Weird humming sound

Had one many years ago that just quit running, one day when bored, I investigated and found a house fly firmly caught in the gears. Once the fly was removed, the clock ran fine for several more years. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller
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Reminds me of the least favorite job at little america, the guy who has to climb down and knock all the stalacmites away inside the outhouse!

Jim

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Reply to
jim rozen

What might be the problem - loss of a valid or solid 'ground lead - or return for the hot leg. There might be current running through the earth ground lead that is attached to a water pipe somewhere - not to the power line... - the gnd line broken.. maybe the pipe is ringing...

I advise having the electric company out there asap. Explain it was after their work and you need a safety exam and verification.

Mart> >

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

Yes. We discovered early on that it *had* to be indoors, after several failed experiments with UK-style outdoor plumbing. Much of Canada drops below the freezing point of water in the winter.

I do wonder what happens when the temperature drops below freezing in the UK...

Dave

Reply to
Dave Martindale

On 1 Jan 2004 13:23:31 -0800, jim rozen vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

moaning?

**************************************************** sorry remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I was frightened by the idea of a conspiracy that was causing it all. But then I was terrified that maybe there was no plan, really. Is this unpleasant mess all a mistake?

Reply to
Old Nick

C'mon guys! The answer is simple.

Why does it hum? Because it doesn't know the words!

I can't believe none of you thought of it.....

-- Bill "Dodging-Rotten-Fruit-and-Empty-Bottles" Browne

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Reply to
Bill Browne

if you talking about your house humming. try turning all the power off at the breaker box...not just unplug the appliances.. could be a transformer in the attic or behind the walls(??).... how about a ballast in a floresent light fixture or such???? do you hear it outside???/ and the old lady neighbors dont???? maybe they are like me and dont hear much, or just block it out as they are so used to it???? old man who used to live next door(he died, (would be about 85 now)... he used to tell me that he could hear the antenna from a house two doors away at night,,,the guy down the block with the antenna to me that he disconnected everything and sold the equip. and did not bother with the antenna as it was too much trouble getting it down.... think the old man had tenitus(hearing problems that give the ringing of the ears for alot of old people(over 40??? just kidding about being old, its relative))... i wish i was 40 again....

Reply to
jim

Do they perhaps drink more beer to raise the output volume? Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

Chuckle! While in the UK, 11 years ago, I was asked to do a lecture at the local elementary school. I was surprised that all of the "biffys" were in a row of outside, unheated privies, well away from the main building.

Steve R.

Reply to
Udie

Don't know about your hums(!), but Bristol (the real one in England!) has had a "hum" for many years. Some think its a sort of all-pervasive mains hum, others have all sorts of wild ideas about different factories, etc. It can't really be them, as most of the heavier manufacturing industries have long gone - to the far east as far as we can tell from the labels on the boxes of imports!

But the hum still bothers people. Haven't heard it myself, as I live down the coast from Bristol and the hum doesn't travel that far, though the wife grumbles about the noise of the central heating - but what can you expect with pumps and motors made on the cheap from the far east! At times its not just a hum, but a deafening racket - like knocking your head on the wall, its so nice when the thermostat cuts out!

One time in a colleague's place in spain, we heard "hums" and then felt them too! Touching the column of a standard lamp was quite exciting!!! They only had twin wiring - no earthing at all...... and a lovely high-impedance buzz sould be got off most metal electrified objects :)

Well, we always "hoped" it was high-impedance.....

Dave GB

Reply to
spitfire2

Another source of irritating vibrations is from the newer buildings. The local bookstore (built within the past five years) is on a second story, but the floors are thin enough that there are certain spots that are obvious anti-nodes for vibration. I would say that the floor is moving up and down probabably an inch or two. It's enough to make me decidedly queasy if dwell on one of them for any time.

Jim

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Reply to
jim rozen

I switched off the mains and it still hums. This might degrade into a black helicopter thread pretty soon unless I getta grip on this.

Reply to
dann mann

There's a spot in a huge local shopping mall where a certain section of the second floor vibrates STRONGLY and continously. I have no idea why, but it bothers me a bit. The mall has been added to many times over the years (I think it dates from the early 1970s, though it looks brand-new).

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

That's progress- rules out a whole bunch of things (not the electric meter itself, but everything else mains-powered).

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

Interestingly enough, the second floor at one of the big malls here waves constantly too. It is concrete over steel, and, I understand that the REASON for it is that when the mall was built, the architects designed it with

8" of concrete, but, the contractors only poured 6". This left the structure "underdamped", so the vibration of hundreds of people moving about on the floor set up resonances. It does not seem to be "serious" but, it is rather noticeable if one stops and leans on the railing at the various overlooks. Regards Dave Mundt
Reply to
Dave Mundt

Same thing, I think. The bookstore disturbes me, because the excursions happen even when the store seems to be fairly empty.

I recall that the Salvatori book always said that buildings are designed first so that they have enough rigidity for structural purposes, but then also so that the deflections under various loads are small enough to keep the occupants from getting seasick. Hence the resonant dampers at the to of some tall buildings like the Hancock Tower.

Jim

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Reply to
jim rozen

Well, if it really is the meter, then the electric company is going to have to take it from there. Do you have buried service? There may be something else underground that is coupling vibration into the conduit the service runs through, and then coupling it into your wall. Another possible bizarre cause is that there are serious ground problems in the service drop, and the AC currrent is making the conduit or ground wire vibrate. If it is just the meter, they should be glad to replace it, as it is probably going to die at some point.

I can't imagine it is a bearing, ever notice how slow they turn? It would have to be the voltage coil (or the remote reading transponder), since it still hums with no current draw.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

No. Even under fairly heavy load, the meter turns slowly, so any bearing noise would be more of a "click" than a "hum". However, the *windings* or the magnetic *core* in the meter may be loose. These will vibrate simply from the 60 Hz alternating current passing through them, ie they form a *buzzer*.

No. Ground has nothing to do with the operation of the meter. Remember that in residential electrical systems, ground is for electrical safety *only*. It is never allowed to carry operating currents. The meter need not even be grounded *at all* in order to operate properly.

The meter only measures operating current (series), line to line operating voltage (shunt), and the phase relationship between the two. The meter is essentially an analog computer integrating voltage X current X cosine(theta) over time to yield watt-hours.

It is not ground dependent.

Gary

Reply to
Gary Coffman

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