Restaurant problems

[GG]

Hello, I went on a service call today at a restaurant where they had 4 panels fed from a tap can. 1 of the 3 phase panels was feeding 3 - 3 phase A/C units. The remaining breakers are single pole and feed computers and lights. The computers all had been destroyed yet none of the breakers ever tripped. A 2nd panel had several peices of equipment it was feeding that had been destroyed. In all of these destroyed peices of equipment none of the breakers had tripped. The A/C unit breakers would never trip while I was there but the owner kept calling me every 10 minutes after I left telling me they kept tripping and they kept resetting them. I drove up there again and the amps never went over 25 on any of the A/C units during 45 minutes. I told him to call out his A/C guy. They have something blowout (ie, computers, ovens, lights, water heaters) atleast 2-3 times a month now, and a breaker never trips. This all just started 5 months ago. No new equipment has been added to the building, and I have been servicing it for 4 years, and this is the first time anything like this has happened. Would panel surge protectors solve any of their problems? TY

 

[Onitram]

make sure identified conductor is really grounded,sometimes it will test good, then get loose and trouble,sounds like you lost the main ground, or someone cut the copper out.

 

[memyselfandI]

I agree. Sounds like you lost the grounded conductor. Something is loose. Check for signs of arcing on the connections or the taps. IS it hook up to a high leg of a delta service? If you lost a phase, motors have a tendancy to compensate on the remaining phases. I would start at the source, in the tap can and work from there.

 

[izak]

when you decide that you havent lost the 'neutral'

call the utility, and make them go up the pole to the transformer and check it

 

[GG]

Well the POCO came out and I thought they would check their XFMR, connections at the weatherhead, and their tap can which was pad locked. Instaed they came out, unlocked the tap can, and charged the owner $50.00. What is that crap? Are they expecting me to tighten all of the connections in the tap can, inspect their crimps at the weatherhead, and then climb up the pole and stick my mug in the XFMR and check to see if the conections are good. Guess I better take my wiggy up the pole with me so I can tell if i have proper voltage. This restaurant pays about $4000 a month on their electric bill and this is the kind of service they get? $50.00 to unlock a padlock. Pathetic.

 

[dlhoule]

There are a lot of POCOs that have cut manpower and contract out a lot of the work they used to do. Most utilities have been doing more and more of this sort of thing. It used to be the customer could bill them if a correction was made by a EC which was part of their area of responsibility. It is getting harder and harder to get anything out of them.