? For The Sparkys ?

[FNQ Bunyip]

Well sitting here watching the flood waters rise I have read lots of old posts and it seems that there is a huge brains trust here in things electrical..

So The river has come up about 1m since 02:00. and is now lapping 1/2 way up my power box on the utility pole 60m from the house. All the breakers are now under water and the bottom of the meters is going under as I watch. The wheels still spin. As this is not the first time this has happend as you can see by the mud stains on the white face... I've seen them full of water still 3 days after the waters go down.. So why ? We all know that power and water shouldent mix..
Its a good look with the xmas lights in the trees hanging about 1m above the water sparkly reflections ...

I'm knot complaining it facinates me .. I exercise great caution and donk go nere it. But I have snuck a look .. lol.

Probbly had a few to many Irish coffees after only 3 hours sleep waiting for water to launch boat at front door .. She floated off the trailer a bout 20 mins ago..

Cheers
:beer:

P.S. sorry about spelling but who cares ? <_<

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

This post dosen't seem to get listed in the new post bit at the top?
is that because its off topic?

cheers

 

[Ross]

This post dosen't seem to get listed in the new post bit at the top?
is that because its off topic?

cheers

[post="121486"][/post]​

yep,

Off topic & jokes, no longer appear on the latest threads list. A shame really, but certain indivduals were filling the latest thread list with crud...

any pics mate?

cheers Ross

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

take boat up for a pic later maybe...

Hope this dosent last to long down to only 1 20lt keg and a bit . this is the second flood in a month and I had to carry 50lt of fermenting brew upstairs yesterday and dont have any klean water to sterri kegs to serve... Might just have to put it in the fridge and dip a mug in it ...

Been very hard to brew this season sofar ...

Cheers

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Last night :

And this morning as the light came.

I know I know I'll catch some rain later in the day and rinse keg and rack off..

:beer:

 

[Duff]

Boy, I haven't seen the Daintree like that in years. I heard that Copperlode Dam was 1.6m above the spill way last night, at 2m they start evacuating people. The Barron River Falls would be a thing of beauty at the moment.

Cheers.

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Daintree is at 8.7m At 12:30.
In ';96 it got to 12m And thats 2.5m upstairs in my house ...
We are Prepairing to self evac ...
Cheers

You old northener Duff ?

 

[PhilS]

They are impressive photos, albeit a bit scary to see the river rise so quickly :unsure:

Importantly, you are right not to go near your switchboard. Water & electricity don't mix, especially water that is mixed with silt, mud & whatever elese there is! A dangerous mix.

As a sparky I would be concerned about your circuit breakers not operating correctly for a fault. I wouldn't think that these would have a good IP rating (how good the enclosure is at protecting from moisture & dust). As the breakers are usually active in & active out, you wont have much of an issue with arcing/tracking but will with the operating mechanism of the breaker & possibly corrosion.

Thinking about it, I can't see that these breakers would work reliably under a fault condition in your house if at all! :excl:

Your meters, ELCB/RCD & breakers may overheat & cause a fire.
My advice would be to call your local electricity authority & get them to give you information specific to this problem, maybe speak with an electrical inspector. You should also consult an electrician who has experience with rising flood waters and your wiring in your house. I'm not sure, but your house insurance may cover the replacement of your switchboard and fix any electrical defects.

I am by no means experienced in this area and the usual disclaimers apply.

In summary, give your local authority a call & consult a licensed electrical contractor straight away. They can give you the precise information you need. I can't emphasise this enough :excl:

I hope that the waters don't rise any further.

 

[troppo]

G`day bunyip
hope the water goea down soon mate
i can remember going to the daintree alive weekend many many beers ago, after you got flooded out, friends of mine showed me the tide line in their lounge room, just above shoulder height for the average bloke, and they said they got off easy
hope you get out of it ok
cheers troppo

 

[Airgead]

Your meters, ELCB/RCD & breakers may overheat & cause a fire.
My advice would be to call your local electricity authority & get them to give you information specific to this problem, maybe speak with an electrical inspector. You should also consult an electrician who has experience with rising flood waters and your wiring in your house. I'm not sure, but your house insurance may cover the replacement of your switchboard and fix any electrical defects.

[post="121609"][/post]​

I'm not a sparky but I did start out as an electrical engineer (a long time ago) so I can second all that advice.

