# Dirty Power Problem In One Outlet??



## Johnny916 (Jan 24, 2005)

Hi, I'm a newly trained electrical contractor in Sacramento, CA. 
I recently went to a house where the lady had dirty power in a couple of her outlets. 
She had surge protectors on the outlet's with a few minor appliances plugged into them. 
But the light on the surge protectors keep blinking indicating an inconsistent power supply from the outlet. 

How should I go about fixing this? 
What steps should I take first? 
How much should I charge for a job like this?


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## jbfan (Apr 1, 2004)

How old are the surge protectors I have seen many that came out of the box that had flickering indicator light. What type of appliances? Do you suspect that the power is bad just based on the indicator light? The first thing I would do is check the voltage to see if it is flucuating,then the connection at the outlet, making sure they were not backstab connections. I really don't think you have a problem based on what you have told us. As far as pricing, whatever you charge for the hour and your trip charge. Not sure what that would be in CA


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Did you unplug the appliances? Chinese appliances have been known to 'leak', sometimes to the point of self immolation.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

What steps did you take to verify that there is a power problem?


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## marxlaws (Jan 11, 2005)

whats pluged into them? did you check it with a digital tester?


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## Johnny916 (Jan 24, 2005)

*Yes I tested it with my continuity/voltage tester it was good..*



marxlaws said:


> whats pluged into them? did you check it with a digital tester?



Yes I tested it with my continuity/voltage tester it was good. The lights lit up and everything. The house is probably about 30 years old. The appliances were just a TV and a lamp. 

I ended up giving her a quote to run two new outlets and install a ceiling fan for $750. Obviously it was too much because she never called me back. 
But according to you guys nothing was wrong, I could of charged her a lot less. 

By the way, the new service panel she had installed was wrong. Whoever installed the new panel put all the circuits on one side of the panel. I was told to balance the panel out.


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## jbfan (Apr 1, 2004)

$750, Even in my wildest dreams do I come close to half that. No wonder you were not given the job


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

jb, obviously not enough pirate in you!
I was thinking the same thing. Fan + 2 receptacles = $200.00


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## jbfan (Apr 1, 2004)

Seems like a fair price!!!!


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

Johnny916 said:


> Yes I tested it with my continuity/voltage tester it was good. The lights lit up and everything. The house is probably about 30 years old. The appliances were just a TV and a lamp.
> 
> I ended up giving her a quote to run two new outlets and install a ceiling fan for $750. Obviously it was too much because she never called me back.
> But according to you guys nothing was wrong, I could of charged her a lot less.
> ...


Come on Pond, I know it's you


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I thought you said the power in the outlets was bad, but then you said you tested it with your tester and it tested good? Doesn't that mean the problem was with the surge protectors? What am I missing here?


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## marxlaws (Jan 11, 2005)

ryaniniowa said:


> btw... if the circuits were all on one side of the panel it was balanced. They go every other one. Otherwise you couldn't get 220volts with a 2 pole breaker. just fyi.


ok, btw -you put all all your lighting and bathroom and tvs and garage and dishwasher and disposal fridge and 120 v acs units on one phase 1-5-9-13 -17 - 21 then take everything else- the receps you never use (behind the bed) and the the spare bed room and the answering mach etc and put them on 3-7-11-15 19 and call me  fyi


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## DeadShort (Feb 1, 2005)

*Screwy*

I have seen something similar in a commercial build. 
The recepticle would handle a light load(i.e. desktop computer) but when a small room fan was plugged-in the computer would turn-off, but the other recepticles on the same circuit had no problem and the breaker never tripped. When I removed the receptacle I noticed the #12 awg wires were neatly bent around the screws, BUT THE SCREWS WERE NEVER TIGHTEND. Quick fix though, I tightened the screws.....:Thumbs:


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