Years of failure to maintain the power grid in Penn Hills now catching up with Power Company who is playing catch up and its putting many in danger.

On the screen shot you see below you can see over 4 weeks there have been 9 recordable electrical incidents on my computers back up power supply unit . Now 1 of them is thunder storm related  which is normal to see the others are all because of power grid in this area not being properly maintained and there are many more that have happened which happened to fast for unit to record them . Although  the power company  has spent  considerable money here to bring in new power lines and upgrade substations and they have replaced some rows of poles and upgraded some main  lines that's only about 20% of the power lines in Penn Hills

That means most of the infrastructure in Penn hills is close to 60 years old  Now where not as bad as some areas where wiring has not been touched or upgraded since late 1930's where you can still find old square transformers  on the poles in some  of the other power company's  in the area

So now the problem happening in this area of Penn Hills which encompasses the Hulton road, Bessemer , Valemont Heights and Shannon Heights  is we are having for past few months where all of a sudden the power just blinks out for several seconds and comes back on or just goes down dim.
This is a very dangerous problem as it causes surges on power lines and can damage  electrical items in the home. Now I have installed a very good Surge protection system on my home including power back up for computers but this is still not enough to protect when you have these Quick spikes and especially low voltage brown outs,
which are going on and can mess with refrigerators and freezers and Air conditioners  as they cycle on and off and causes there overloads to trip which is going to be really interesting as everyone starts turning on there units. I already lost a window unit a few years back because of power fluctuations .
Now the power company is aware of the problem but so far does not seemed interested in finding out what is causing it.Because they will not discuss with local officials what they are doing to find the problem or if they are even working on it .
But I may have discovered part of what is going on. This morning while feeding the birds I was in the back yard and I heard a very loud Voltage Arc like when a transformer is going bad or wiring is breaking down ..It sounded like it was coming from around the Indian creek valley area and as loud as it sounded it means a very bad situation is going to happen at the worse time and the grid is going to go out as something is breaking down electrically, and hopefully some where  the power company can easily get to and fix and not in the wooded areas. Worse yet a very bad brush fire could develop or homes could be damaged by the surge. When things finally go to hell  and break down . Several thousand homes and business could be effected especially if this is a substation issue which is over on Coxcomb road  and in Jefferson heights and if they are  involved as some home owners now think thats  where problem is coming from. Of course the even bigger worry is the very large high voltage supply lines just installed in past couple years as they run in this same area when they where being installed one line failed and fell onto Frankstown Road because it was not properly attached.
 What ever is going on  the power company better get to the bottom of it and get it fixed before we have a major fire  and major damage in homes .
in this area and answer to officials what they are doing to resolve it.  Of course electrical issues are just one of the many major issues going on with infrastructure in this area there are gas and water lines all over this end of Pa. going on 100  Plus years old.  a recent newspaper article reported many  tens of millions of dollars need to be spent to upgrade lines as well.  Yes this area went thru a major depression and all company's got hurt but now many are back in the black and need to start playing catch up before we start having major issues.

A fire which took 3 Pittsburgh firefighters Lives and put a young man in jail for life now under review as it may not have been arson

t was a horrifying situation as 3 Firefighters perished in a February 1995 fire in Pittsburgh's Homewood /Brushton section. It was even more horrifying  when it was announced to be an Arson fire.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19950211&id=dGEzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZVIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2965,4991373&hl=en

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19970207&id=w_wyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0W8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4594,4358291&hl=en

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19950215&id=mPNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q4IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4741,8312786&hl=en

Ultimately a young man  17 yr old  Gregory brown Jr.would be accused and sentenced to life in prison and his mom Darlene Buckner  convicted of insurance fraud.

But from the very start of this case things have not been adding up
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19970219&id=oyZdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yloNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1716,2381438&hl=en

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19960507&id=_tZRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=w28DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4213,5672318&hl=en

Because of these discrepancy   The Innocence Project became involved because they believe justice was not done in this case.

