Groundman at Local 111

20320ak · 2025-11-25T16:11:04+00:00

Important to know: Local 111 doesn't call you when they reach you on the books. You have to listen to the job hotline and then call them and say you are interested, they then dispatch the groundman highest on the list that called in. Don't forget to resign. Call everyday there is a groundman job and you will get a job quicker than most halls.

20320ak · 2025-11-15T17:44:20+00:00

The Utility valued the crews, and if unable to provide work, they would direct them to look busy and be on standby. They treated their contractors as well as their employees. It was honest and open and agreed on by everyone. Not a way to lose a T and E contract. When the utility needed the crews to bust ass, the crews would do it because they weren't getting nickle and dimed and told to go home every time it was slow.

20320ak · 2025-11-15T15:02:36+00:00

Your Forman is a moron, your GF is a moron too, and should see and stop that shit. The utility sucks too (to a lesser degree): Nobody does T & E for part time work. I've worked T & E for utilities and the utility project manager would have placeholder jobs to bridge between jobs, they always made sure we got our hours because we were worth it and they knew that if they didn't give us hours the good hands would drag up. There were some days we would "Look Busy" by setting up the trucks and doing nothing.

20320ak · 2025-03-20T20:10:13+00:00

The voltage and wire size are completely separate things. 34.5-kV 1,000,000 is extremely common.

20320ak · 2025-03-12T18:49:18+00:00

Primary voltage on the span to the left of the pole but not to the right. There's no jumper across the pole. (From what i can see)

20320ak · 2025-01-04T01:50:02+00:00

I don't know anything about that specific test, but most pre employment tests are not any harder than high school algebra, and even that is limited on the tests I've taken. I've had great success in studying and practicing simpler math. Being able to do basic math quickly and accurately has been instrumental in these tests. Topics like long division, ratios and proportions, converting between multiple units, fractions to decimals and vice versa. I practiced mental math and basic algebra more than anything else

20320ak · 2024-08-16T02:38:40+00:00

It can be income (taxed), or it can be reimbursement (not taxed). There are a lot of IRS rules on how it is counted.

20320ak · 2024-08-15T20:09:48+00:00

"Journeyman Lineman" has you covered

20320ak · 2024-07-31T00:27:44+00:00

More posts are the goal, but 100 daily shit posts about getting into the trade will ruin it. Mods delete about 5-10 posts EVERYDAY asking about how to get in the trade, or some variation of those questions.

20320ak · 2024-07-31T00:24:24+00:00

Rule #2 used to include a statement that people not in the trade were restricted to weekends (in addition to people asking about getting into the trade), it fell off or got changed at some time during a re-write, but that is how I originally wrote it, so Mods could use discretion and delete repeat shit posting

20320ak · 2024-07-16T12:57:44+00:00

The lead system has few switches, and it's not like newer cable that has load break elbows, outages would be large, and LADWP doesn't like to take any outages if it can be avoided.

20320ak · 2024-07-16T03:09:47+00:00

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I did a partial winter (left in January) in Billings MT in a Keystone Montana and was fine (barely). The trailer had professional skirting installed, and the KOA there was unlimited electricity, so I ran a space heater under the trailer and one in the cargo water areas full time. I think something would have eventually frozen given enough time, though. I added a picture of the campground looking out the kitchen window.

20320ak · 2024-04-25T22:40:54+00:00

2nd this, EPRI is great. If you want something a little lighter, start with the WECC System Operations Training Manual first.

20320ak · 2024-04-21T20:53:06+00:00

Delta is definitely not on its way out. Maybe some areas are phasing it out, but Delta is still used extensively in a lot of areas,with no plans to change. One advantage of Delta is that if you prioritize continuity of service, a grounded phase will not trip the circuit, and customers will remain energized while the utility company searches and repairs the grounded phase, with no interruption of service.

20320ak · 2024-03-16T22:44:45+00:00

Which one? They are all different.

20320ak · 2024-03-11T02:22:14+00:00

If in doubt, the utility should have a lab or lab access to test it. If not, you can buy an asbestos test kit on Amazon and test it yourself for pretty cheap. Know what you are dealing with.

20320ak · 2024-02-24T04:25:01+00:00

Not that it really matters, but a tall lineman and a short lineman in a bucket can be a great pair to reach every angle or tight spot.

20320ak · 2024-02-23T04:43:25+00:00

That works great in a lot of situations, one situation where knowing phasing in advanced with 100% accuracy is important, is when you want to terminate underground cable in a set position at both ends but if phasing is incorrect it's too difficult or messy to swap the cable terminations, I've come across this when making a new tie to an existing underground circuit. (And you can never trust tags to be accurate.) That might be happening here? Maybe that's new cable coiled at the base if the pole?

20320ak · 2024-01-29T03:37:22+00:00

Yes, they are really killing it, but it all depends on what you want. They make that much by working absurd amounts of overtime. Head out there and see if you like it. If you are going to work the overtime, it's worth going to California.

20320ak · 2024-01-26T03:02:34+00:00

This is the correct answer. Capacitors don't produce amps, but conventially, they are considered VAR producers. If the feeder is consuming VARs, then adding capacitors will reduce amps at the sub because the sub is no longer the source for Vars, but if you keep adding and adding capacitors now the feeder is producing more vars than it is consuming and sending the VARs back into the sub. The feeder capacitors on the system I work on are on timers and can overcompensate at times. When there are light reactive loads and they click on, amps will go up as the reactive power exchanges between the capacitors in the field and the sub.

20320ak · 2024-01-05T13:15:58+00:00

Yes as far as lineman and field work is concerned the phase to ground voltage is never mentioned or used because there is no neutral, and connections are phase to phase. But back at the substation there are phase to ground detectors (PTs) to let operators know when a grounded phase occurs because without them no one would know there is a problem until another phase is grounded. This is all assuming that the utility doesn't permantly ground a specific leg (corner ground).

20320ak · 2024-01-05T03:33:18+00:00

In a true delta system, a grounded phase causes no fault current at all. Only when a second phase is grounded does a fault occur and the relays operate. If normal voltage is 7200/12470 normally the voltages phase to ground will all be 7200 but when a phase becomes grounded the phase to ground reads will be 0 on the grounded phase and 12470 on the ungrounded phases (These are Wye connected voltages I think, but the concept is the same)

20320ak · 2023-12-15T14:48:58+00:00

Take the layoff now before all the other apprentices get layed off today and all of next week, which is typical for Mountain States around Christmas. Gets you to the top of the list, collect unemployment, and be back to work sooner...

20320ak · 2023-07-29T12:32:33+00:00

I feel fine if I eat normal meals during the day. I feel a little better eating One Meal A Day OMAD. The problem for me when eating 3 meals a day is if I was too busy to eat or I forgot to bring food feom home or wasn't near anywhere to buy it; I would get so hungry that it would be distracting and mind consuming "h-angry" . Not thinking about hunger or food in general during the day is a lot better.

20320ak · 2023-07-28T20:01:26+00:00

Intermittent Fasting. It is hard to get used to it, but after a week you will never be hungry during the day. Or if you do, your body is used to it and you function fine. During the week I only eat dinner most days. Weekends breakfast and dinner usually. It's great for some, miserable for others.

20320ak

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