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    killerhertz's Avatar
    killerhertz Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jan 27, 2011, 09:27 AM
    Some circuits (fridge/heat) no longer working (only 20 VAC) after power surges
    I'm not sure if it's coincidence, but we had some power surges last night during a snow storm. There are some local outages, but I have power in most of my unit. At least one of my 120 VAC circuits is running at 20 VAC. Unfortunately it's affected my heat and refrigerator. It's a condo with nat gas hot water heater in a utility closet and a central AC/heat exchanger? The thermostat LCD is blank. It's a 24 VAC unit and I only measured 4 VAC. In both circuits, the voltage appears to be only 1/6th the required voltage.

    What does this mean?
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
     
    #2

    Jan 27, 2011, 09:33 AM

    Call your power supplier and ask them if full power has been restored. You may be missing a leg and without full power it can damage some electrical appliances
    killerhertz's Avatar
    killerhertz Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Jan 27, 2011, 10:33 AM
    Never mind all.

    So my father walked me through checking the breaker. Every other circuit had 20 VAC out. I then checked the hot lines coming in. One line was 20 VAC, the other 120 VAC, so I suppose it's the electrical company's fault. I checked with my neighbor and he's totally out of power. Very confusing!
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
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    #4

    Jan 27, 2011, 10:56 AM

    Homes frequently have more than a single line coming in from the grid. Many hoes have at least 2 120 vac lines and one could be powered while the other still dead. A bit confused by "Every other circuit had 20 VAC out" do you mean the little label on the breaker or are you using a test meter?
    killerhertz's Avatar
    killerhertz Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Jan 27, 2011, 01:30 PM
    Every other breaker was only putting out 20 VAC because one of the incoming service lines was only putting out 20 VAC.
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
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    #6

    Jan 27, 2011, 01:38 PM

    "do you mean the little label on the breaker or are you using a test meter?
    "
    killerhertz's Avatar
    killerhertz Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #7

    Jan 27, 2011, 05:20 PM
    I measured the output of the terminals with a digital multimeter. I found out there's a regional outage from the snow storm and they're supposed to restore it tonight. I'll cross my fingers. Thanks.
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
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    #8

    Jan 27, 2011, 06:58 PM

    Good luck, hope you have some source of keeping warm. What is this computer plugged into?

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