I’m not one to complain, but….
The electricity went off again (as usual) in the last storm, but this time it came back on at an under-voltage. This is not something with which I have hitherto had to concern myself, but it transpires that this is just the sort of thing you don’t want when you’re running a pump. 'What happens?' I hear you ask. 'Give us a technical, blow-by-blow account – cause and effect and all that', I hear you a-clammering. And I can now tell you. What happens is that bloody thing catches fire – that’s what happens. Naice and I, having taken our customary naked rain shower (don’t knock it ‘til you’ve done it) were standing by the front door congratulating ourselves on having remembered to unplug the telephone, the TV, the Sky box, the air-conditioners and the fridge, when Naice pointed out the rather large cloud of black smoke billowing from behind the swimming pool filter. Although I ran as fast as I could to switch it off (and let me tell you there’s at least one very good reason someone invented underwear), I wasn’t in time to stop the whole thing going into melt down. Thank you Manaus Energia, you useless, incompetent pillocks.
Five days later (long story, won’t bore you), we now have a new pump and an ECB, protecting us from over-voltage, under-voltage, heat, lightning strike, frogs in the pool, dirty guests and frostbite. Or something like that.
The electricity went off again (as usual) in the last storm, but this time it came back on at an under-voltage. This is not something with which I have hitherto had to concern myself, but it transpires that this is just the sort of thing you don’t want when you’re running a pump. 'What happens?' I hear you ask. 'Give us a technical, blow-by-blow account – cause and effect and all that', I hear you a-clammering. And I can now tell you. What happens is that bloody thing catches fire – that’s what happens. Naice and I, having taken our customary naked rain shower (don’t knock it ‘til you’ve done it) were standing by the front door congratulating ourselves on having remembered to unplug the telephone, the TV, the Sky box, the air-conditioners and the fridge, when Naice pointed out the rather large cloud of black smoke billowing from behind the swimming pool filter. Although I ran as fast as I could to switch it off (and let me tell you there’s at least one very good reason someone invented underwear), I wasn’t in time to stop the whole thing going into melt down. Thank you Manaus Energia, you useless, incompetent pillocks.
Five days later (long story, won’t bore you), we now have a new pump and an ECB, protecting us from over-voltage, under-voltage, heat, lightning strike, frogs in the pool, dirty guests and frostbite. Or something like that.
So - what happened today, when the inevitable storm came and the power went off? I switched the whole electrical system off manually. Talk about having a dog and barking yourself…
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7 comments:
Random Walk, thank you for your blog, there is some good info here ! I posted the following to "expatbrazil's" blog, and wanted to see your thoughts too.
I am considering a 2-week trip to Brazil at the very beginning of Feb 2009 (soon). I’ve always wanted to hike and camp along the Amazon and am considering a few tour groups, leaning towards this group: http://www.maiaexpeditions.com/
My main concern is the weather during the first week of Feb. I understand this is the “rainy season” and i certainly expect a great deal of rain in the rain forest as it is. I’m not looking for a resort atmosphere, and have no problems trekking through the jungle in adverse conditions. The rep from the tour company says they run tours all year round, and that yes there is plenty of rain in Feb but that it doesnt take much from the experience. I’m trying to find out more info on the conditions in Feb, and whether the excessive rain will indeed be a total damper on the experience out in the jungle.
I will be flying into Manaus from either Atlanta or Miami. Spending 6 or 7 days in Manaus, mainly on a jungle expedition. Flying on GOL to Sao Paulo, and spending a few days there. Then, flying GOL to Rio for 3 or 4 days. I understand that February is just on or after the peak of the summer months, so this should be decent weather for those two cities.
What do you think about Manaus at this time, however ? Thank you ! my e-mail is jheadley at frontiernet dot net.
Thanks for your comment, and glad you've found it useful. I will reply by e-mail to your queries.
Hi, just found your blog. I live in Minas -- moved here from NYC in 2005. Boy can I relate to the scramble to get everything unpluged in the storms. We lot a television and toaster our first months here - and they were on surge protectors! I'm just finding ex-pat/brazil blogs now. I'll certainly check back to keep up on your adventures. Cheers!
Hi there Lovelydharma! Thanks for your comments and glad you found me. Sorry about the toaster and TV. We're on our fourth telephone here. Off to look at your blog now...
Hi there! Thanks for your comments too! Please feel free to add me, and if it's okay I'll add you to mine. I'm just getting my blog roll updated with Brazilian links. I'm sure your humidity is much more intense up there, so I shouldn't complain too much about moldy closets...
last year I lost my computer/printer / photo scanner/all Internet cable inside the house and the surge protector to a thunderstorm. the electricity was off.... the super charge came from a lightening strike to someone else's internet box - came in via the internet cable.... ran ramput and wiped me out....
take due care.
Yes, I feel for you GingerV. Now that we're in the wet season, we have to be doubly careful here...
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