transformer glowing red where the cables connect?

[wyliesdiesels]

I've never heard of the POCO owning the wires from the meter pole to the house. Most of them around here supply to the line side weatherhead, some of the REC's supply the meter setting. None of them supply the drop to the head on the house. If the meter is on or in the structure, that's a different story. The POCO owns that one.

Maybe I'm mistaken with the other thread and it was the drop on the supp,supply, side of the meter pole that needs raised?

better go read the thread again.

Ill quote it for you

How tall is the power line going to the power meter supposed to be?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

The weatherhead is considered the break between the customer and the utility, at least at the utility I retired from.

yeah and he is referring to the drop that goes to his meter so the PoCo owns it

 

[Hobby_Man22]

yeah and he is referring to the drop that goes to his meter so the PoCo owns it

It was already installed when I bought the place but AFAIK the home owner buys the pole with the meter/panel and the power company installs the the line and poles after that which go to the main road.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

It was already installed when I bought the place but AFAIK the home owner buys the pole with the meter/panel and the power company installs the the line and poles after that which go to the main road. Like I said I'm pretty sire the guys who came out at 5pm just wanted to go home for the day.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

It was already installed when I bought the place but AFAIK the home owner buys the pole with the meter/panel and the power company installs the the line and poles after that which go to the main road.

if the meter is on that pole and the wires you need raised feed that meter, then the PoCo owns it

 

[sparky 1971]

better go read the thread again.

Ill quote it for you

Go back to that thread and read posts #12 and #22. He has a meter pole and the overhead is hanging lower than the gutter on his 11' high house. I think he's wanting to raise the wire from the pole to the house.

 

[bbbarracuda]

At this point, I have no clue. I don't know if this varies by utility or even state utility commission.
If you can't get the answer from the utility, ask a local electrician who knows what rules the locals go by.

 

[bbbarracuda]

But back to the original problem, call them before it burns down.

 

[dogdog]

well OP is in Texas, they might have things that a different arrangement than the rest of the USA...

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Go back to that thread and read posts #12 and #22. He has a meter pole and the overhead is hanging lower than the gutter on his 11' high house. I think he's wanting to raise the wire from the pole to the house.

I was just using that treasure the height. I know the wore os clearly 2ft below the house. It's not connected to the house it goes to the pole.

 

[Wrench97]

I've never heard of the POCO owning the wires from the meter pole to the house. Most of them around here supply to the line side weatherhead, some of the REC's supply the meter setting. None of them supply the drop to the head on the house. If the meter is on or in the structure, that's a different story. The POCO owns that one.

Maybe I'm mistaken with the other thread and it was the drop on the supp,supply, side of the meter pole that needs raised?

When I was a kid we had a driveway a bit over 1/8 mile long PECO only covered the wires to the first pole after that it was our problem.
Dad had a Navy buddy that worked for Peco at the time he would stop by on lunch breaks and down time and run a wire here and a wire there.................................

 

[sparky 1971]

I was just using that treasure the height. I know the wore os clearly 2ft below the house. It's not connected to the house it goes to the pole.

Then is it underground from the pole to the house?

Regardless, I stand by my original statement in this thread, it's a different situation. The wires at the transformer are definitely owned by the POCO and you really need to call them and have them fix it.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I was just using that treasure the height. I know the wore os clearly 2ft below the house. It's not connected to the house it goes to the pole.

so its the wire that comes from the transformer or distribution pole and feeds the meter? a couple of pics would be really helpful here

 

[mike93lx]

so its the wire that comes from the transformer or distribution pole and feeds the meter? a couple of pics would be really helpful here

He's being intentionally vague

 

[sparky 1971]

He's being intentionally vague

I like that quote. I have never, ever seen an overhead line from a POCO pole to a meter pole that was less than 15' or so. I have, however, several times seen a line from a meter pole to a house that was so low I could touch it and I'm only 5'11. That's why I assumed it was the load side to the house and the POCO didn't give two rips about raising it. I know what they say about Assuming, but I did it again.

That doesn't change the fact that it's a different thread. I don't think there is any questions about who is responsible for the transformer connections that need to be checked out.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

That leads me to question why even bother posting about the red hot connections.

Because he wanted to show the world that he could screw the poco, just like they screwed him by not giving him free work.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

so its the wire that comes from the transformer or distribution pole and feeds the meter? a couple of pics would be really helpful here

Bingo. It goes to a wooden pole about 10ft high all by itself with an above ground wire that goes to it.

