Conny topping near power line

[Steve_C]

@Dave G - Thanks for the link to previous thread. Interesting read. I always knew power lines posed a problem and reading the expiriences of all the guys here has expanded my own thoughts on the subject. This site is useful after all!! :-)

[David Goss]

ABC cables ARE insulated and are only used on LV circuits as far as i know but that does not mean you can do what you want around them, you still have to adhere to the rules and dont be stupid.

[apexarb]

hi dave your technically right lv abc is insulated but not for tree climbers we still class this as weatherproofing and your absolutely right about maintaining vz the biggest problem with lv seems to be complacency

 

terry

[apexarb]

ps there is HV abc conductors or erricson they look similar to untrained eye but have yellow hv tags at the end of all spans

 

terry

[David Goss]

Ah yea i forgot about that stuff, you can flatten that to the ground and it will bounce back up again as far as i am aware. It was just starting to get used when i escaped from the utilities side of things. But DONT try it anyone

[Andy Collins]

Beware squirrels too! They have a fondness for the delicacy that is ABC "insulation" and will strip it away, and as its spiralled they can bare different conductors making it live. In fact all squirrels should be killed and eaten on sight (and on site if you have a small cooker to hand)

[Dr.Green]

i paid £300 for a 2 day course and nptc assesment for my UA1 - best thing i ever did as it opened my eyes to electrical work -

 

paid for itself with safe knowledge for customers

 

ive seen a guy up a tree with a bowsaw cutting a large birch limb for it to snap across an ABC - if this was a 1kv line , o dear , he'd be toasted maybe .

 

got the job to finish the dismantle soon after thou - bonus

Edited July 6, 2011 by Dr.Green

[Taupotreeman]

Worked on the 330Kv and 500Kv in Oz. Pacific power showed us the video nasties as part of the induction. None of this play acting. One video was an American utility worker who filmed himself in hospital as his body slowly died. He got a shock through his right hand, earthed through his big toe. 13KV. They amputated his toe, then his lower leg, then opened up his upper leg as it started to swell. The guy kept a video diary of the whole lot until he died about 2 weeks later. Watching that as an induction into line clearnce has stuck with me since and everytime I think about taking a short cut the image of that guy's face creeps into my mind.

[Andy Collins]

One investigation I recently heard of was of someone tryng to steal cables. He had been watching the site as engineers had switched out the power to carry out routine maintenance, after they left he thought it would be ok to go in and cut himself some cable (he assumed the line was left dead). The bolt-croppers were found quite some distance from the site, Both hands and forearms were missing from the body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. It was LV line he was trying to remove. "Danger of death" signs mean just that!

[Taupotreeman]

One investigation I recently heard of was of someone tryng to steal cables. He had been watching the site as engineers had switched out the power to carry out routine maintenance, after they left he thought it would be ok to go in and cut himself some cable (he assumed the line was left dead). The bolt-croppers were found quite some distance from the site, Both hands and forearms were missing from the body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. It was LV line he was trying to remove. "Danger of death" signs mean just that!

 

There's Darwin's theory in action right there. Shouldn't make light of a serious subject but you have to ask yourself the question........how dumb are some people?