[conspire] Computer Gremlins -- bad AC power?

[paulz at ieee.org]

 Clothes driers and AC both consume a lot of power and can cause voltage drops when they start if the wiring is inadequate.
If the washer also causes trouble, then you might also see problems when the refrigerator turns on.
In the extreme case, these sorts of problems could be a safety or a fire hazard, so PG&E should be motivated to check it out.  You shouldn't have to wait for "business" hours to place the call.  
I very much doubt this something for you to worry about so don't loose sleep waiting for them to come.
    On Friday, October 1, 2021, 05:09:36 PM PDT, Dana Goyette <danagoyette at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 I'll try it on Monday or something.  Our power lines here are all
underground, so running a new cable will probably be harder.

On a bit of a plus side, at least it's easy to reproduce: just run the
washing machine or dryer, or the central AC.

On Fri, Oct 1, 2021 at 4:05 PM paulz at ieee.org <paulz at ieee.org> wrote:
>
> I had a similar situation some years ago.  Basically every time my neighbor's new air conditioner switched on my lights would dim.
>
> Multiple calls to PG&E over several weeks.  They put a recording voltmeter on the line, but wouldn't you know it we had a cool spell so the AC didn't run that week.
>
> Eventually a truck came about 10 PM.  He did some tests and concluded that there was a problem with the grounding on their side of the meter.  About 11PM, he got out his ladders, climbed the pole by the street and replaced the wire to my house.  There is a streetlight, so he wasn't working in total darkness...
>
> Anyway problem solved.
>
> I totally suggest getting a big bucket of patience and then set about getting PG&E to check things out.
>
> On Friday, October 1, 2021, 02:48:37 PM PDT, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
>
>
> Quoting Dana Goyette (danagoyette at gmail.com):
>
> [house wiring:]
>
> > What would it likely cost to have somebody take a look at it?  Is it a
> > thing we can get the power company (PG&E) to check out for free?
>
> On Question 1, I don't know, but that's what getting a quotation from an
> electrician is good for.  On Question 2, I doubt the utility will do
> much beyond verify the correctness and reliability of their feed to your
> house, but it doesn't hurt to ask.  (I believe the utility implements
> its version of what telcos call the "demarcation point", the physical
> place in the house where its responsibility ends and that of the
> homeowner begins.)
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> conspire mailing list
> conspire at linuxmafia.com
> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire
> _______________________________________________
> conspire mailing list
> conspire at linuxmafia.com
> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/attachments/20211002/c50836dd/attachment-0001.html>