 

[bubinga]

Ummm in-rush current lasts all of 100-200ms. Definitey not long enough to heat up lugs on a pole transformer...

Yeah, probably loose connection.
The op is apprehensive to call the power company because they gave him a hard time last time.
But I would get them out of there and insist they look at it and don't take no for an answer.
At least if they say it's okay and it's not you will have a paper trail showing that you called them and they came out.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Yeah, probably loose connection.
The op is apprehensive to call the power company because they gave him a hard time last time.
But I would get them out of there and insist they look at it and don't take no for an answer.
At least if they say it's okay and it's not you will have a paper trail showing that you called them and they came out.

It lasted just long enough for the ac to turn on. The condenser turns on first then the air handler. So like a 10 second process. Only noticed it that one time haven't seen it do it again. Even sat on the porch waiting for the ac to come on lmao

 

[wyliesdiesels]

It lasted just long enough for the ac to turn on. The condenser turns on first then the air handler. So like a 10 second process. Only noticed it that one time haven't seen it do it again. Even sat on the porch waiting for the ac to come on lmao

can you take a pic or video of it and post it here?

 

[Hobby_Man22]

can you take a pic or video of it and post it here?

No because it won't do it anymore.

 

[JohnKal]

Only thing is, electrical problems usually don’t fix themselves.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Only thing is, electrical problems usually don’t fix themselves.

I'm keeping an eye on it.

 

[rlitman]

I'm keeping an eye on it.

Un huh. Look, heat damage to connections does not fix itself. Just make the damned phone call to the PoCo, or delete the thread and stop wasting our time. I'm sure the utility will take their sweet time getting to you, because they know it isn't an emergency, but it IS a problem in need of repair.

 

[dogdog]

No because it won't do it anymore.

You can still post the pic of the damaged connections even if you can take the pic of the red hot transformer ? Unless both are imaginary.

 

[rlitman]

You can still post the pic of the damaged connections even if you can take the pic of the red hot transformer ? Unless both are imaginary.

I sure hope he can't get a good look at them from the ground without a serious telephoto lens or binoculars.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

You can still post the pic of the damaged connections even if you can take the pic of the red hot transformer ? Unless both are imaginary.

Who says it's damaged? I don't see anything burnt or damaged.

 

[dogdog]

Who says it's damaged? I don't see anything burnt or damaged.

I noticed when the ac turned on it looked like the terminals where the cables connect at the top of the transformer were turning redish yellow and blinked off and on for about 10 seconds. Does that mean my transformer is on the way out? It was dark outside, if it was day time I would have never noticed.

Ok. .. then, I really don't know how to interpret that. but at least you can take a pic of the say "terminals"?

I saw once in a movie that when the terminator teleport back in time, they cause lighten bolts from the power lines and transformers to glow also. It was amazing that all those sparks didn't take out the electricity out from the house.

 

[dogdog]

I sure hope he can't get a good look at them from the ground without a serious telephoto lens or binoculars.

He mention his pole is about 10' tall (post #65) , lets just give it 15' and if he stands 10' away that is only 18' (I didn't even taken into account of average person's height) for the camera lenses, any modern phone with lenses would have been able to take a pic of that easily, unless some one still carries a flip phone, which i remember at least one person here still does or prefers to.

Bingo. It goes to a wooden pole about 10ft high all by itself with an above ground wire that goes to it.

 

[rlitman]

Who says it's damaged? I don't see anything burnt or damaged.

Just because YOU don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't damaged. As I said, if you saw ANY light escaping from a bolted electrical connection, that is a clear sign that it is in need of repair and IS damaged. It might be as simple as replacing the clamps and cleaning the copper. The "damage" may only be visible when the connector is removed, but it will be obvious once it's in the hands of the pros.

 

[sparky 1971]

He mention his pole is about 10' tall (post #65) , lets just give it 15' and if he stands 10' away that is only 18' (I didn't even taken into account of average person's height) for the camera lenses, any modern phone with lenses would have been able to take a pic of that easily, unless some one still carries a flip phone, which i remember at least one person here still does or prefers to.

If, and that's a big if, any of this stuff is believable, the 10' high pole is probably the meter pole. I would sure hope that the transformer is on a pole a lot taller than that with an overhead line running between the two. I'm starting to wonder if all of this isn't imaginary .

