Electrical

This is the electrical panel for the flat in Kherson

There is not much new to report today, however things went well. So It is my turn (Daniel) to finally blog something. So ladies if you are bored with this go get your husbands, maybe they will find it interesting.

What you are looking at in the picture is the entire electrical main feed in the flat we are staying at in Kherson. The lower portion is a new electrical meter showing kilowatt hours used. the upper two round things are screw in circuit breakers. Each breaker is protecting one of the two power lines entering the flat. What is interesting is that they are rated at 10 amps. So the entire flat is operated at 220 volts 50 hertz 10 amps. Also I saw the wiring at an electrical outlet, the wire size appeared to be 18 or 20 gauge, which is illegal for power wires in the US. The electrical system is unbonded with no ground. This is also against code in the US. They can get away with 10 amp protection because it is 220 volts. Remember that power (or watts) is derived from volts X amps. So with a fixed amperage of 10, you get twice the power at 220 volts than we would in the US at 110 volts. Being that the system is ungrounded (with no common wire) you can have one of the electrical wires shorted to a metal frame and the device continues to run along happily. If however you touch that device, and you being normally grounded, you find that suddenly you become a conductor of electricity. This is exactly the case with our refrigerator in our flat. If you touch it while it is running and you are barefooted, then you have a shocking experience. Jenna and I have learned this very effectively and quickly.

I do not think that new electrical installations in buildings or houses continue this same wiring practice. More than likely they maintain building codes which require ground fault protection in kitchens and bathrooms. We had the opportunity to see a nearly finished new house, and I found the heating system to be more advanced than what is common in the US.

OK my attention span has been reached, so I am finished for now. I will wake up Jenna and see if she wants to add anything :)

Jenna now: Oh my husband. I am glad he can explain some of these things I am seeing but wouldn't know how to blog about. As far as our power goes, we've been blessed. We're told that power outages are common here in Kherson but we've experienced only flickers occasionally, so we really can't complain at all.

Our visit with Maxim today was really nice. The caretakers would still prefer that he be up on furniture or at least held in our laps off the floor because he still has a bit of a cough, but we enjoyed the time together. As we've played the last couple of days, we just enjoy each other's company and when an opportunity to teach something comes up, we use it. For example, I haven't pulled the number paper I made out anymore. It's too soon. But we've enjoyed counting the sections of the orange we brought or something like that. Much more pleasant.

Yesterday was good too. Little by little, we're learning to balance all the different factors of getting to know each other.