When digging a hole...
 

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[Closed] When digging a hole goes wrong!!

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Just got home to find the people putting up next doors fence have dug through the electric main to our house... its currently sparking and popping in the hole. Strangely everyones electric is still on. I have a feeling this is going to cause a bit of disruption... hope its fixed in time to watch the giro highlight...yeah right.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:04 pm
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Have they stopped digging?


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:05 pm
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My instinct would be to flip the switch on my consumer unit until the authorities turn up.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:06 pm
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Oh, not about the Jordan Peterson thread then...


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:07 pm
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My instinct would be to flip the switch on my consumer unit until the authorities turn up.

I thought that too but the electric company said to touch nothing.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:08 pm
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You'd better step away from the keyboard!

Are you sure they just didn't want you prodding the cable with a rake handle?


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:12 pm
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On my phone. Luckily I can charge it on a battery pack...this bikepacking kit is useful after all....might go to the pub!


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:17 pm
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They'll have it fixed pretty quickly. It's the digging that takes the time, but it sounds like that's been done for them.

Leaving it alone is the right thing to do. After all, if it was a neutral fault, you wouldn't want to be the person taking the least load.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:18 pm
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Then again, after 4pm on the Friday before a bank holiday weekend...let's hope the standby team aren't busy on a bigger fault somewhere else.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:22 pm
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If they come out apparently they called SSE at11.00am!!! You'd think a literally smoking hole with sparks would spark a quicker response...I may have to call the Thunder birds at this rate.

Worst case is the arrive at 7 and the giro highlights dont record.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:22 pm
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In all fairness, so long as you stay out of the hole, it's not dangerous. And you did say your power is still on. They're probably tied up with "no supply" calls. They might even temp it up for the bank holiday do a full repair next week.

Is it an outside meter cabinet and how far away is the nearest neighbour who's not affected?


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:31 pm
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Is it an outside meter cabinet and how far away is the nearest neighbour who’s not affected?

Meter is in garage which is part of the house which is part of a terrace, no ones electric is off as far as I can see.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:36 pm
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Chuck a bucket of water in hole that'll stop it smoking


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:40 pm
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Theres a big metal pole in it at the moment should I chuck the water in and then take the pole out?


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:42 pm
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Then they might make the whole main dead, cut you off and then feed you from a neighbour with a similar garage set up.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:46 pm
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should I chuck the water in and then take the pole out?

only once you've got a live feed and linked it here


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 5:48 pm
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Thunderbird 3 has arrived...more digging has started!


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 6:34 pm
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Power off no giro highlights!


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 6:39 pm
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How far did they dig? Hope they are insured and you didn’t get any surges to blow your equipment up.


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 6:49 pm
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They seem to be getting quite animated with a tape measure and head scratches at the moment!


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 6:53 pm
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Power back on!! In time for Froomes big day out!


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 7:13 pm
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There's channel quest +1 hr on sky 244 if they get finished by 8pm to watch the giro


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 7:17 pm
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Result.

Mate’s neighbour was doing his fence and managed to damage the water main (not buried as deep as it should have been, not on any maps) that served most of the town. Back garden filled up in minutes, only the fire brigade coming and pumping the water away stopped the water rising further and saved their houses from flooding. Took water company 3 hours to switch it off. Took months to deal with insurance and redo his garden.

So, er, power off for a bit sounds pretty lucky to me...


 
Posted : 25/05/2018 7:24 pm
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Last year the water main ruptured in the block of terraces along from us. Big pretty fountain and A one thoroughly flooded house.

When they were digging founds for an extension at school one of the diggers managed to sever the line supplying the whole of Dunblane. That was amusing up until they installed a temp generator that meant we weren't being sent home.


 
Posted : 26/05/2018 12:31 am