Apartment power question

[tinytoolbox]

Hi all, this is don't mind this as a first post.

The situation is the following: I recently got and moved into a apartment. During the last week, there seems to be an issue with the power going on and off. Sometimes when the power is on, it is not at full strength at all. Eg: lights are really dim/ fan barely spinning.

what should I do? Any help or advice appreciated.

 

[nanofrog]

Sounds like both rolling black outs as well as brown outs (low voltage) from what you're describing.

Very likely the power company (this sort of thing can be common in the summer months as the grid cannot handle the entire load). I'd recommend contacting the landlord first however, and go from there just to cover your **** (just in case there is actually a fault in the building's wiring, they've been notified first).

 

[tinytoolbox]

Thanks for the quick reply, I'll bug the landlord first.

 

[eljefino]

Do you have an electric range? Next time it does it, go turn a couple of burners on high. If you have a "loose neutral" this will change things for the better or worse and help in diagnostics. Then lean on the landlord and power company both.

Brownouts should not be so bad that you notice stuff dragging. It could start a fire in an electric motor and they'd rather cut your power than be responsible.

 

[tinytoolbox]

I think the electrical range trick works with the older Ac switches. Ac set at 75 gives me some ower. Anything else is a no go.

Still in a brown out since 11pm, it beats no power at all. But lights are so dim they barely emit light.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Brown outs can damage certain appliances like refrigerators, A/C or microwaves.

Some things (electronics) just don't work at all when you have low voltage.

 

[tinytoolbox]

So I got a reply from the company that is my landlord, email qoute below.



Is the entire property loosing power or just your unit, if it is the entire
property then there must be something going on with the power company. If
it is your unit, it may be something wrong with your meter box. With the
lights not being full strength at times it sounds like one leg of your 210
power coming into your home may be going out. I had this problem several
years ago in my home and an electrician had to come out and install a new
line from the meter. I would call an electrician and have them come
inspect, just my recommendation.

 

[MScott]

So I got a reply from the company that is my landlord, email qoute below.



Is the entire property loosing power or just your unit, if it is the entire
property then there must be something going on with the power company. If
it is your unit, it may be something wrong with your meter box. With the
lights not being full strength at times it sounds like one leg of your 210
power coming into your home may be going out. I had this problem several
years ago in my home and an electrician had to come out and install a new
line from the meter. I would call an electrician and have them come
inspect, just my recommendation.

I would think that is the responsibility of the landlord, not you as tennant. (Unless there is a clause in your lease that makes you responsible for electrical maintenance.)

 

[Speedy Petey]

I would think that is the responsibility of the landlord, not you as tennant. (Unless there is a clause in your lease that makes you responsible for electrical maintenance.)

+1

It is ABSOLUTELY NOT your responsibility to call, and/or especially pay for, an electrician. Your ONLY part in this should be arranging them getting into your apartment.

 

[nanofrog]

Brownouts should not be so bad that you notice stuff dragging. It could start a fire in an electric motor and they'd rather cut your power than be responsible.

Absolutely.

Brownouts can actually damage things, including transformers, motors, and electronics. Worse than a blackout actually (no power = can't damage anything).

I would think that is the responsibility of the landlord, not you as tennant. (Unless there is a clause in your lease that makes you responsible for electrical maintenance.)

+2

 

[tinytoolbox]

I would think that is the responsibility of the landlord, not you as tennant. (Unless there is a clause in your lease that makes you responsible for electrical maintenance.)

T&c of maintenance in a nutshell:
Inside = me
Outside/ roof = them

In a nut shell cause Mum was the one who signed and kept it. Place is under her name at the moment. Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[BillK]

ttb,
The conditions you are describing could be from a loose connection which can cause a fire. I would call the power company and ask them if they will inspect thier part, which is usually up to the meter. If they do not find anything wrong there, its time to call the landlord again. I could be wrong, but I have never heard of a residential lease that makes the wiring the responsibility of the tenant. Commercial yes, but not residential.

 

[Speedy Petey]

T&c of maintenance in a nutshell:
Inside = me
Outside/ roof = them

I see. This is more of a condo than an apartment.

It is the same way where my mom lives.

 

[nanofrog]

T&c of maintenance in a nutshell:
Inside = me
Outside/ roof = them

In a nut shell cause Mum was the one who signed and kept it. Place is under her name at the moment. Thanks again for all the advice.

Oh.

Contact the power company, and see what you can find out, and if they'll do an inspection of their equipment.

 

[tinytoolbox]

I see. This is more of a condo than an apartment.

It is the same way where my mom lives.

Same-ish to me

I switch everything off at the breaker and robber the fridge of everything and went to my mum's. I figure I have at least till the 5th before I can get anyone to come see.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Buy a meter and measure the voltage at the plug yourself.

 

[tinytoolbox]

I'll let one of my friends take a look before the electrician does. I rather not mess with electrical stuff, been zapped a few times too many

 

[jbberns]

Why don't you ask the neighbors if they have the same problems, to help narrow it down.

 

[nehog]

T&c of maintenance in a nutshell:
Inside = me
Outside/ roof = them

In a nut shell cause Mum was the one who signed and kept it. Place is under her name at the moment. Thanks again for all the advice.

Well that is a strange lease, not customary that the tenant is responsible for any routine maintenance. However, that's water under the bridge, so to speak.

Personally, if you are not qualified, I'd suggest you just call an electrician and have him/her check to find the problem. If the problem is not inside then deduct the electrician's fee from your rent, otherwise fix it, and say nothing.

