u/Inner_Researcher587

Mystery energy spikes, likely doubling (sometimes quadrupling) our bill... turned out to be a hot water leak deep in inexpressible insulation under mobile home.

In 2023, our bill jumped from $200 to $450 for a couple of months, and then went back down to about $300. My wife and I have 4 kids, so we thought it was leaving lights on and such. This trend continued, 2024, and 2025. Random jumps between $300 and $450.

A few months ago, we finally noticed the hot water wasn't lasting as long as it use to. I replaced the elements and thermostat on the hot water heater, and it tripped the breaker immediately.

A friend came, and found the breaker burned out. He replaced it, and everything seemed fine.

Then... We got our bill this month, and it's like $1200. This months charges were $780. My wife called the electric company, and finally got a decent person who went through day by day, and told us that while the how water heater was off during repairs, our energy use dropped by 10x. Then went up again after the repairs. So I was finally able to figure out we must've had a hot water leak.

I'm not an electrician. I've never been a "home owner". I've called the electric company multiple times myself like WTF is going on... and they just passed it off as normal use. That seems wrong to me. Don't they use significant energy spikes to bust pot growers and stuff?

In hindsight, I feel really stupid. But I also feel cheated out of a lot of money. Why didn't anyone call me, or stop by and be like "hey there's something seriously wrong happening with your service"? I'm just a consumer. They must've known this was HIGHLY unusual right?

I'm aware seeking any sort of relief, or something is likely futile... but I'm wondering if there's anything I might be able to do policy wise?

I'm also wondering how many times people have died from an electrical fire or something... where the company had the data to diagnose the problem beforehand?

Would this be a "cause" worth pursuing?

Final question... I don't have the option to change electric companies. How is that not a monopoly?

Okay, won't lie, this is an appreciation post and thank you! I assumed I needed to write it as a question, so feel free to answer! But I've noticed that plumbers were so much cooler than electricians before I started doing DIY things.

Anyways, I asked a question yesterday, and I got a REAL

answer WITHOUT a bunch of crap. I really appreciate it.

I've asked questions in FB and other subs having to do with light to medium electrical things, and everytime at least half of the comments say "call an electrician", "you're going to k*|| yourself", or "you're going to burn your house down". I get safety is a worry, and a lot of people are dumb, but if someone is in an "ask" group/sub they're there for a reason. Be it curiosity, poverty, confidence, stupidity, etc. it shouldn't matter if you just answer the question! You guys did that. And it's not like your field is "safer" either. Light electrical is part of your job, right?

So I thank you again!

Specifically, thanks for helping out a "DIY" guy. Just because I don't have special licenses, doesn't automatically make me a dumbass. My dad was a plumber, and worked maintenance at a defense company. I was playing with multimeters since childhood. Helped him install all sorts of stuff. I'm in my 40's, and made it this far... so I have at least a little common sense. But I get it, even my dad said "common sense ain't so common". Also, I live in an area that doesn't even have a code enforcer. The local "electrician" doesn't even have a license. It's not required in my state. Or at least it wasn't when I posted electrical questions in 2023.

Alright. End of my little rant. I'd buy y'all a case of beer if I were a rich man. Hope you all have a good weekend!

A few weeks ago, our hot water heater crapped out. I'm fairly handy, and flushed the tank and replaced the elements, thermostat, and anode. The old components turned out to be fairly good, but I already had the replacement parts so I swapped them out anyway.

When I went to turn the breaker back on, it wouldn't flip on. So I replaced the breaker, and there was a burn/arc mark on the old breaker. New one went in fine, and everything seemed good to go... but I did notice the hot water was running out faster than it would before.

Then yesterday, we just got an $800 electric bill. Our bill is usually $250 - $350 tops. My wife called the electric company, and the representative told her that our usage dropped to normal when I had the hwh off, but it spiked back up after I "fixed" it.

Today, I'm going to crawl under the trailer, and make sure the wiring is okay. I'll also double check that the elements/thermostat are working.

