UER Store sweet UER decals: Activity 734 online Server Time: 2024-05-15 16:09:09 Visit Infiltration Access All Areas AvBrand

1 2   UER Forum > Archived Rookie Forum > A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? (Viewed 1260 times) ltsOkay  Location: Brampton Gender: Male My common sense is tingling.  |  A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? < on 8/20/2008 10:51 PM >   So yeah, question is in the title. Some photos I see fellow members post have their lights on. Shouldn't they be turned off since no one is using the building/site? Got a Nintendo DS? Lets play! person  Location: cincinnati Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 1 on 8/20/2008 11:14 PM >   Security/deterrence. Work going on at the site. Laziness/stupidity. Dr. Sneeze  Location: CHICAGO Gender: Male Sorry Officer, we were just looking for our favorite tennis ball we lost.  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 2 on 8/20/2008 11:23 PM >   Maybe a miscommunication with the electricity company. they could be getting it for free for a while. micro  Gender: Male Slowly I turned  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 3 on 8/20/2008 11:25 PM >   Probably because they're not technically abandoned. I'd say over half of the industrial places I go to still have the power on even if they've closed years before. They're no longer in use, but the power will still be on because they're still owned by someone. Maybe they're holding out for a buyer and want to keep things preserved as best they can or maybe they're just waiting for better market conditions to be able to resume operations again. There are a whole bunch of different reasons why the power may still be on, but those are just some of them. At any rate, don't limit yourself to exploring places that have had the power cut or else you might miss out on some great stuff. Avatar-X  Alpha Husky Location: West Coast Gender: Male yay!  |  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 4 on 8/20/2008 11:30 PM >   Property owners keep the power on as long as possible, because once you shut off the power, the heat stops too. The roof starts to leak, and in a matter of months the whole building is completely destroyed. I've seen buildings that were abandoned mere months ago but looked completely trashed (by natural causes). Aside from that, what micro said is also all true. huskies - such fluff. micro  Gender: Male Slowly I turned  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 5 on 8/20/2008 11:44 PM >   Yeah, that's another reason. Here's a place I visited recently that closed last year, but just had its power cut a few months ago. It doesn't take long before places start deteriorating. A little bit of water coming in somewhere is all it takes. The Nozzmiester  Location: Deepest Darkest Australia. Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 6 on 8/20/2008 11:46 PM >   Just thought of another possible reason... Having lights/power on would likely deter the less serious/casual scrapper from copper-raping the joint too, maybe. might not stop the truly determined ones, though... [last edit 8/20/2008 11:46 PM by The Nozzmiester - edited 1 times] Just Jake  This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information. Location: Pennhurst Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 7 on 8/21/2008 2:07 AM >   I've seen lights on at Pennhurst State School and North Princeton Developmental Center, so usually security. ________________ Who Defines Normal lantern  Location: Brooklyn, NY Gender: Female  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 8 on 8/21/2008 2:17 AM >   When I was over at Pennhurst, the guard said that for a short period of time some people had broken into one of the buildings and had been living there. They were only caught because of the lights that they used. That being said, many old places have their utility lines connected through the still working areas and abandoned ones. Though not lights, Greystone for years had decent heat in all of the abandoned buildings due to everything being inter-connected. Drooldog  Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 9 on 8/21/2008 2:30 AM >   I know that a lot of the fire alarm systems run off the building electricity and maybe by liability they can't turn it off? Water is one of the greatest destroys of buildings. Nature will always reclaim what was taken from it. For example, the movie I Am Legend, in a short time mother nature was taking back NYC. Avatar-X  Alpha Husky Location: West Coast Gender: Male yay!  |  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 10 on 8/21/2008 3:49 AM >   Something to keep in mind also is that usually the only shutoff point is where the electricity enters the building -- so a building without power might still have it in the main electrical room. So be careful with any switches you pull! -av huskies - such fluff. Drooldog  Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 11 on 8/21/2008 3:56 AM >   Posted by Avatar-X So be careful with any switches you pull! Why do buttons and switches always have to be so shiny and appealing... I forgot to mention that here in Charlotte a lot of buildings are begin stripped for there copper wiring by thieves. They usually ground the electricity or rip off the power meter boxes outside. So really any water, odd placed metal objects that seemed jammed in near electrical boxes are big red flags. Honestly, I would leave a building if I saw wiring was stripped. IDChris  Location: Southern Idaho Wasteland Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 12 on 8/21/2008 2:47 PM >   Many reasons as already mentioned. Could be intentional or just dumb luck. In freezing or humid climates, it would be important to keep the power going so the HVAC systems still function and you don't get broken pipes from freezing. Shutting off the water does not always mean there won't be damage and if still equipped with fire sprinklers on a "wet" system, they have to be protected from freezing. It also keeps the booster pump and alarm system active. In humid areas, the AC system will keep the humidity down inside. We've all seen what humidity does to a building interior. I wouldn't call most of these buildings "abandoned", but vacant or mothballed. There's still the possibility that an abandoned building has power because the account was never closed either by choice or forgetfulness. Some power companies charge a monthly maintenance fee of a few dollars and others don't. I've seen "abandoned" places with power on, and working long after they were vacated. What usually kills the power is if the places get so vandalized or scrapped, an alert meter reader will call in a potential hazard. Shawn W.  