 

[tinytoolbox]

Why don't you ask the neighbors if they have the same problems, to help narrow it down.

They don't have any issues, their ac and tv's can be heard all night long.

Well that is a strange lease, not customary that the tenant is responsible for any routine maintenance. However, that's water under the bridge, so to speak.

Personally, if you are not qualified, I'd suggest you just call an electrician and have him/her check to find the problem. If the problem is not inside then deduct the electrician's fee from your rent, otherwise fix it, and say nothing.

I'm gonna do that

 

[wssix99]

Is this a high rise building, or a small 3 flat? It makes a big difference!

In a high rise, issues like this are NOT the landlord's problem or your problem. Its the power company's problem. The power company will have transformers and infrastructure in the building, which serve the units. Especially in the summer, in large buildings, you will get power surges or dips.

If you are in a small building, I'd be surprised to see this kind of thing happen unless you have an electrical problem inside the building. (ie: not the power company's problem) In this case, I'd be worried that a fuse or breaker might be bypassed on a bad A/C unit, which would also be a major safety concern.

What kind of town or city are you in?

Regardless of the cause, you should definitely make sure your computers and other sensitive electronics are hooked up to a UPS that provides line conditioning. Computers don't like this kind of thing... (A UPS will insulate them from the power surges/dips.)

 

[eljefino]

Even if your lease says the wires are your problem (seems wierd to me) you could make an argument that they were screwed up before you moved in, and a latent defect. This hurts the habitability and safety of your apartment. Check your state/town's "renter's rights" for specifics.

Even if your lease says one thing, a law may make that part of the contract unenforceable. The electric company might have some good advice for you.

 

[tinytoolbox]

Is this a high rise building, or a small 3 flat? It makes a big difference!

double storied terraced buildings

In a high rise, issues like this are NOT the landlord's problem or your problem. Its the power company's problem. The power company will have transformers and infrastructure in the building, which serve the units. Especially in the summer, in large buildings, you will get power surges or dips.

If you are in a small building, I'd be surprised to see this kind of thing happen unless you have an electrical problem inside the building. (ie: not the power company's problem) In this case, I'd be worried that a fuse or breaker might be bypassed on a bad A/C unit, which would also be a major safety concern.

What kind of town or city are you in?

Houston, Tx. Closer to spring.

Regardless of the cause, you should definitely make sure your computers and other sensitive electronics are hooked up to a UPS that provides line conditioning. Computers don't like this kind of thing... (A UPS will insulate them from the power surges/dips.)

will do, thanks for the advice

reply in blue, I'm not good at multi qoutes

 

[wssix99]

If the neighbors don't have issues and you are in a small building, that indicates the problem is probably in your unit.

Can you isolate this issue to other things going on in the apartment? Can you confirm if it happens when the A/C kicks on? If so, I'd expect that would be the landlord's issue to deal with. Maybe you can play with the A/C temperature to get the unit to kick off/on and then watch things.

I can't think of any other cause this could be. The A/C is the only high demand appliance in a residence that kicks on by itself. If you had a problem with a dryer, etc., then you'd be standing by it when the surge/dip occurred.

 

[tinytoolbox]

My friend found the problem. Picture below of the (building's breaker/main apartment breaker)

Bracket/ metal piece was digging into the red cable, pic was taken after they were separated

 

[BillK]

So what did he do about it ????? If all he did was seperate them and leave it as is, it is not fixed. The red cable needs to be replaced ?

 

[cj7365]

Send pic to landlord and demand they pay for an electrician to come out and replace the cable

 

[tinytoolbox]

So what did he do about it ????? If all he did was seperate them and leave it as is, it is not fixed. The red cable needs to be replaced ?

He located the problem for me, separated and retested stuff. It's outside so landlord has to fix it.

Send pic to landlord and demand they pay for an electrician to come out and replace the cable

Did that, waiting for a reply.

 

[nehog]

Do make sure you have full renter's insurance.

 

[eljefino]

Yowsa! That ain't right, dude.

Hopefully the guy who initially wired it will be on the hook. That wire shouldn't have been in there like that. It doesn't bounce around so IDK how it chafed.

Regardless, this isn't your issue. But this does constitute an emergency, whomever is on your lease as the emergency 24/7 maintenance contact, get on them and don't let off.

 

[tinytoolbox]

It was suppose to be done last Thursday, nothing has been done since. I'll let it go as it has been raining nonstop and playing with electrical stuff in the rain aint exactly smart. So I call today to get an update, here goes:

The electrician forgot to call the landlord to update them. Center point energy will not unlock the meter for him as the power is under my account not the LL's. So I now have to call CP energy to unlock the meter wait for a reply and then call the LL.

fun times

Did i method that I can't get a live human on the line at CP energy?

 

[tinytoolbox]

had fun playing phone tag, had reliant on the phone. Managed to explain my problem, got transferred to CP energy. Explained my problem to Cp energy, they said that work orders have to be done through reliant.

Finally managed to get a person on the phone at reliant and got the work order put through

 

[eljefino]

Ain't deregulation great?

I saw a tree branch hanging on my street's wires and stretching them to kingdom come. I had two numbers, the outage number with robot answering (but I had power) and the business office, but I pay my bill.

I finally flagged down my human meter reader-- he knew who to call!!!

 

[tinytoolbox]

Yay!!! Finally got it fixed, many thanks to all Gj peeps for not letting me burn everything down to the ground