Opposite of Power Surge, a Power Wane
To anyone interested/up to a bit of a challange; for approx. 3 - 4 days,some electric appliances seem to be experiencing a Power Wane, the Washer/Dryer outlet stops feeding electricity, the Microwave ...
Forum Discussion
First thing is get a voltmeter and see what's going on inside. Also check at the pedestal to see if it's different and maybe a couple of other pedestals in the CG.
If it's a sag, dip, drop, brownout or whatever you want to call it and it gradually undulates up & down and is unrelated to your power draw, it could be the CG system (if many users in the CG) or the utility company. I wouldn't expect it to happen this time of year in a CG, unless perhaps if you are in an area where the temperature has taken a dive and maybe a lot of nearby residential users are plugging in electric heaters?
If the voltage goes down quickly in response to plugging in heavy loads like a hair dryer and the voltage stays down for the duration the heavy load is on, it's likely a voltage drop in wiring in the CG system.
If something like the light on the MW seems to flicker quickly when you turn on a heavy load, it could be a bad connection somewhere - either inside your unit or upstream in the pedestal or CG distribution system.
I would check your shore power plug and the pedestal receptacle. If they've gotten dirty and pitted, with the higher resistance when you plug in/turn on higher draw appliances, the plug and/or receptacle can't support the higher current. If it were this, you can end up with a meltdown of the plug too. Less likely but it does happen once in a while, is a problem with the CG power distribution system somewhere like a bad connection in a pedestal or distribution panel.
Cold and moisture can affect connections in a CG pedestal because breakers and panelboards (which is essentially what a pedestal is) aren't really specifically designed for low temp./high humidity locations and I would expect more problems with them this time of the year. Pedestal breakers can take a beating from all the on/off usage and the receptacles can also take a beating from plugging in while live and yanking cords out. It's possible the problem is simply a bad pedestal.
If you don't have one already, a "surge protector" like a Progressive Industries EMS is a good investment. I'd get a hardwired one with remote display. If you do happen to be in a location where voltage fluctuates a lot, an autoformer like the Franks or Hughes will help.
If it's a sag, dip, drop, brownout or whatever you want to call it and it gradually undulates up & down and is unrelated to your power draw, it could be the CG system (if many users in the CG) or the utility company. I wouldn't expect it to happen this time of year in a CG, unless perhaps if you are in an area where the temperature has taken a dive and maybe a lot of nearby residential users are plugging in electric heaters?
If the voltage goes down quickly in response to plugging in heavy loads like a hair dryer and the voltage stays down for the duration the heavy load is on, it's likely a voltage drop in wiring in the CG system.
If something like the light on the MW seems to flicker quickly when you turn on a heavy load, it could be a bad connection somewhere - either inside your unit or upstream in the pedestal or CG distribution system.
I would check your shore power plug and the pedestal receptacle. If they've gotten dirty and pitted, with the higher resistance when you plug in/turn on higher draw appliances, the plug and/or receptacle can't support the higher current. If it were this, you can end up with a meltdown of the plug too. Less likely but it does happen once in a while, is a problem with the CG power distribution system somewhere like a bad connection in a pedestal or distribution panel.
Cold and moisture can affect connections in a CG pedestal because breakers and panelboards (which is essentially what a pedestal is) aren't really specifically designed for low temp./high humidity locations and I would expect more problems with them this time of the year. Pedestal breakers can take a beating from all the on/off usage and the receptacles can also take a beating from plugging in while live and yanking cords out. It's possible the problem is simply a bad pedestal.
If you don't have one already, a "surge protector" like a Progressive Industries EMS is a good investment. I'd get a hardwired one with remote display. If you do happen to be in a location where voltage fluctuates a lot, an autoformer like the Franks or Hughes will help.