Location: Niagara Falls, NY Gender: Male Optimistic Pessimist  |  |  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 13 on 8/21/2008 3:21 PM >   Posted by The Nozzmiester Having lights/power on would likely deter the less serious/casual scrapper from copper-raping the joint too, maybe. might not stop the truly determined ones, though... No, it wouldn't, as some of these fools have gotten themselves killed or at least seriously injured by trying to strip active substations. Speaking of having the heat on, but no power, a certain hotel that I visited last year still had the gas on in at least one location. Unsurprisingly, a fire happened at the hotel, and from the news footage, looked like it originated in that exact spot. That's really too bad, because the rooms in that section looked, for the most part, like they were ready to accept guests at a moment's notice, with fully made beds and virtually immaculate rooms. What is a rebel? A man who says no. - Albert Camus The Nozzmiester  Location: Deepest Darkest Australia. Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 14 on 8/21/2008 10:03 PM >   Well I did say the determined ones would try anyway. There's no price for being an assclown, like they can be, I guess... ltsOkay  Location: Brampton Gender: Male My common sense is tingling.  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 15 on 8/22/2008 6:13 AM >   Wow... Thanks for all these replies. Very helpful. Just a follow-up, how would you know a building is "vacant"? I seem to come across a lot of empty buildings, but I shy away because of lights. I'm not sure what to do, so yeah... Got a Nintendo DS? Lets play! The Nozzmiester  Location: Deepest Darkest Australia. Gender: Male  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 16 on 8/22/2008 6:53 AM >   Watch them at times you'd normally expect shift changes, etc, works for me. tholcomb  Location: Chattanooga, TN Gender: Male Captain Baghead!  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 17 on 9/1/2008 12:21 AM >   Posted by ltsOkay Wow... Thanks for all these replies. Very helpful. Just a follow-up, how would you know a building is "vacant"? I seem to come across a lot of empty buildings, but I shy away because of lights. I'm not sure what to do, so yeah... Look the address up somewhere & call the number between 900 & 1700 rainman8889  Location: H.T.S.F.C. Time to gain and a time to lose. Bye for now.  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 18 on 9/1/2008 6:35 PM >   Posted by ltsOkay Wow... Thanks for all these replies. Very helpful. Just a follow-up, how would you know a building is "vacant"? I seem to come across a lot of empty buildings, but I shy away because of lights. I'm not sure what to do, so yeah... As mentioned, the buildings could be mothballed as opposed to abandoned completely. The owners may have the intention of putting them back to use at a later date and would not want the buildings to deteriorate beyond repair. Also, the buildings could be for sale or lease and the owners may want to keep them presentable to potential purchasers or tenants. Other ways that may tell if a building is merely closed as opposed to being abandoned is to look around. There may be signage, there may be equipment or tools stored on site, or better security measures in place. When I worked at Whitby Psych, Cottage 8 was boarded up with its utilities disconnected. However, there were working exterior lights on it and these were to help with security. Those lights were wired so that they didn't need to get power from the main panel in the cottage. Cottage #23 though was completely dark as the nearby lights were on their own poles. Hope this is of help. Gone for a while. Be back when I'm back. junkyard  Location: LaCrosse, WI Gender: Male Strategic Beer Command where the metal hits the meat.  |  |  Re: A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? <Reply # 19 on 9/2/2008 9:28 PM >   About being careful about what switches you pull. I've been with guys that did that sort of thing. I don't go out with them anymore. I don't see any reason to pull switches. Especially when parts of a complex are used and others aren't. Turning on power to unused sections could cause property damage, depending on what was disconnected and how, like by scrappers. Just because it blows the breaker does not mean it won't start a fire if wires are shorted. It just doesn't trip fast enough. Also if you disrupt power to something active, you don't know what is being turned off, could be something important, and not just the lights. I drink gasoline for breakfeast and beer for dinner! Any problem can be licked with a case of beer and a few sticks of dynamite. Strategic Beer Command ruling the desert since 1995 http://www.strategic-beer-command.com UER Forum > Archived Rookie Forum > A simple question... How come abandoned places have their lights on? (Viewed 1260 times) 1 2   All content and images copyright © 2002-2024 UER.CA and respective creators. Graphical Design by Crossfire. To contact webmaster, or click to email with problems or other questions about this site: UER CONTACT View Terms of Service | View Privacy Policy | Server colocation provided by Beanfield This page was generated for you in 144 milliseconds. Since June 23, 2002, a total of 741835640 pages have been generated.