Flickering Power

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zalherwitz

zalherwitz

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Hi All,

I am a new homeowner as of just a couple weeks ago, and I am wondering about an electrical issue. The best way I can describe it is that the power seems to flicker. I notice that sometimes the refrigerator light will dim or its fans will intermittently slow; I have a desktop computer that will just click off randomly, though I am sure that it is not the hardware.

There are probably some other things going on, as well, but hopefully that gives you a taste of the situation. Some info on the house: built in 1950 in Oregon, no grounded outlets, and everything runs on electric (heat, boiler, oven).

Any idea what could be going on--or what our next steps should be?

Thanks so much for your time!

--Christian
 
Welcome to the site.
Before you get to far into this, check with the neighbors to make sure it is not a line problem.
 
Hi zalherwitz, and :welcome:. There are probably countless answers to the question, and it will probably take some detective work to find the culprit. You may have a high-drawing unit in the system that creates a drain when it is operating. OTOH it could be the power company.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of homeownership.
I'm leaning towards mice, chipmunks or squirrels have a little snack on your wires.
 
Thank you all for the feedback! I hope you don't mind if I have some follow-up questions...I really am a total n00b (like I said, new homeowner--also, my parents never owned).

nealtw said:
Before you get to far into this, check with the neighbors to make sure it is not a line problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea, nealtw! When talking to my neighbors, would I say something like, "hey, do you know if we have a line problem?"--or is there another phrasing that makes more sense?

slownsteady said:
You may have a high-drawing unit in the system that creates a drain when it is operating.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome, slownsteady! Do you know how I would test for particularly high-drawing units?

kok328 said:
I'm leaning towards mice, chipmunks or squirrels have a little snack on your wires.
Click to expand...

Welcome indeed, kok328. Pesky squirrels, eh--any ideas on how to look into that?
 
A little more detail would be helpful. Do you have electric baseboard heat? You mentioned a boiler also, so I'm a little confused.
A good place to start is just using your eyes and ears. When the lights flicker, is it coincidental to something like the heat kicking on? If you have a well, it could be coincidental to water usage. If it doesn't happen when you're cooking, the oven is probably not a suspect...you get the idea.
A flicker would usually mean a rapid and erratic change in lighting, as opposed to dimming. How long does the dimming last? Seconds or minutes? And how dim is dim? Barely noticeable or "where's the flashlight?"
 
Hi zalherwitz and :welcome: to the forum.

Without me repeating much of what has been suggested already since they are very good suggestions I would truly talk to your neighbors first. Simply tell them what is going on with your house electrically and ask them if they happen to have some of the same symptoms.

What the group here is attempting to do is get a starting point in locating what may be the issue. If it is an outside utility issue and we started looking in the house for the issue we would be doing a lot of things that would not help you solve it. So first we want to know if it is on the outside of the house before we start looking on the inside.
 
We own two homes built in the 50's, both had the dimming lights issue when we bought them.
(not light's getting a lot brighter, then dim, big different's in trouble shooting)
Both had undersized wiring undersized main lines coming into the home, only a 60 amp. breaker box, way too many outlets on one circuit.
Had to keep boxes of fuses on hand.
Long ago it was common to see just 14-2 wire ran to a kitchen with the whole kitchen on one circuit. Now there has to be at least two circuits over the counter with 12-2 on 20 Amp. breakers and often at another one for the microwave.
Outlets over the counter also need to be GFI protected.
Code now is a 20 amp. GFI protected circuit to the bathroom that can not be shared with any other room. (bet you'll find your's is only 15 amp. and is shared with other rooms.
I we wired both of the homes to modern code's and never had another issue.
 
Joe raises another good question.
Do you have a fuse box or a breaker box with the latter indicating a conversion at some point.
Also does this seem to happen during high winds?
Go thru your attic and basement and see if any wires show signs of rodent damage. Also when your home and being quiet do you hear any rustling around in the walls and ceilings, they like to make travel paths thru your home. Do you find feces in any areas in you home?
Is there a pattern that you've detected so far?
 
Last edited:
Just ask their neighbors if they experience power fluctuations where the lights will dim and then get brighter again-- the dimming you described is what we call a "brownout" where I live. It happens at my house during storms or on very windy days.

You may ultimately need to get a whole house surge protector on your box-- but loose or damaged wiring could also be the culprit. If it is the latter, you need to get it fixed asap because that can be a fire hazard.

I hope you find out what is causing it soon.
 
Thanks everyone for all your input!! I see I have some things to look into, and you guys have given me some directions to start.

Enjoy the game today!
 
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