Depending on how the board is wired the active/neutral/earth connections from the mains may be close enough to short out if submerged. Its not likely to cause a fire problem if its under water but it could melt its self into slag.

If there is mud in the water this could get into the breakers and cause the mechanism to sieze as the domestic type are not sealed against this sort of thing.

I'd be keeping well away from it and calling in a sparky to check it out (and maybe move it higher up the pole <_< ) as soon as the water subsides.

Your main problem will be if your house floods and this causes a short in the house wiring. With the breakers under water and filled with silt they may well not operate correctly and allow a fire to start. I'd be turning off and unplugging as much as I can. It would take a fair bit of water to get inside the walls and cause a short in a GPO but an appliance left switched on is another matter. If the water gets high enough to start causing shorts in light fittings you have more to worry about than electrical shorts :blink:

Good luck.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Doc]

Hope the water level is dropping FNQ.
Also hope that you haven't run out of brew.
Seeing that you haven't posted since this morning, maybe you have now lost power ?

Doc

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Hi guys , thanks for the replys . I'll be brief.

The water is slowly going down at this point in time.
I got to 900mm befor it was in here.
I now have 1200mm

Doc no time to post. I still have power and the meter box was compleatly under. I still have around 15lts . Havent keged to busy and its not ready . . Ugggg..

Guys . The breakers do work as they drop out when I try and use a whole welding rod in one go .LOL.

I dont want a sparky here FIXING it . I'd never get any power.

There are @ least 6 GPO's underwater all readey . plus a couple of light sockets..

I talked to the meter man once and he said stay away , dont ask questions and enjoy.. Similar responce from the line crew cheeking poles last year..

My thought is its just a big kettle I'm keeping the river warm. LOL

Breakers in the house drop some times as well from to many things on .

It's just an interesting thing..

So we are ready to go if need be. Spot light for boat , gps track , and all the papers .

PhilS There is know insurance company that will look at this place. I live here I dont own it .


Cheers Guys And Thanks
Ned

 

[redbeard]

in the 1st pic fnq, is that a snake hanging down ?

 

[Doc]

in the 1st pic fnq, is that a snake hanging down ?

[post="121711"][/post]​

Looks like a piece of nylon rope to me Redbeard.

Damm, FNQ. Hope the water stopped rising and you didn't have to abandon house.

Doc

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

just got back online 10:30. Dident have to leave . thats the bigest one we have seen here. 200mm better than my previous ..

No not a snake a shutter rope , no windows realy ,just fiberglass shutters all round .. will try to get some pics up later in the day .

Need to get pumps back on the bore ect and start hoseing mud out befor it sets ..

wow so much grass hanging in trees ect ..

 

[Duff]

You old northener Duff ?

[post="121565"][/post]​

Yup, grew up in the north. Used to fish for Golden Travely off the beach at the mouth of the Daintree. Good to see it's dropping, but what a waste of all that fresh water flowing out to sea.

Cheers.

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Duff
My avitar is snapper island with dirty flood waters flowing out ..

wow thats some change of life..most come north..

Cheers

 

[PhilS]

I talked to the meter man once and he said stay away , dont ask questions and enjoy.. Similar responce from the line crew cheeking poles last year..

[post="121639"][/post]​

hmmmm meters dont like spinning much when clogged

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Ok a few more pics of flooding and power
:beer:

This power box was compleatly under.
And inside.

And a couple of just our spot in this great part of the world.
coming up to my clean pool.

and under

The house

:beer:

edit: rename pic not the one I thought.

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

Went to a BBQ yesterday , Had to put the hose down and get out , sick of the mud . It was a good break from the place unfortunatly I had to drink megaswill and feel like crap this morning but was good to be away.

Anyway I was talking to a sparky and showed him this page on the hosts computer he recons I should trun off the house Get a hose and wash out the mud . I dont know about holding a hose aimed at the power board and standing in wet mud 2" deep. Sounds silly to me. He told me he was working in kathrin after the 98flood and they did heeps of boxes like that and most work fine after. Just need to get the mud out otherwise they can jam the breakers. as you guys pointed out .
Plenty to do with out worrying about that today. Its still raining and We have a trutle in the pool .. Pool cleaning later in the week..so he will need to find somewhere else to call home...
:beer: