Wild power outage tonight, got to use my lights

KingGlamis

Banned
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
745
Location
Mesa, AZ
So I was sitting here on my computer tonight and was actually typing a response in a thread here when I hear an explosion (not that loud, but still an explosion) and a see a huge flash of light out by the wall, followed by a bunch of smoke. At the same time as the explosion the power went out in the house. I was so shocked at what had just happened that I forgot that I had several lights within arms reach of me. And I wasn't wearing my normal clothes, since we went swimming today... I was wearing my swim trunks. But after about 20 seconds I remembered that I had put my EDC in the pocket of my swim trunks after getting out of the pool. So I fired up my EDC and then lit one of my DeWalt work lights so that my wife could see. I then ran out back and jumped up on the wall to find two electric company repair men working on an electric box that is right next to our wall. I asked if they were OK and they said yes. So I went out and watched them work for a while, then approached them and asked what had happened. They said a transformer in the neighborhood was in need of replacement and that it blew the fuses in the box. They said the explosion was from them working on a circuit that was supposed to be dead, but in fact it had 7000 volts running though it, which went to ground with whatever they did, thus the explosion. Those two are lucky to be alive in my opinion.

And the kicker is... they had one D-cell Maglite to perform their repairs. They used it a lot but it was sadly dim, as we all know. I really wanted to show them some real lights, but after they almost died with the 7000 volt explosion, I didn't feel it my place to lecture them about flashlights.

Side note: One of the witnesses of the explosion told me the fire shot about 12 feet in the air and half way across the street. I say again, those guys are lucky to be alive.
 

jml90

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
52
Did you get that extra terrestrial humming sound too? I say that as the same thing happend in the front of my house, but for no apparent reason.
 

stephenmadpotato

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Messages
298
transformer explosions are really really cool, but how was I supposed to know its against the law to cause one:whistle:
 

davidt

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
202
Location
DFW Texas
I remember a few years ago when I witnessed a transformer explosion. I drove past one after work and I was about 100ft past it. At first I though some kids were up to mischeif and set off a bunch of fireworks artillery shells. Except the explosion was very white and very large.

Then the lights to a bunch of business went out. I realized the transformer had exploded.
 

ScottB

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
56
Location
SoCal
Yep, pole-pigs blow up real nice.

Once in North Carolina I saw lightening hit a transformer across the street, vaporize the oil and charge it to a few thousand eV creating a very freaky green plasma that lingered for a few seconds. Amazing.

Living in a high rise in Chevy Chase, MD I heard an loud crack and woke up. The entire neighborhood was lit brightly like daytime and there was a sound like maybe God arc-welding. A pole-pig had shorted out after some heavy winds and blown up sending burning stuff onto the house next to it.
 
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