Well, that was fun ... NOT!

[Hawkmoon]

Had an ice storm here a few days ago. I was just starting to get over a cold or flu, and Sunday afternoon the power (and phone, and cable) went out. Too much ice on the wires, and they came down. Naturally, the temperatures were heading to sub-zero. And my generator is on the fritz.

Mercifully, a friend had a spare generator, so he came over and we got it hooked up. Had to run it continuously for two days. Power company kept sending me text messages that my power had been restored, but the wires were still down and nobody had been here, so I kept calling in that my wires were still down.

A crew finally showed up at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, and I had power at 10:00 p.m. One of the guys then came to the door to report that "I've got good news and bad news." The good news was that I had power. The bad news was that I apparently had power all Tuesday. The morons energized my lines while they were lying on the ground and completely ignored the trouble ticket that said the wires were down. I'm very glad I didn't go out and start working on replacing the tie-off block for the phone and cable wires, because the power wires were lying on the other wires.

Good grief! 

[Devonai]

You could have just waited for everything to melt tomorrow, everybody knows electricity can't travel through water.

[TommyGunn]

You could have just waited for everything to melt tomorrow, everybody knows electricity can't travel through water.

Oh .... really?   

[230RN]

Oh .... really?  

Picayune pedantic point:

Not through pure water anyhow.  Depends on the concentration of ionizable impurities.*

The table below shows some example levels of resistivity for different types of water.

Type of Water versus Approximate resistivity in Ohms (Ω)
Pure Water 20,000,000  (20 megohms)
Distilled Water 500,000 ("Half a meg, 500K")
Rain Water 20,000 ("Twenny K:)
Tap Water 1,000 – 5,000 Ω
Brackish river water 200
Coastal seawater 30
Open seawater 20 – 25

I believe that's resistivity in ohms per meter of distance in a square meter of water in cross section.

<pedantry>
The conductivity of water (which is what makes it dangerous with electricity)  is the reciprocal of resistivity and is measured in mhos.  (No kidding; ohms and mhos.)  The conductivity of that 20 megohm pure water above is 0.00000005 mhos, or 50 nano-mhos.

For sea water, its conductivity is .05 - .04 mhos, which means it really conducts electricity a heck of a lot better than pure water.

So pure water ain't so dangerous, dirty or salty water is, and obviously "resistivity" is easier to handle than "conductivity."

</pedantry>

And be glad you aren't being billed for the energy going into the ground from the downed wires.

Terry, 230RN

* Water self-ionizes with temperature going up from absolute zero, but at the usual temperatures, this is a minor effect. To wit, only 50 nanomhos' worth at the usual temperatures.

[K Frame]

"And be glad you aren't being billed for the energy going into the ground from the downed wires."

How could they? If the meter isn't spinning, it's not registering electrical usage. There's a possibility that the meter is mounted at the pole and not the house, but that's pretty rare and generally only done in areas where the houses are far off the road and there's a lot of room between houses.

[Hawkmoon]

Meter is on the house.

[230RN]

"If the meter isn't spinning, it's not registering electrical usage."

Of course not.  I was trying to emphasize the loss to the ground.

Sheesh !

[TommyGunn]

Picayune pedantic point:

Not through pure water anyhow.  Depends on the concentration of ionizable impurities.*

I believe that's resistivity in ohms per meter of distance in a square meter of water in cross section.

<pedantry>
The conductivity of water (which is what makes it dangerous with electricity)  is the reciprocal of resistivity and is measured in mhos.  (No kidding; ohms and mhos.)  The conductivity of that 20 megohm pure water above is 0.00000005 mhos, or 50 nano-mhos.

For sea water, its conductivity is .05 - .04 mhos, which means it really conducts electricity a heck of a lot better than pure water.

So pure water ain't so dangerous, dirty or salty water is, and obviously "resistivity" is easier to handle than "conductivity."

</pedantry>

And be glad you aren't being billed for the energy going into the ground from the downed wires.

Terry, 230RN

* Water self-ionizes with temperature going up from absolute zero, but at the usual temperatures, this is a minor effect. To wit, only 50 nanomhos' worth at the usual temperatures.

Yea,  I know,  it's the impurities.  But out in the open, in nature ... really pure dihydrogen oxide? 

Not too likely. 

[K Frame]

"If the meter isn't spinning, it's not registering electrical usage."

Of course not.  I was trying to emphasize the loss to the ground.

Sheesh !

'"And be glad you aren't being billed for the energy going into the ground from the downed wires.'

This is exactly what you said. Still trying to figure out how, or even why, the company would charge him for power lost to a ground fault. So, I'm trying to figure out exactly what point you were trying to make with your original comment.

So sheesh yourself.

[230RN]

Read it however you want to.  And you're welcome to the last word on the matter:

[K Frame]

OK, I'm not dunning you, I'm just trying to figure out what you meant. Whatever. Your purpose and intent will forever remain a minor mystery in the great panoply of life...

[Doggy Daddy]

OK, I'm not dunning you, I'm just trying to figure out what you meant. Whatever. Your purpose and intent will forever remain a minor mystery in the great panoply of life...

Ackshually, I thought his point was apparent.  We all (or at least I) assumed that the lines were down between the meter and the pole, and that the homeowner was NOT being charged for the energy.  Terry was also assuming that and to be glad that was the case.

Of course, he could come along at any time and edit the meaning after the fact.  Terry DOES like to edit.    

[Hawkmoon]

Not worth arguing about, lads. This whole thing has been a disaster from the git-go.

Power company crew finally showed up at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, and had the wires back up by 10:00. One of them stopped by the door as they were leaving. "I have good news, and bad news." The good news is that they had me up and running. The bad news? He said my lines had been energized all day Tuesday. The company completely ignored the trouble ticket informing them the wires were down. They energized the street, saw power at the meter by remote control, so they sent the crews elsewhere. I'm just very glad I didn't decide on Tuesday to get out the ladder and start repairing the strain block where the telephone and cable wires pulled off the house -- right next to the downed power lines.

Telephone was restored around 3:00 p.m. Thursday. At 4:30 I got a phone call from the phone company (on my cell phone) to inform me that he would be here on Friday to get me fixed up. I told him one of his associates had already taken care of it.

Still waiting to see how badly the cable company can screw up their part of the equation. They'll be here Saturday ...