On Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 3:20:07 PM UTC-5, tert in seattle wrote:
> I'm sure you're all concerned that I might have been hit by a tree in the
> big wind storm here in Seattle Tuesday night. That did not happen but I
> did wake up to the sound of a transformer exploding at 1:30 a.m.
Glad to hear you're ok. That sound is always very exciting. Sounds like
God's Own Arc Welder.
> It was
> pretty weird, the utility pole across the street snapped but the wires
> were still connected. I had some power but not enough for my electric
> range or wall heaters. And some rooms in the house had no power.
Good old stackexchange:
<
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/178240/weird-power-outage-in-certain-rooms-condominium>
"You have lost one phase or leg (terms vary) of your power. 120/240 power comes in on 3 wires - two hots each 120V from the neutral and 240V from each other. Most breaker panels are designed with alternating legs. Left & right in each row are on the same leg. 240V (dryer, oven, A/C, etc.) use a pair of breakers, one on each leg.
"Your electrician should have been able to figure this out. In any case, CALL YOUR ELECTRIC UTILITY and tell them you have an intermittent phase/leg out. They'll check it out for free and fix it if it is on their side, which is very often the case."
This happened at our office last summer. The worst thing was that the air-conditioners
were getting only half the power they needed. I hollered at the building manager to shut
them down PDQ.
Cindy Hamilton