Incompetant electrician...

[PITA]

I'd just like to say thank you to the incompetant electrician who hid a 60 amp fuse within our 100 amp system...

My Powerwalls and EV Charger decided to have a hunting party last night at 01:30am to track and kill this rogue 60 amp alien.

Powerwalls took victory by jumping into backup mode, while the EV Charger stomped off in a huff and shut down, followed temporarily by our House Alarm waking me up.

No GRID.

So 01:30am I donned my War Slippers and went into battle mode, calling in Ground Support from my local DNO... who got to me within an hour... highlighted the successful Hunting Trophy and replaced it with a shiny 100 amp one.

Back to bed... and please play nicely together.

 

[BGbreeder]

"Fuse"? What is a "fuse"?

I am surprised that after the charger and Powerwall lit the fuse, that something didn't go "boom".

Congratulations on your successful night ops.

 

[PITA]

"Fuse"? What is a "fuse"?

I am surprised that after the charger and Powerwall lit the fuse, that something didn't go "boom".

Congratulations on your successful night ops.

Well, it appears a 60 amp fuse is quite feisty, and held it's battle position right up to about 78 amps...

So it was a tough contender. However, it was surrounded by Tesla Assassins with little humour for weak wannabe's.

I think the kill was eventually swift and without suffering... except from myself scuttling around outside in the garden at Burglars Hour... with a torch... like a Burglar...

 

[getakey]

DNO?

 

[Laketime]

I have, questions....

 

[miimura]

DNO?

Americans are unfamiliar with his UK terminology. DNO = District Network Operator. In the UK, your service is provided by the DNO, but you are free to purchase your energy from any approved energy provider, who reads your meter and bills you for the energy.

In California, the system is similar, but presented to the customer as a unified system. For example, PG&E provides the service while you have the option to get energy from another supplier. However, PG&E owns the meter and handles all the billing.

 

[getakey]

so the DNO responded at 1am to a problem that they didn't create?
Doubt if PG&E would do that

 

[miimura]

so the DNO responded at 1am to a problem that they didn't create?
Doubt if PG&E would do that

Not sure, but the fuse might be the DNO's responsibility.

 

[PITA]

so the DNO responded at 1am to a problem that they didn't create?
Doubt if PG&E would do that

We're a 'special case'

 

[PITA]

Not sure, but the fuse might be the DNO's responsibility.

The fuse in question is a 'grey area'... long story...

At the time of the phone call, we couldn't establish that the problem was a blown fuse.

We cycled the breaker switches On/Off but the Grid was still off.

So they said they'd send someone over immediately if that was OK with me to investigate further... Yes I replied.

When the guy turned up, I gave him a mini-tour of our Tesla setup and he was only to happy to assist further.

We were up and running again in 15-20 minutes (with a spare fuse... just in case).

 

[jjrandorin]

Thats some "darn good" service there. I dont think Southern California Edison (my local utility in southern california ) would bother to send someone out the next day, let alone the middle of the night.

 

[sorka]

Is this a new fuse and conductor? Is the conductor sized properly for the 100 amp breaker?

 

[BGbreeder]

@PITA Or are you on one of my favorite British invention, rewireable ceramic fuses?


I have a vivid memory of my first encounter with them, of course at night, of course when it had blown, of course in a fuse box I had never seen before, whose inside was littered with slivers of various size fuse wires lying on the bottom, and my initial and lasting thought was... along the lines of "who thought this one up?"

Right up there with US screw in fuses whose diameter allowed the insertion of a US copper penny to bypass it.

Thanks for the great story.