ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Lost Your Noodle...?

Mike — On the service-head open neutral, the transformer would still remain at “120+120V” on Aø and Bø. {For simplicity’s sake leave out Cø at the moment.} If the service-neutral connection opens up, and [most likely] the 120V phase-to-neutral loads will not be equal on Aø-N and Bø-N, causing “neutral” at the building to shift {or float/drift} making voltages-to-building ground something more like “140+100 volts” while the transformer is happy serving “120+120V.”

—Bjarn’

I hate it when I loose my noodle. The problem is, the last time I lost it, I never found it again. All joking aside. It's time to start busting out walls. Something in the thread leads me to believe that the walls are something other than sheetrock (plaster maybe). New service and upgrade the wiring system to something in the 21st century.
At least a new service. Set an "oversized gutter" and add a panel with a main to get the number of "throws" down to 6 or less.
So much should be done.

Sunday Services not Funeral Services,
Doc

Hi Doc:
Sheetrock and plaster is WAY too modern for this building. Virtually everything is wood - wood studs, wood shiplap walls, wood floors, etc (and most of it in a petrified state after all these years). An interesting component of this old building is the ceiling in the main hall (a room about 100' x 75' with numerous additions built around its outside perimeter over the years) - when this hall was constructed almost 100 years ago, there was, of course, no such thing as air conditioning. However, in order for people to tolerate the hot Texas summers, the ceiling consisted of strips of wood similar to that used in a plaster and wood lath wall, with the strips spaced about 3/4" apart. Two large fans located in the attic drew fresh air in through the windows and up through the ceiling and exhausted the hot air through vents in the roof. I had an occasion to get up into this attic space to run sound system wiring a few years back - K & T wiring everywhere, covered with dust and dirt so thick you can't even see it in places, no such thing as enclosed splices here (abundant flying splices), lamp cord used for some circuits (that old green fabric type where the conductors are twisted around one another). I could go on and on...

This place is truly a nightmare, and through all the "electrical evolutions" this old building has been through, only about 15% looks code compliant at present. But I agree with you though, a complete new service entrance is at the top of the list.

BTW, glad to be hearing from you again. Hope all is going well for you.

Mike (mamills)

This is about the first post on ECN that has my hair curling and sends slow cold shivers down my back. This is REALLY scary.
Would be a darn pity for the building to burn down!

Ranger;
It really would be a shame for this to happen. As old as this building is, it is filled with history. Many people in this area remember their first dance, first kiss, first drunk , etc. Many marriages, wedding receptions, funerals, and parties have taken place here. Many marriage proposals have been offered and accepted here. This old place holds fond memories for lots of folks. A similar community hall not too far away from this one (and meaning just as much to it's surrounding community) succumbed to an arsonist about ten years ago. It's loss was sorely felt. A new hall was built shortly after, but modern brick, concrete and steel just isn't quite the same...

Mike (mamills)

[This message has been edited by mamills (edited 10-09-2002).]