Sword of Damocles--12,000 volts

lynnesite · January 2, 2005

A little captioned photo-essay about the power pole which collapsed to a 45 degree angle over my modest abode and the midnight repair the next evening by no less than 9 guys with 6 trucks!

<http://www.photo.lynnesite.com/gallery/339271> for the gallery

Nir · January 2, 2005

Wow Lynne! Good think it didn't go below 45 degrees!

Boy did you close 2004 with a bang!

ian408 · January 2, 2005

Whoopsies! But glad you're unscathed.

Ian

tmlphoto · January 2, 2005

Cool stuff. Glad you're ok. Thanks for sharing.

pathfinder · January 2, 2005

lynnesite wrote:

A little captioned photo-essay about the power pole which collapsed to a 45 degree angle over my modest abode and the midnight repair the next evening by no less than 9 guys with 6 trucks!

<http://www.photo.lynnesite.com/gallery/339271> for the gallery

Good thing the wires held. Windy or just failure of the pole?

gus · January 2, 2005

That looks an unusual situation lyn...i repair it for a living & believe me you need 9 guys & 6 trucks..4 to get some pies .. 4 to get coffee & one to repair it.

It actually looks secure from going any further but...what on earth happened there ?

GREAPER · January 2, 2005

I am glad you are OK, that could have done some damage and the risk of shock would have been high if it had fallen farther. At 12.4KV it doesn't actually have to touch you our your home to shock you. A safe working distacte of 10 feet is required around here. The higher voltages can arc across open air and shock you if the situation is right.

The number of men and trucks sound about right. Those Lineman are nuts, but they dont go anywhere alone.

I am an inside wireman. I prefer my voltages under 600 Volts.

Dee · January 2, 2005

What a great photo series!
Not a techy minded person I never gave much thought about how these poles were installed, never mind even the thought that one of them could give way like that!

That's quite a series! I hope the crew likes the photos too.

gus · January 2, 2005

GREAPER wrote:

Those Lineman are nuts.

.

Hmmmm..maybe i am....narrr

My safe working distance is 700mm (2 feet)

Im getting ripped off here i think. I am allowed to work up to 1000 volts live with my hands...working live in the rain i start getting jumpy

Our distribution is 11K & the other day it was lying on the road boiling the tar & smoking. Usually high voltage trips out very fast but it didnt this day.

GREAPER · January 2, 2005

Humungus wrote:

My safe working distance is 700mm (2 feet) Im getting ripped off here i think. I am allowed to work up to 1000 volts live with my hands...working live in the rain i start getting jumpy

Our distribution is 11K & the other day it was lying on the road boiling the tar & smoking. Usually high voltage trips out very fast but it didnt this day.

Our distribution voltages are all over the place...

4160 v
12,400 V
13,800 V
34,500 V
345,000 V

All being used by the same utility in the same counties.

Here the rule for everyone but the Linemen anything under 50KV is 10 feet because most construction workers cant always tell whats there. Over 50KV its 30 ft.

gus · January 2, 2005

GREAPER wrote:

Our distribution voltages are all over the place...

4160 v
12,400 V
13,800 V
34,500 V
345,000 V

All being used by the same utility in the same counties.

Here the rule for everyone but the Linemen anything under 50KV is 10 feet because most construction workers cant always tell whats there. Over 50KV its 30 ft.

We get a lot of deaths here as well with the HV, things like people with boat masts, cranes & lifting irrigation pipes up to get the frogs out. I am a linesman & we work live so no distance when something is wrong...just 2 feet for normal working in the area.

The 11k is for the housing supplies ie 11k to tranny in street & from there tranny takes down to 415 along the street & then phase to neutral into house thus 240v.

Dist is similar to yours 11k-33k-66k-132k-275 etc etc

Keeps your wits about you during the day thats for sure but its at 2am in the rain with wires all over the roads & you have no idea whats alive & whats dead that you get jumpy.

GREAPER · January 2, 2005

Residential and small commercial is a 120/240 single phase system fed off of Utility transformers that could be 4160, 12.4, or 13.8 on the primary side. That voltage for all I can figure is just dependant on the distribution substaion the line comes from.

Large Comercial and small Industrial (This is where I come in

) ussually has a 480/277 3 phase 4 wire service.

Some very large industrial projects will use 4160 or higher to feed power through out their facility. They will have several substations of their own droppuing the power to 480 for use.

