[bardos]

Hi all,

I live in spain where the electricity mains are 220V 50Hz. I live about 400 metres from town and have a cable which contains 2 wires with a diameter of 10 (not sure what the ten stands for) that runs to my house and delivers mains current. I supply the third ground wire at site with a buried copper pole.

Recently I have been experiencing problems when running a high amperage device. For example, when I use the oven or the 1 hp water pump, the voltage will drop to below 200 volts. The local electrician recommends that I change cables and use 3 wires with a rating of 25 in copper (or 50 in aluminium) to bring the electricity, still at 220v. Could anyone explain to me what this means in layman's terms? I had thought the three wires would mean 380 volts, but he says no, it would still be at 220v. How could this help? I know that with a thicker cable the voltage drop would be less, but could someone explain about the three wires?

I hope this is coherent.

Thanks.

[tkrussell]

I am not sure if the electrician is proposing using three wires for 3 phase, or a neutral or euipment ground, most likely the latter.

Really depends on the local system you have.

The important issue to to install larger wires, as you state, will reduce voltage drop.

Delivering the 380 V to the home, and then transforming down to 220 volt may be a solution, but does not seem to be what he is planning.

Also, if you can incur the cost, will definitely be better to use copper for the new wires.