Hi;
I know that I shouldn't be worrying about such things, but I'm a little concerned about the transformer on the pole nearly in front of our house, because I know that it's more than 50 years old. The wiring on our street is probably closer to 80 years old, being the separate wires, not a twisted cable.
One transformer on the block behind us went a couple of years ago, and it put on quite a show.
I'm just wondering whether there's any truth to rumors that the lids or pieces of these things fly off with great force, and sometimes end up blocks from the pole, or is this just a myth?
I have heard of cars parked near the pole being hit by insulators, but never of anyone or anything being hit by something larger. I guess if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could be hit, but the odds of that are much lower than being hit by an errant driver while crossing the street.
More importantly, when a transformer blows, is there likely to be a surge/spike on my wiring?
I'm thinking that if I hear it making funny sounds, or my lights start to flicker, I should run down to the basement and shut off the main breaker to prevent damage to appliances and wiring in my home. Then, I probably won't be at home when it does finally blow<g>
I'm not really worried about this, just looking at it now and again I wonder how much longer it will last, and whether when it does give up, it will go "supernova"!
Do you think I stand a chance of convincing the POCO to replace the transformers and wiring on my block before they fail? I hardly think so, but maybe it's worth a try.
Edit: The transformer I am talking about is the one in my Avitar. I think you can see that it's one of the older ones.
I know that I shouldn't be worrying about such things, but I'm a little concerned about the transformer on the pole nearly in front of our house, because I know that it's more than 50 years old. The wiring on our street is probably closer to 80 years old, being the separate wires, not a twisted cable.
One transformer on the block behind us went a couple of years ago, and it put on quite a show.
I'm just wondering whether there's any truth to rumors that the lids or pieces of these things fly off with great force, and sometimes end up blocks from the pole, or is this just a myth?
I have heard of cars parked near the pole being hit by insulators, but never of anyone or anything being hit by something larger. I guess if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could be hit, but the odds of that are much lower than being hit by an errant driver while crossing the street.
More importantly, when a transformer blows, is there likely to be a surge/spike on my wiring?
I'm thinking that if I hear it making funny sounds, or my lights start to flicker, I should run down to the basement and shut off the main breaker to prevent damage to appliances and wiring in my home. Then, I probably won't be at home when it does finally blow<g>
I'm not really worried about this, just looking at it now and again I wonder how much longer it will last, and whether when it does give up, it will go "supernova"!
Do you think I stand a chance of convincing the POCO to replace the transformers and wiring on my block before they fail? I hardly think so, but maybe it's worth a try.
Edit: The transformer I am talking about is the one in my Avitar. I think you can see that it's one of the older ones.