The biggest ever had to deal with was the construction of a steel mill. I had a 34,500 volt loop just for temporary power with 6 substations supplying 800 amp 480 volt services. The feed to the plant was 345,000 Volts run straight there off the local nuke.

gus · January 2, 2005

I used to do the whole commercial thing but now days i just like driving around in trucks looking at stuff

GREAPER · January 2, 2005

LMAO... Thats a good gig if you can get it.

lynnesite · January 2, 2005

GREAPER wrote:

I am glad you are OK, that could have done some damage and the risk of shock would have been high if it had fallen farther. At 12.4KV it doesn't actually have to touch you our your home to shock you. A safe working distacte of 10 feet is required around here. The higher voltages can arc across open air and shock you if the situation is right.

Whoa, Greap, I had NO idea. It wasn't much above 10 feet away.

Guess my number wasn't up.

I caretake this place (65 acres) and the owner overgraded, that's why it was in the ground only 2 feet/max. 2 months with a D8 going to town. I didn't know how far above the ground the numbered pole markers were usually, or I'd've had a clue all was not well.

gus · January 2, 2005

GREAPER wrote:

LMAO... Thats a good gig if you can get it.

am i right or what ?.... i assume its the same job worldwide

Leaves plenty of time to photograph.

GREAPER · January 2, 2005

Sounds like you have it licked to me. Just be careful out there.

GREAPER · January 2, 2005

lynnesite wrote:

Whoa, Greap, I had NO idea. It wasn't much above 10 feet away.

Guess my number wasn't up.

I caretake this place (65 acres) and the owner overgraded, that's why it was in the ground only 2 feet/max. 2 months with a D8 going to town. I didn't know how far above the ground the numbered pole markers were usually, or I'd've had a clue all was not well.

The important thing is that your safe and it's fixed an no one was hurt.

gus · January 2, 2005

lynnesite wrote:

Whoa, Greap, I had NO idea. It wasn't much above 10 feet away.

Guess my number wasn't up.

I caretake this place (65 acres) and the owner overgraded, that's why it was in the ground only 2 feet/max. 2 months with a D8 going to town. I didn't know how far above the ground the numbered pole markers were usually, or I'd've had a clue all was not well.

Most of the time it will trip off as it hits earth...the problem is when it hangs down over driveways etc at night & people dont know what it is & grab it before it has tripped out. A bad one is when it lands on a fence & energises the fences/gates.

That said though...i have seen it on the ground live. High voltage isnt an electric shock situation like normal rather a sever burn from the shock if you live ...and some do. It is the burns that take the toll..not the shock as high voltage will travel over the skin & burn rather than through it in a lower voltage shock.

Our work figures here are only 3% survival rate from high voltage.

gus · January 2, 2005

GREAPER wrote:

The important thing is that your safe and it's fixed an no one was hurt.

call a photogr...oh i mean a linesman.

Andy · January 2, 2005

greaps and 'gus
you guys are hilarious!

i can picture humungus - whenever there's a call for "something left back at the shop", there's 'gus, volunteering to go fetch it.... except that it takes him like 5 hours, becuase there are so many photo ops along the way!

:roll

gus · January 2, 2005

andy wrote:

you guys are hilarious!

i can picture humungus - whenever there's a call for "something left back at the shop", there's 'gus, volunteering to go fetch it.... except that it takes him like 5 hours, becuase there are so many photo ops along the way!

:roll

I know...sometimes i feel like im being set up.

Foreman : "Gus here tim ? "
Tim : "yeah hes over by the truck"
Foreman : "Just go make out as if you have left some cable back at the
depot will you tim & get him out of here till we finish...he will be ok...he will have that stupid %$#@ camera in his lunch box as usual."

Foreman : "Just make sure he's got some cake or biscuits with him so he wont come back too soon..if hes got food with the camera he usually goes off into his own little world...ok"

ian408 · January 3, 2005

Humungus wrote:

Foreman : "Gus here tim ? "
Tim : "yeah hes over by the truck"
Foreman : "Just go make out as if you have left some cable back at the
depot will you tim & get him out of here till we finish...he will be ok...he will have that stupid %$#@ camera in his lunch box as usual."

Foreman : "Just make sure he's got some cake or biscuits with him so he wont come back too soon..if hes got food with the camera he usually goes off into his own little world...ok"

:roll :roll :roll

ian

Sword of Damocles--12,000 volts

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