 

[Hobby_Man22]

If, and that's a big if, any of this stuff is believable, the 10' high pole is probably the meter pole. I would sure hope that the transformer is on a pole a lot taller than that with an overhead line running between the two. I'm starting to wonder if all of this isn't imaginary .

Oh yeah the line drop pole where thr transformer is on is like 20ft up.

 

[bluedog225]

It’s not rocket surgery.

Loose or corroded connections increase resistance and produce heat.

 

[dogdog]

It's like talking to a bunch of 8 years olds on here sometimes. Only I know a few 8 year olds that have more sense than some on here. How many times do I have to explain my power line setup?

I think we are talking to an 8 year old here. First of all, I don’t think any of your post have explained your power line setup at all, if they did it’s fragmented by bits and misinformation.

Second of all you shouldn’t assume that people will go read your other thread about your problem with your line drop too low and expect them to know you.

Third of all, you refused to just post a pic that would have clarify the situation and fuzzy details easily. You can remove any embedded data on the pic easily, if privacy is your concern, but you have not indicated so.

Fourth I think every one here have been good sports and go along trying to help you despite of what seems to be a trollish post.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

I think we are talking to an 8 year old here. First of all, I don’t think any of your post have explained your power line setup at all, if they did it’s fragmented by bits and misinformation.

Second of all you shouldn’t assume that people will go read your other thread about your problem with your line drop too low and expect them to know you.

Third of all, you refused to just post a pic that would have clarify the situation and fuzzy details easily. You can remove any embedded data on the pic easily, if privacy is your concern, but you have not indicated so.

Fourth I think every one here have been good sports and go along trying to help you despite of what seems to be a trollish post.

This was supposed to be a simple question. I asked are the lugs on the transformer supposed to get yellow/orange for a few seconds when a high amperage item kicks on. The answer was no apparently. End of story. No I'm not sending pics and in fact I looked at it today from the ground and the lugs still have grey shiny paint on them.

 

[bigdav160]

I think we can agree that there is resistance in those connections and they need to be inspected/repaired.

I'm in Texas also and when the POCO came out to replace one of their poles with transformer I was required to supply the wire from the meter to the transformer. Of course their linemen installed it.

Different strokes.

 

[rlitman]

the math is fishy.

7200v to 240 is 30:1 ratio.

if the AC unit pulls 30a that would be 1a on the pole connection. highly unlikely 1a is gona make a connection point glow red.

Not all that unlikely actually. All it takes is a little arcing inside to warm up some oxide crust.
The distribution circuit on my street is 13600 V. A few months ago I called in an arcing and sparking transformer connection. They're easy to see at night.

As for why this isn't all that uncommon. The transformer is going to be wound in copper. The primary is likely aluminum. Need I say more?

 

[jeepxj]

Not all that unlikely actually. All it takes is a little arcing inside to warm up some oxide crust.
The distribution circuit on my street is 13600 V. A few months ago I called in an arcing and sparking transformer connection. They're easy to see at night.

As for why this isn't all that uncommon. The transformer is going to be wound in copper. The primary is likely aluminum. Need I say more?

i guess he could be referring to the secondaries. top of the can part instead of the head/cap top.

7200v is a common voltage around here for distro.

im pretty sure both electrical connection points on transformers are steel.

 

[rlitman]

i guess he could be referring to the secondaries. top of the can part instead of the head/cap top.

7200v is a common voltage around here for distro.

im pretty sure both electrical connection points on transformers are steel.

Steel? There's no way it could be steel. It wouldn't last a month in use. Steel bolts may sometimes be used to hold one conductor against another, stainless steel shims may be used between aluminum and copper to prevent galvanic corrosion, and steel cores are often used in wires for strength, but the steel won't be the conductor.

Again, it doesn't take much current to get incandescence visible at night. A 1/2 watt lightbulb would be way brighter, and would draw 14 MICROamps at 7200V.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

the math is fishy.

7200v to 240 is 30:1 ratio.

if the AC unit pulls 30a that would be 1a on the pole connection. highly unlikely 1a is gona make a connection point glow red.

It's a 5 ton unit. The running current is like 28 amps. Probably pulls twice that on startup for a few seconds. Why do you think they start one before the other and not the both the condenser and air handler at once?