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/appeals-court-upholds-new-trial-firefighters-1995-/nkb9s/

While the Fire Investigator hired by the insurance agency that covered the home felt it was possibly related to a defective natural gas pipe line  The City and Federal Investigators  felt it was Arson and pursued it as a criminal case.

A new trail was ruled and then immediately   appealed by Allegheny County DA which the appeal has been overturned and unless further appealed will proceed .

One big thing this new trial will be hinged on is the Fire Investigation Techniques used at the time. 
as it has been revealed in Arson Case Re-Trial after Re-Trial how the Investigation techniques used 
even today are flawed  often called junk Science and even with modern science are being challenged  and there are many questions as to how the case was handled and the fact paid informants where used and not revealed .You better believe the DA is worried the young man will be found innocent  If this young man did set the fire and killed the 3 firefighters I say Fry the SOB  and let him rot in prison . If not then right a wrong and set him free. This trial is going to open up many old wounds but they can not properly heal if justice was not properly done. Lets settle it and all the rumors which have been swirling around the fire community  ever since the fire happene

The Carter 3 way wiring system beware of this dangerous wiring when doing electrical work in old homes with Knob & Tube wiring

Got a call the other day from Maintenance Director at one of the Group Homes I take care of for a Institutional customer.Seems they can not get a 3 way dimmer to work in the hall way at the home so they can dim light at night while kids are sleeping.
They installed 2 both worked then stopped and 2nd one sparked and blew up. 

First thing is I check is it the correct dimmer for the correct light.. Yes it is it is rated for both LED and Fluorescent  fixtures. OK has he  wired it correctly common wire to common wire travelers to travelers. yes he has.

So whats going on ?

Well after looking at age of the home early 1900's  and the old knob and tube wiring

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob-and-tube_wiring

  

 I suspect a carter wiring 3 way set up.

Unlike a conventional 3 way set up in picture below where all switching is done with just the hot conductor .

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

The carter system allows the switching of both the hot and neutral conductors 

Because the hot and neutral switch back and forth a 3 way dimmer can not be used  The Carter Circuit was banned in 1923 but I have found them in homes wired all the way up into the 50's and using romex wiring. Because  handymen and totally ignorant so called expert electricians refused to stop using it.

What makes this circuit deadly is the fact you can hook in a new switch improperly on a carter circuit and cause an dead short which is what happened at the group home.

How can you tell if you have a carter circuit in a home it takes a professional electrician familiar with old homes  to be able to determine this  by means of using a meter or induction probe and flipping of the switch and measuring to determine .

Are carter circuits safe to use in a home. Yes they are as long as they are not disturbed and if switches are replaced they are done so properly and due care must be taken to make sure wires are on proper terminal or you will have a short circuit .

 Due care must be taken when changing light bulbs
on a carter circuit as the shell of the light fixture socket can be hot with power even thou switch is off.

If a bulb breaks off  in socket and its an older home only safe way to replace it is to completely turn off power to the circuit.  or entire house if needed.
 and then removing the broken bulb or you risk getting shocked.

Itsy bitzy Spider was a real pain in the ass when they decided to make a home in a smoke detector

It started with a false fire alarm which took several days to track down and find  seems the fire alarm at a institutional customers group home was just going off randomly to make matters worse it was a conventional system which meant looking for the activated device or red LED lighted solid on the smoke detector None of which could be determined.

 The system had some older ESL smokes on it which I immediately replaced  as they are known trouble makers and have been known to go into alarm with out there LED locking in and the system settled down for the night till next morning more false alarms  thats when I found corrosion in the bathroom heat detectors and replaced them and again system seemed to settle . It was fine for 12 hours then another false  I suspected the pull station on the zone  which had been bumped numerous times and I have seen them cause random false alarms as no LED was lighted on any of the I3 System Sensor smokes  or older System sensor smokes which very rarely ever cause a problem. But thats when it really get weird. I take off the pull station and loop still shows it is being supervised despite fact the resistor is missing  as its attached to the pull station .This meant there was a 2nd resistor which was screwing with system that was improperly added to loop.  So I start looking for it and start taking every device apart thats when I find the trouble maker.

