[PZ]

Woke up Sunday with no power in the kitchen and the a/c was also out. Oddly, upstairs power worked, TV and computer downstairs also worked. No blown breakers. Called an electrician as I though the a/c must have shorted something out. When we went out to look at the meter and a/c fan, found this at the meter:

Damn lucky it did not spread. The power cables pulled tight due to ground movement (stupid clay soil). The plastic pipe was originally connected to the meter and the metal retaining ring cut the insulation on the cable and was melted by the cable. You can see the arcing scars on the brick.
The subdivision is on a very slight hill, with a drop of about 3' between houses. The cable ran from the transformer about 3-4' underground, parallel to the drop. Most of the side fences parallel to the drop lean downhill as the soil moves over time. There are no retaining walls originally, but a few homeowners have added them. I planned on adding one as the side fence needs to be replaced.

 

[hu vw]

Has the house shifted that much since you had the slab work done? I'm glad you don't have more damage. 2019 is becoming an expensive year for you!

 

[AndreasPassat]

WOW, you got lucky with only that happening. Good thing you've got brick exterior. Had that been wood siding, I don't even want to think of what could've happened.

The reason why some of the house still works, you've got (2) legs of power and one common/ground coming into the meter.
One of power legs goes to one side of the breaker panel and other leg to other side of the panel.
Obviously the wire in the fore front is one of the power legs that burned away and that is the part of the panel that doesn't have power.

Are those the wires feeding the meter from under ground, or do you have overhead service from wires coming off a pole?

 

[PZ]

The house has had foundation work 3 times. The 1st was about 7 years ago as that side had dropped nearly 2", I had the opposite side done at the same time as it was down just over 1". The 2nd was 2 years ago as the front of the garage and porch dropped. Then early this year as the back went down since the front was lifted. Is has not moved since then.
The soil level has next to the house has dropped at least 6" over the years. I have added soil there each time the foundation work was done and whenever we dig for planting (way too often). Even the transformer at the back on a pad has sunk 6" into the ground. The concrete pad I made for the garden shed went down 3-4". The wires are underground.
We have not had rain since maybe August and then when it comes, we usually get a lot. The soil expands and contracts, with massive cracks showing even in watered lawns. Our average rainfall is 37.1" per year, nearly the same as Seattle but it does not rain often.

 

[Hirnbeiss]

This reminds me of an incident on my old sub, (USS Norfolk, may she continue serving as trusty razor blades). Shore power was supplied by 3 cables, each with its own breaker. One breaker tripped, causing another cable to carry the extra current. Its breaker should have tripped too, but it was defective. We were alerted to this by an exploding sound and smoke in the engine room, after that cable had overheated and begun melting the rubber insulation until “boom!”. Moral: check breakers.

 

[JayTheSnork]

Hirnbeiss, didn't know you were a former bubblehead! we should talk sometime. I still live near Groton.

 

[JayTheSnork]

Paul, glad all is ok and everyone is in good shape. hope it is resolved soonest.

 

[PZ]

They cut out 1' of cable and put a new plastic collar. Not sure how much new cable they put in as it's all covered up now.

 

[Somtago]

By the way, for me it is also interesting.