Liability

[Paul Spindy]

Can I hold the power company or insurance claim for this situation.

Well does not work. So I replaces pressure switch. No luck so I replace pump. No luck so I know I have power to house and well shows power. So I start checking circuit. I found hot to ground 120 on both legs. But, hot to hot nothing. Call power company and found to hots fused together but did not trip transformer or anything else.

Was it my fault to assume since I had power in house to just replace my pump. Would an electrician see power to the house with no other problem and assume it was the pump. Will I be out the cost of the new pump or can I try to hold power company liable. Also my pittless adapter will not seal so I need to dig and replace.....should have called the professional.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Where was the two fused together. It's an oddity but most techs should always use a voltmeter and hopefully they would have checked for 240v, not just each leg separately. The two fused together in itself would not cause any breakers in your panel to trip. If you have/had an electric range, electric dryer, or a electric water heater they would also not have been working and would give a clue that something more than the pump was bad.

Insurance wise, you can always try but after the deductible, what's left. However, you need to prove there was damage to your property, n0t just your wallet. The power company, probably not a chance, the first thing they'll want is a report from a licensed electrician and where is the damage?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Paul Spindy]

The technician was me.... : (

 

[JerryR]

The first thing a “qualified” tech would verify before replacing parts is that there is proper voltage to the pump. That includes verifying there’s 240 volts to a 240 volt motor.

I understand your logic that simce there’s power to the house there must be power to the pump but unfortunately you failed to properly diagnose the problem that led YOU to replace perfectly good parts.

If power from power company caused damage to an appliance, and you could prove it, your might have a case.

 

[WorthFlorida]

What the power company told you could not happen and they were just pushing you off the base. In residential areas this is how you get 240 volt from a single phase. Each leg is 180 degree from each other. A short (fused?) will definitely cause things to go bad, blow the transformer off the pole, power line would get real hot and the breakers on the poles would trip. Do you have other 240 volt appliances in the home?

This is a simple diagram of a pole transformer. Input could be as low as 2300 volts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-phase_electric_power

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_transformer

 

[JerryR]

According to what was measured then both legs were the same phase. How that happened we will never know.

Even with both legs same phase I can’t think of any appliance that would be damaged. Every 120v device would operate properly and every 240v device would just not have any power.

if you read Paul’s other thread postings he stated his electric stove lights worked (120v) but heating elements were dead. Same with his dryer, it lit up but would not heat. Then he noticed his digital electric meter display was dead being that it needed 240v.

I’ve never heard of power input failing where both L1 and L2 legs were on same phase. The common failure is loosing one leg which causes 240v devises and 1/2 of the home 120v devices to not power up.

 

[Reach4]

I suspect Paul misunderstood.

It is possible to read ~120 volts to ground on both legs if one leg is open. This depends on the 240 loads being low resistance, and the sum of the 120 volt loads on the bad leg to be small. Those could be made small by breakers being opened.

 

[Jadnashua]

Using a test tool, but not understanding the results, often can lead to an improper diagnosis. That's one reason why electricians need a license...they need at least some education and understanding of the tools and methods to make things work and be safe.

Sorry, I do not think you have a case against the power company unless potentially, a device was damaged. Replacing a good device because you think it's bad is not their problem.

 

[Fitter30]

Good way to end up dead or hurt severely. Were you wearing safety glasses in case something grounded out or shorted? Most places from the meter can to house is all on you. Find a problem with incomming voltage EC will take care of the problem.

Don't use free harbor freight meter spend $50+ with some decent leads.

 

[hj]

When one phase is faulty, the other phase will be powered through ANY 240 v items that are/were active, thus indicating the same phase on both main lines at the panel.