Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Pop goes the transformer!

 

EMC truck

I heard a strange *pop* and couldn’t find its source just as we were sitting down to eat our dinner last night.  I ran into the laundry room to check the churning dryer and shut it off because it was sounding very strange.  MM walked in at that moment and asked if I saw the “arc” that just went through the house.  We had a strange power surge.  Um, no, but the dryer smells funny and won’t turn back on, even though all the lights on it are working.

We both go to see what else is wrong elsewhere in the house, just as it goes totally DARK.  No electricity.  Rut roh.  And dinner is getting cold, so we smartly grabbed our plates and headed to the deck and called the neighbors to see if ours is an isolated case.  Yep.  MM called the EMC company, and they had him go outside and check our meter.  D.E.A.D.  Not turning at all.  Heck yeah, the house has NO electricity!

Skinny Joe and big truck arrived and got us a brand spanking new transformer installed and a fuse somewhere else, and we were back in business in about two hours.  Easy peasy…for him.

Handy dandy tip:  keep a solar light charged and ready to bring inside when you have a power outage. solar light It will cast light for many hours, with no candle flame worries with kids and critters around.  Place on top of a mirror for even brighter coverage.  This one is minus the holder (MM needed it), placed in a plastic glass, or use a small jar instead.  It also works well in a camper when boondocking.  You’ll thank me some day.

Have yourselves a bright Tuesday.  I will, grateful that I can continue my laundryfest here at home!

5 comments:

Sandee said...

Well bugger on that. I hate it when you're sitting down to dinner and the electricity goes out. It's even worse when your food is half cooked.

We know this trick already. We have lighting in strategic places around our house so we don't have to worry about being in the dark. Excellent advice.

Have a fabulous day honey. Big hugs to you and tons of scritches to the babies. ♥♥♥

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

wow. scary! i hope no appliance was damaged honey!

hugs, bee
xoxoxooxxo

Jean(ie) said...

Rut Ro for sure. Glad nothing and no one appears to have damage. Those transformers can be quite nasty when they fail.

Barb said...

LOVE the solar light suggestion. WILL pick some up! Thank you... today. ;)

big hugs xoxo

Joy said...

Good tip on the solar light. I have two outside but might not think to bring one inside. Glad the EMC guy got you up and running again quickly, that arc thing is scary!