Hi, guys. I just joined the other day and wonder where have y'all been all my life?

I have been dealing since last November with an unconvinceable husband and a rural county that doesn't want to talk about it and I have come up with a few questions I can't get answered. Here is one:

I read last spring that a y2k test in Hawaii taught the electric generating plant that they would have created a power surge that would have roasted appliances.

YOU GUYS ARE THE EXPERTS. Is there any move short of going off the grid that you would recommend? Is there a period of time that you would deem critical?

-- becky (rmbolte@wvadventures.net), November 05, 1999

Answers

I would think a spike would be caused by a chip failure. If this is true, I would unplug at 5pm EST on the 31st, and plug back in at 7pm EST. This gives you 2hrs. on either side of the grid rollover. Just a guess.

-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), November 05, 1999.

try plugging the appliance into a power strip with a built-in surge suppresor..the supressor circuitry will minimize electrical voltage spikes from burning out your reefer motor...the real problem is not in surges, though; it is brown-outs, where the current in the power lines has fallen below the standard voltage, and/or the regulated frequency of 60 cycles per second has fluctuated or dropped off to something else...that is very destructive to electric apparati. If you really are trying to keep the reefer running at all costs, install an uninterruptible power supply, aka a UPS, and plug the reefer into in. This is only a stop gap measure for power wobbles of limited duration...the back-up batteries will only hold the appliance in a steady state for about 5 to 10 minutes before they cank, depending on how expensive a unit you buy.

-- Jay Urban (Jayho99@aol.com), November 05, 1999.

Most power companies offer whole-house surge-supressors for about $5 a month. Still doesn't cover you for brown-outs, though. Brown-outs can cause motors to overheat.

-- Anonymous999 (Anonymous999@Anonymous999.xxx), November 05, 1999.

A surge suppressor will probably *not* protect your refrigerator.

They're designed for very short duration, high voltage, low current *spikes*, not a protracted over-voltage condition.

A CVT (constant voltage transformer) of sufficient size would probably be your best bet, short of unplugging it. A CVT will protect you from under- and over-voltage conditions.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), November 05, 1999.

Ron: Where can I get one of those transformers, and how do they work? Mike

-- Mike (mwomble@luminet.net), November 05, 1999.

Becky,

Electrical supply houses carry devices for protection against low voltage conditions, voltage spikes, and phase variations. They tend to be pricey, but not as pricey as a new refrigerator compressor or furnace blower motor. If you don't have a working knowledge of AC circuits, you'll have to rely on an electrician to install any of these devices properly. Of course that makes it even pricier.

The most common form of electrical problems tend to be due to (beside the total loss of power) phase dropouts (losing one of two, or one of three 120volt supply sources). These conditions are capable of QUICKLY taking out any motor that is without protection. Electrical supply has been pretty reliable...I have rarely seen low voltage conditions, and spikes , I believe, are more associated with lightning strikes than with power generation.

Of course with Y2K we may see some very interesting conditions....

If you're interested, I can probably post a copy of a spec sheet for a device that I'm looking to buy for my own home.

-- TM (mercier7@pdnt.com), November 05, 1999.

Becky: Do you like to mudwrestle?

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), November 05, 1999.

Becky (or anyone else),

I'm pretty well HTML challenged so I'm not sure I can post the diagram. I can e-mail it though. Contact me if you want it.

-- TM (mercier7@pdnt.com), November 05, 1999.

And I thought you all would jump all over me because I'm not radical enough to have gone completely self-reliant. Thanks for the answers. I wrestle with whatever I happen to be wearing at the time, minus the shoes. . . How did you know I wrestle? As for mud, I try to keep it in the garage and on the outside of my boots [???].

TM - I don't mind losing my refrigerator to a very unlikely extreme the second or third week of January, but I was trying to figure out if you all thought we might should expect some more likely events in a specific time frame. I have secretly always wanted to be grid-free. When I was in high school we went without a car for four months in suburbia and it was inconvenient and cool.

BUT - wouldn't it be fun to see what TM is thinking? More details, TM, or have you followed me to the archives . . .? Mud pit? What mud pit? ARRRGH! You creeps!

-- Becky (rmbolte@wvadventures.net), November 06, 1999.