One of the smokes in bedroom 2 # has a spider web in it partially blocking the sensor and causing the false. But why was the LED not locking in? to make matters even stranger once I pulled the smoke out of the loop it was now showing a supervision problem no resistor? Hey wait a minute the I3 where never built with an in line resistor yet this unit appears to have one put it back in line its supervised.
Very strange apparently the spider managed to short out something in the smoke causing this issue.
I have contacted System Sensor and sending them the unit to inspect as they are just as curious as I am as to how this spider caused the problem when there are screens etc to prevent this kind of issue.
But thankfully the problem has been found and if it ever happens again I will know to better check all smokes on line when a false occurs and no LED is locked in .

Least Cost Routing LCR the Deadly Game Telephone Carriers Play with your phone calls which could prevent a signal from you Fire or Burglar alarm from being answered.

A burglar is breaking into your home or you are having a medical emergency and you push your emergency alert button .

No worry's the central station is being contacted and help is on the way.  But is help coming?

The answer could well be no because of a deadly game phone company's like Verizon , Comcast  etc play with how your phone call is transmitted from your home to the central station Via toll free numbers .  Which recently happened when a customers sprinkler system activated due to frozen pipes and a signal was not sent by the Silent Knight 5104 B dialer.

I check the dialer all was OK properly programmed phone line working but when it called central station the central station was getting an error message unknown account number#  So what is going on .

Lets say your home or business is in Pittsburgh Pa. and the central station you use is in Erie Pa. 

When the alarm dials the 800 number you would expect it stays with in the borders of Pa. on phone lines which run Between Pittsburgh and Erie  Wrong.

When the number is dialed the phone company central office switch gear looks at where the number is going and then determines the cheapest path to get it there which could be thru Ohio then thru NY and then finally into Pa. and Erie County . In some cases phone numbers being dialed in Pa are being routed as far away as Texas and every time it keeps switching the potential for line noise  and interference which can keep call from completing . All in a way to save phone company's money.  Once I reprogrammed the dialer to a different 800 number so it took a different path  it was operating fine .
But the problem is only getting worse and even if you use a central station with in the county you live with this new least cost routing and new VoIP internet phone switching phone company's are doing there is no guarantee you will not have a problem. Even if you have a traditional land line known as POTS or plain old telephone service.

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

While new fire panels are required to test both phone Numbers every 6 hours to the central station older panels only dial every 24 hours and test  and some burglar alarm systems only test every 30 days or not at all
and with many burglar alarms being serviced at central stations many states away   which is typical with big  national alarm company like ADT you can see the potential mess we have on our hands and why it is essential to check and find out why a panel has not sent in a test signal.

On many of my accounts I am now backing them up with cell phone and internet connections  via Honeywell Alarmnet  or thru Uplink   which provides triple redundancy of the signal getting out but even this is no guarantee.
As phone company's keep playing games to lower costs and refuse to properly maintain infrastructure it is only going to get worse.


 

Dangerous Carbon Monoxide Leak caused by careless pipe installer could have been fatal . Just another reason why Mt Lebanon Pa. is requiring Emergency Back Up Genrator Inspections

Last year the Municipality of Mt Lebanon Pa. started using a new inspection reporting software from Brycer called "The Compliance Engine "

http://www.thecomplianceengine.com/

Then  all the usual moaning and complaining started why do I have to have my Generator and fire alarm etc inspected annually and then have to pay to file the report ?

