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What does it mean when electrical outlets START working after a storm?
Seriously... I had 2 rooms upstairs that have not had power since I moved here 2 years ago. An electrician came, said "you're right, it doesn't work" and never came back. He thought someone cut a wire while renovating and forgot to re wire those rooms. Well, after a major storm a couple of weeks ago, suddenly those rooms have power.
I'm guessing the hydro being out for the entire city must have re set whatever was wrong... but I worry now about it being a fire hazard. Any electricians around? |
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that's spooky! Maybe condensation is allowing the contacts to "contact" or allowing spark to jump the break.....that could keep me awake.
Try changing the switches first. could be the problem is right there in the switch and not a wire someplace down the line.
Any chance there's a secondary, hidden fuse box somewhere?? Through various remodeling, some boxes are abandonded in favor of something newer and bigger.
I'm not impressed with your electrician......however, to chase down cut wires and such is very expensive and maybe he thought you weren't interested in persuing it further. |
| The electrician was a friend of the landlord... so I suppose there was a cost limit discussed, I don't know. |
Let's echo what's been said: That is scary!!!!
Those kind of electrical problems are way too scary to let go. We have a split baseboard heater and when one of the sides wasn't working, my husband pulled it from the wall and found a cut wire. Apparently that one cut wire could have burned the entire house down.  I wouldn't mess with that power loss stuff, make the landlord get on it!!! |
| I'd request the Landlord get someone out there to look at it....asap. I'm not electrician, but its all scarey to me.... |
Increase your renter's insurance, raise the amperage of the fuse, start the dryer and go out for Dairy Queen (and Frosty Paws). Take all the animals with you.
EDIT: Better yet: First write an email to the landlord explaining the problem(s) and asking permission to raise the amperage of the fuse. |
| I just asked my husband (he's an electrician). He said it could be a couple of things. It could be a loose connection in the wiring in which case you should call out an electrician as it has the potential to cause a fire. Or it could be that the outlet is connected to a switch you have to flip on/off (like the wall switch that turns on an overhead light in a room, etc.) He said sometimes a wall switch can be connected to 2-3 different outlets in a room. Hope this helps! |
Actually I hadn't thought of another wall switch controlling the outlet. Are you living in a converted apartment? One that maybe had been a large home and then remodeled into apartments at some point?
If it is a loose wire, let's hope it is right at the outlet. |
| Yeah, the switch is in the landlord's apartment and he's trying to keep the elecrtic bills down!!! |
SheepieBoss wrote:
Actually I hadn't thought of another wall switch controlling the outlet. Are you living in a converted apartment? One that maybe had been a large home and then remodeled into apartments at some point?
If it is a loose wire, let's hope it is right at the outlet. |
No it's a house, an older home but not really old by this town's standards LOL
Most of the houses on my street are from the 1800's, but this block is "new" in comparison, probably 1950's.
It's not a wall switch, we checked all that out a long time ago.
I did mention it to the landlord, but I haven't seen an electrician yet. He said he was going to have someone come and take a look. *shrug*
He had said he had the electrical updated when he bought this house about 5 years ago. When you look at the fuse panel, you can see that new wires have indeed been put in, but the fact that it's still a fuse panel and not a breaker panel suggests it's not exactly "updated" |