I do have some electrical experience, but I just wanted to post here and see if it's something stupid or common that I'm missing.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Is it possible, or legal... to request an organ or a body part from a loved one after death in the USA?

I realize this is morbid, but when my mom died, I asked the ICU nurse if I could cut a lock of her hair, and I got a super confused and disgusted look from the nurse. He obliged tho.

It's been years since her cremation, and I have her ashes. But the other day I thought about Ed Gein, and organ

donors.

This got me thinking about how I would've liked a bone, or something else of her after she passed. Like her scalp to get tanned, or an eyeball in a jar of preservatives.

It's embarrassing to say, and I probably sound like I have a severe mental illness. However, I know the reality of death... and my mom's body was cut open at a teaching hospital, and promptly burned afterwards. That's not much different IMO. Especially when it comes to organ donation, or body donation. Except I'd have something of my loved one, and not anyone else.

Hello everybody!

My parents passed in 2019 and 2023. They left me a mobile home and I have another home just over the state line in NY that needs to be completely redone.

My wife. 4 children, and I, have a "dream" of buying some land and having a homestead.

If I sold off both properties, I'd probably be lucky to get 50-80k.

I might be going crazy here... but I feel like land/property has doubled or even tripled. Like I swear I was seeing normal homes with 5 or 10 acres for under 100k and those same homes are online for 600k to a million each.

What the hell happened?

I see a common thread here and in VT where residents are trying to keep out the rich folks, but by listing property that high, THEY will be the only ones who can afford to live here.

I mean... I get it, if you're going to loose your home or farm, why not get millions of dollars for it! That makes sense. But how the hell can an actual Vermonter afford to live here?

I posted something a while back here, where I made the statement that those 3 religions worship the same God, and it seemed like a lot of people here really objected to that statement. So much so, that I was overwhelmed by a lot of negativity, and stopped reading the comments.

Besides thinking Jesus is the only God, could the people who disagree with that statement please tell me why in a polite, and respectful way?

Is it because of American hatred towards "terrorists"?

From what I've learned so far, all 3 religions worship the same Abrahamic God. The separation seems to surround which son Abraham almost murdered. Issac or Ishmael. But I don't think that matters, as both the Muslims and the Jews never disagreed about the God Abraham worshiped.

Apparently, Muslims hold Jesus in high esteem as well. They believe he was a prophet like Muhammad.

If Jews reject Jesus as their messiah, but Muslims accept Jesus as a great teacher and prophet, why do Christians hate Muslims? Yet tolerate, or even protect the Jews? Is it only because they live in Jerusalem?

People around me have become more and more religious, and thwy are putting pressure on me to "come to Jesus" or whatever.

They, and I, have prayed to Jesus to help me find him, but as "demonic" or "heretical" as this might sound, I had a vision of him in my teens. I transformed into Jesus in the mirror. I felt extreme sadness, frustration, and some anger. I took it as a sign that we are all God's children, and we all have Christ in us. However...

Ever since the "vision" I've had an aversion to churches, and Christianity in general. Not the Bible, crosses, prayer, etc. just "organized religion" in general. Lately, it seems like God or Jesus has tasked me with researching and understanding the history associated with the Bible. Not just how/when/why many stories became the good book, but also the great many wars, enslavement, migration, tribes, etc. happened to be. It's SUPER complex.

When people hear me say something like "I think organized religion is Evil" people tend to automatically assume I'm possessed by a demon. Or that it was Satan misleading me. But I don't think that's the case at all.

Let's just assume that I've been channeling Jesus/God, don't you think he'd want to unify Christians, Jews, and Muslims? These 3 religions have been killing each other for over a thousand years. Jesus was a modest man, do you think that he'd be happy with numerous denominations of Christianity, fighting each other, and building elaborate cathedrals and churches in HIS name? And do you think he'd be happy about the current US administration cutting welfare programs, and starting war again "in his name"?

Maybe it is a Demon, filling my head with this stuff... but if that's the case, it wants peace on Earth, less violence, and unity.

Please tell me how that's wrong.