Well in the case of Mt Lebanon  Pa. they saw an apartment building boom in 1940's thru 60's so in many cases you have electrical and mechanical systems in buildings getting well over 50+ years old. If they have not been updated and they need more rigorous inspections,
I received a call from an apartment building owner to check his generator. No problem I arranged to check the generator for hm it was a 60's era Onan Generator which was kept in very good shape and when I started it up to check it I was worried that some of the exhaust piping was going thru the ceiling and could not be inspected for leaks .
So I performed a simple back pressure test on the piping by closing it off which should have caused the generators motor to want to stall . It did not and to mine and the building owners horror  I found that when the piping on the outside of the building was extended to prevent Co From building up in the building and blow it out to the back lot it was improperly installed and leaking deadly Co Gas right back into the building via the air inlet duct work which brings fresh air into the building.

In the picture you can see as the pipe makes the bend there is a plumbers Tee in the line. This tee and flange should not be there . Instead of the person who installed the piping using a piece of all thread
and support clamp they lazily and dangerously used the tee and flange to support the pipe. The problem the flange has a hole thru it aprox. 1 inch in diameter so the exhaust gas goes down the short tee section thru the flange and into the brick and gas leaks out  from behind the flange right into the air intake for the generator.
 You can see the water stains from condensate which builds in the pipes when they sit leaking from the fitting because it is not sealed.
Now Mt Lebanon has been to the building a couple times over the years  when power has been out a long time for a CO build up . But firefighters attributed it to the generator was running so long and yes this would be an obvious conclusion as it does happen especially with these old gen sets which do not burn as clean as new units which sit outside. No one not even myself would have expected such a dangerous and lazy hack was done to this piping but it was and it just goes to illustrate why generators need inspected not only in Mt Lebanon but state wide there are many generators sitting in basements of buildings which have never been properly inspected in decades waiting to kill people.because they have not been properly installed and maintained.

When I needed Bilingual marked Fire Equipment for a group home Firelite Alarms came thru

One of my Institutional clients decided to help the Federal Immigration & Naturalization Service   with taking in some young south American children during this summers illegal immigration surge .
 Till they can be adjudicated and either deported or granted asylum.
Normally I always install Pull stations and fire horns which are printed in English but since these 2 homes would have those who read and speak only Spanish this could be a problem so I started looking around for a manufacturer of bilingual fire equipment and Fire-Lite came thru  a Honeywell fire group company makes Pull stations which are bilingual as you can see in the picture below.

The stations are fully UL /NFPA compliant and can be ordered in several different languages which can come in handy if you have customers with such a need.

How many people would have become Electricans or into the trades had the Math not scared them ? the truth all you need is basic math to do your job.

I have heard it so many times over the years from people I meet How they wanted to become a Electrician , Plumber or Carpenter  etc. but could not handle the math requirements when they took the tests to get placed in a class.

The truth the advanced math taught in trade classes is hardly ever used  if you can do standard high school math  add,subtract ,multiply,divide and percentages  you can do your trade.

Its the same even for electronics work I do.  you do not need to know advanced math unless you are doing advanced design and  engineering work.  Why they even insist you have to take and pass advanced mathematics concepts is total bull shit and nothing more than a means to wash out those who could otherwise contribute to the trades.

If your going into a trade then you should be taught whats known as shop or trade math  if your going to be an engineer and or a designer then fine then take the advanced math classes that require them.

Because they keep insisting on adding math courses into the trades that are not needed and never used unless you are doing engineering calculations the whole industry now suffers as many young men who could have and should have been tradesman never came in and now we are very short handed when it comes to the trades as the work force now has an average age of 50

It is estimated that as many as 70% of the available tradesman now working in the field will be retiring with in the next 10 years causing a major crisis. there will always be those like me who will try to work past retirement part time to pass on what we know to the next generation but who will build this country?

Right now just in the Pittsburgh area Local Trade Unions are advertising for recruits something unheard of 30years ago it was almost impossible to get into the unions now they go begging for members.

Local Power company's are offering a fantastic opportunity where you get paid to learn plus come out with a college degree.   It is getting so hard to get young men to come into the trades .

So why with the need for tradesman would educators insist on putting math requirements in place which are not needed and keep many otherwise qualified individuals  from becoming tradespeople?