# What could go wrong with underground line



## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

We just lost power this morning mid stockings. National grid came. Guy said he could only do aerial work, but that he checked the underground line from pole to transformer and that there is a problem with it. It is brand new as of 4 years. Schedule 80 3" PVC. I'm just trying to figure what could have gone wrong. It is under the driveway, but I see no apparent settling. I guess I'll find out in the next few days, but it's generator power for now. Merry Xmas everyone.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

It can flood with water. Critters might chew through the lines if they can get into the PVC.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Is it just your line?

Someone else dig somewhere & damage it?

Somewhat common is the conductors were damaged at install and just now becoming apparent.


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

It's definitely in water, but it is all the time. We have a dedicated pole with underground to transformer. Nothing seems to jump out at me as to what would be wrong. Hopefully they will pull the line to try and find out the issue. There is an extra conduit for running a new feed. It is aluminum wire. Going to have to dial in the generator over the next couple days I guess


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Aluminum...uhhhh


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

Leo G said:


> Aluminum...uhhhh



Yep. It's only 4 years old if that.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

A corroded underground neutral conductor (aluminum). $20,000.00 in damage to the homes electronics. Over 9k was damage to surge protectors for the stereo system.

Tom


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

This is ironic. Got home from my sisters and lights are on. Surprised they got it done. Anyway, it ended up being faulty primary wire on the street side of the pole. Nothing wrong with the underground line and my conduit. Guess the first guy who looked at it wasn't good enough.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Great News.

No generator required.


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

Morning Wood said:


> Nothing wrong with the underground line and my conduit. Guess the first guy who looked at it wasn't good enough.


Anyone who has ever done electrical work has made that mistake at least once or twice in their career where they troubleshoot 'A' and it's working, they troubleshoot 'B' and find that it's not working and then overlook the fact that there might be a 'C' somewhere between 'A' & 'B' that doesn't require you to tear the whole thing apart to find it.

Sometimes we tend to overthink and underthink something until we get someone else to look at it with a fresh set of eyes and that's when they find the simple solution.
:laughing:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Leo G said:


> It can flood with water. Critters might chew through the lines if they can get into the PVC.


They all fill with water on a long enough time line.



Leo G said:


> Aluminum...uhhhh


Aluminum wire works fine.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Inner10 said:


> They all fill with water on a long enough time line.
> 
> 
> 
> Aluminum wire works fine.


Aluminum wire can work fine. But it is much more trouble prone then solid copper. Lots of extras you need to do to make it work properly and if one of those steps is bungled then you can have issues down the line.

Of course the same is with copper, but there are much fewer steps to deal with before you can walk away with a job well done.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

tedanderson said:


> Until we get someone else to look at it with a fresh set of eyes and that's when they find the simple solution.
> :laughing:


And an open mind, sometimes if we think we know what the problem could be, we may overlook the obvious.
For 8 years I did service work on major institutional systems and sometimes all it took was going to lunch and coming back and finding the problem right away.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

Leo G said:


> Aluminum wire can work fine. But it is much more trouble prone then solid copper. Lots of extras you need to do to make it work properly and if one of those steps is bungled then you can have issues down the line.
> 
> Of course the same is with copper, but there are much fewer steps to deal with before you can walk away with a job well done.


One small nick in the jacket of aluminum wire at the time of installation, add water and 4 years later = corrosion


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Leo G said:


> Aluminum wire can work fine. But it is much more trouble prone then solid copper. Lots of extras you need to do to make it work properly and if one of those steps is bungled then you can have issues down the line.
> 
> Of course the same is with copper, but there are much fewer steps to deal with before you can walk away with a job well done.


The only problem you encounter with AL are people who ring the wire when the strip it, or terminating into CU lug instead of one rated for AL or without an anti-oxidant. It doesn't need any black magic to make it work properly.


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## slowsol (Aug 27, 2005)

The POCO only uses aluminum primaries in this area for new construciton. Most large projects are using AL for secondary feeders as well, due to the cost savings.


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

slowsol said:


> Most large projects are using AL for secondary feeders as well, due to the cost savings.


...and to prevent theft.


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

Neighbors said they were here awhile. Wonder if they got stumped. Didn't get any details when I called customer service to ask what the issue had been. Possible that they just work extra slow on Christmas to take advantage of double time.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

Morning Wood said:


> Neighbors said they were here awhile. Wonder if they got stumped. Didn't get any details when I called customer service to ask what the issue had been. Possible that they just work extra slow on Christmas to take advantage of double time.


Possible? that would be a given here, double time and a half plus 4 hrs in 4 hr increments. Anything past the 1st 4hrs means they get 8 plus 4 more hours. They always have their 2 hr breakfast at the same place every day.
But it is one profession where they can easily be killed so I will give them a pass. A friend of mine works for a utility company, he welds, and does hot taps on gas lines.


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## slowsol (Aug 27, 2005)

Morning Wood said:


> Neighbors said they were here awhile. Wonder if they got stumped. Didn't get any details when I called customer service to ask what the issue had been. Possible that they just work extra slow on Christmas to take advantage of double time.



Extra slow? You've never witnessed them have you?


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