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Bad Electricity

Sunday we had a insulator (or something else, I'm not sure) short on the power pole right in front of the Nate Saint school. Dustin and I were downstairs playing a video game when we heard a loud pop, then a lot of buzzing. We ran outside to see what happened, and there was a lot of arcing and smoking going on. That lasted for about thirty seconds. I didn't watch it that long, but ran around inside unplugging a couple things, then ran to the hangar to check there. Three of low-voltage lines had dropped to the ground across the school drive, and of course we had no power to the hangar, school, and MAF base houses. By 5 PM a power company truck came by, and checked things out, but nothing was done.

We ran the generator all night for security, since the area was pitch black. Dustin and I went over to the Grant's place to take a shower, as their pump works on the MAF genterator, and the base water system won't work on the generator power. Wouldn't you know it, both propane tanks were empty, and so we had a cold one. I bought new ones Monday, and took care of that. At any rate, since it looked like we might be without power for more than a day (the power company guy told Fred they had bigger emergencies elsewhere) I consulted Dave and we decided to hook up the Grant house to the base water system. At least we'd have water to wash dishes, take short showers, and flush toilet (the Grant's pump isn't has big as the base pump).

I started that job by 9:30 AM, and soon after a power truck showed up with about four guys to repair everything. Well, at least we'd be ready for the next time when I finished the job. I put a one-way valve in the line coming from the Grant's cistern. Had some trouble getting fittings not to leak, but was done with the one way valve by lunch, and that's when the guys were done with the power line repair. Ellyn, the boys, and I went off to La Casona for lunch. We had a nice potato soup and arroz con pollo. When we returned, I found we were still without water, which I didn't think would be the case. Apparently the electromagnetic switch which controls the pump was damaged from the power surge on Sunday. So, I went ahead with the next step and hooked your Grant water system into the base system. That part was easier. Everything works fine with that now, and it's a timely thing, as the base pump wasn't repaired until about noon today. John went into Puyo Monday afternoon looking for parts, and finished the job this morning. I'm glad there are guys like him around who understand electricity.

Now, for more bad news. We lost two TV/VCR combo units, a portable CD player, our stereo, and our DVD player at our house. At the hangar we lost two Epson printers, our HP laser printer, three UPS units, a computer monitor, a surge suppressor, the power supply for the Codan radio (used for radio e-mail), a calculator, and several other small items!!

Then, about 5 PM Monday afternoon a windy storm popped up very quickly, with lots of thunder and lightning. We watched the roof flex up and down, as the wind was just incredible! And, wouldn't you know it, but the power went out again. It was off until about 8 PM and then on all night, until 7 AM this morning. Then it was off again, and I guess they had repairs to make, as by noon the power was back again. Life as been somewhat normal again this afternoon. I lost the BNC port on the hub in our attic, so this afternoon I added a grounded outlet to the attic, something I hadn't had before. With that, and a surge suppressor, I home I won't keep losing hubs in the the attic.

Monday after the big storm I had to go over to the HCJB compound and help Taylor find his lost keys. We found them after a few minutes of looking. Part of the roof on one of their buildings had blown off. Today, as I went for water to Mangayacu, I saw many hangar roofs in town that had huge damage from yesterday's storm.