Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 18, 1999 09:19am | #8

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   Gotta write fast... We're in the post-Floyd winds, and every ten-fifteen minutes we hear a boom in the neighborhood, like the retort of a cannon, and the power fails for 1-5 seconds then recovers. It is almost more annoying than a blackout. What's happening? Anyone knows what it means?

   I have a mental picture of pole transformers exploding. this has happened maybe 15 times this evening so far. Gotta go ... not much time left ...

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 17, 1999 05:50am | #1

   *Hope alls well with you and your family, Andrew.Yes transformers do make a loud boom when they blow.Gabe

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 17, 1999 06:52am | #2

   *Well, we're getting ash all over the place from fires started by last week's vicious lightning storm. Does that count?BTW: I was caught in N.C. by Carol in 1964--a real motha'

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 17, 1999 08:10am | #3

   *Yes indeedy, pole transformers do go boom - and they also usually throw out a shower of sparks when they do, perhaps good that it is raining when this happens. Since it is not the 4th of July, I would guess the problem is as you described. Transformers will sometimes get a layer of conductive dirt on them which will cause them to blow when the first rains come. However, from what I gather the conditions are around there, it is probably the wind whipping the wires around. A few years ago, one would worry about the PCBs being released when the transformer went, but supposedly the utilities have replaced these units by now. Hope your computer is on a good surge protector. Be sure to send pictures...

1. 
   clayb | Sep 17, 1999 10:59am | #4

   *C'mon Andrew!I kinda know where about you lives and why else would one live there (I think it's up in the hill around Roanoke). This ain't nothin', wait till Y2K. Probably run into at the first post-apocolyptic barn dance at Buena Vista.Say hi to the mutants...Cheers,Clay

2. 
   Guest_ | Sep 17, 1999 11:28am | #5

   *Oh, I'm not complaining. We're back to normal. Not a bad storm for us -- we have the Carolinas to graciously absorb the fury of most hurricanes. But the boom-boom-boom was just plain unnerving, not knowing what was happening ... I'll try to find out some more about it from Virginia Power.I betcha this will be a weird winter.P.S. Casey -- surge protector at the main panel and in the computer's power strip. Plus the high-resistance low-tech protection of pulling the plug out of the wall. :)

3. 
   Guest_ | Sep 18, 1999 05:41am | #6

   *AN ANSWERI sent an e-mail to our electricity supplier, which rather promptly replied:>The Va Power Customer Service Center has received your e-mail. You are on the right track. The explosions you hear are actually our line fuses blowing. These are in place as protective fuses, much like those in your panel box. They are designed to go out to stop the back feed of electricity when an outage occurs. They are filled with a gunpowder like substance that explodes with enough force to break the circuit. Hopefully you did not lose power. There are currently still 195,066 of our Customers without service throughout the State due to inclement weather.

4. 
   Guest_ | Sep 18, 1999 06:32am | #7

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   Seems like a damn good answer to me. . .

   Joseph FuscoView Image

5. 
   Guest_ | Sep 18, 1999 09:19am | #9

   *I was in the Phillipines in 1991 when Mt Pinatubo erupted. We evacuated to Subic Bay Naval Station. At one point we had heavy rains mixed with falling ash - it really rained mud. In short order transformers all over the Station started blowing. It was spectacular. The one on a pole just outside our billet is particularly memorable. So yes, under the right set of circumstances, transformers will "blow."