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TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

1 edit

TheTechGuru to antidelldude

Member

to antidelldude

Re: Lights dimming during Sump Pump and A/C Start

said by antidelldude:

This one has been driving me nuts for a while now and I can't figure it out. I have a 100amp service. My house's draw is minimal. With all my incandescent lights on, my computers on, network gear, toaster, tv, washer, dryer, etc... I draw right around 55 amps at 110. My circuit panel is balanced, with everything on, I get an almost even draw on each leg.

*Had the power company come out, they replaced the line from my house to the poll, the Neutral was cut (I must have had a VERY good ground). The transformer is three polls down from my house.
*Replaced wire from power company to meter housing AND replaced meter housing.
*Balanced the electrical panel and got as many lights off the leg my sump pumps were on.
*Tightened all the wires coming from the meter into the electrical panel (you can bet I had the electrician torque the hell out of the bolts on the meter can as well).
*Had the power company check the transformer (but I think this is the issue).

What else can I do? I had an electrician do most of the work and he is stumped as well.

I can't just get over it either. One of my Sump pumps runs every 3-5 minutes and it's distracting. (which I also had checked, my land is just wet). For my A/C I got a 3 wire hard start kit, but the HVAC tech I asked about installing it, wouldn't. He said even the nice ones can damage the compressor... In the summer, my lights could dim 30 times an hour between the two sumps and A/C...

I believe a lot of the problem is that very long distance to the transformer.

Try to get the poco to install a transformer on the pole nearest your house and run a 200amp supply line from it to your house. Remember those lines are aluminum which does not carry electricity all that efficiently compared to copper.

Then also switch to a 240V pump.

There is one other way around this that will guarantee your problem will be solved, order 3 phase power supply from the poco, put the pumps and ac on phase 1 and 2 and your lights on phase 3, lol.

Thanks for reminding me I need to complain to my poco, my lights dim and stay dimmed when the electric heat is on, my panel is 200amp but the line to my house looks like 100amp or less and is quite long.
tomupnorth
join:2005-01-14
UpperMidwest

tomupnorth

Member

said by TheTechGuru:

I need to complain to my poco, my lights dim and stay dimmed when the electric heat is on, my panel is 200amp but the line to my house looks like 100amp or less and is quite long.

"How long" I wonder. My transformer and meter/200A service panel are on a pole together, but 165 feet from our house connected IIRC by 2/0. We have slight incandescent dim/flicker with heat pump turn-on.

I blame the builder for at least 40 feet of the 165' distance, though honestly I doubt that I wouldn't flicker at least a tiny bit even at 125 feet.

TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

TheTechGuru

Member

said by tomupnorth:

said by TheTechGuru:

I need to complain to my poco, my lights dim and stay dimmed when the electric heat is on, my panel is 200amp but the line to my house looks like 100amp or less and is quite long.

"How long" I wonder. My transformer and meter/200A service panel are on a pole together, but 165 feet from our house connected IIRC by 2/0. We have slight incandescent dim/flicker with heat pump turn-on.

I blame the builder for at least 40 feet of the 165' distance, though honestly I doubt that I wouldn't flicker at least a tiny bit even at 125 feet.

Well it's very odd for the meter to not be at the house unless it's a mobile home but there is one good thing, you control what's after the meter, so you can at your own discretion and cost have that line replaced. Replace it with copper.

I don't put up with a meter not being at the house, the further the meter is from the house the more resistance between the meter and the house causing a higher bill for energy wasted as heat in the long line.
tomupnorth
join:2005-01-14
UpperMidwest

tomupnorth

Member

Well there might have been a better way to do this, but first-in was the meter, service panel, and an RV jack. That's all, with a fair notion of where the main house would eventually be located. A year or so later we dug a well, connected some 40 feet away, the following year a garage/guest quarters building 180' in another direction, the next year our main house, and separate pool equipment room. Ten years later we built a storage barn. Five subpanels total from the main service panel/meter at the pole. All copper, all to-code afaik.

I'd like to install a whole-house generator but given we've already maxxed-out our 200A service, with wires running-out in all directions, I expect it would be very be costly to implement i.e. with labor/electrical at least as much-if-not-more as the gen itself.