blizzard conditions here). Even got a call after to make sure we're back on, really impressed with them. Asked what the problem had been and how we were the only house with any power. He said a few fuses had blown in the transformer. There may have been some arcing with a small amount of leakage. Not my area of expertise but all good now and hearing back on

The ESB are a sound bunch. They have a tough job in weather conditions such as these.

Risteard81

Risteard81 wrote: »

They have a tough job in weather conditions such as these.

Sure but they also have Unimogs!



:cool: