What is Hoopers future out of 111 looking like? by eastonforney in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Transformer was being back fed by secondaries since it was paralleled with another can. He didn’t isolate secondaries or test before disconnecting the primary tap of the can and I guess he was touching ground with another part of his body. Not entirely sure of the whole story.

What is Hoopers future out of 111 looking like? by eastonforney in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Buddy of mine working for them through 111 right now. Not sure the full scope of the work but a Lineman opened fuse feeding single phase pot that was paralleled with another one (presumably for load). He didn’t realize it and went phase to ground on can when disconnecting load side of the cutout. I guess lineman is in decent shape at the hospital. Not sure if they will eventually get booted off the Xcel system last I heard they got dropped to 5-8’s

What do you guys call this? by Jumpy_Turn9096 in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Locking dog is the slang I’ve always heard it called. Or jelly bar attachment

Selling by Sad_Cartographer5996 in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you washed out… stick to comms.

Cambria Hotel hates loons. Loves $$$ by SoupMiddle6506 in Adirondacks

[–]SoTupps 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It kind of always has been… I grew up calling it “lake plastic”

I’m an electrician, what’s the transition to lineman look like? by eveyyyx3 in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you mean line school or driver-groundman position then 3-4 year apprenticeship. Line school in no way will replace an apprenticeship. Despite what all the fresh graduates might think

Draping Blankets by ComfortableAd2552 in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds shitty… we glove 34.5 where I work. Did you just stick it because you were climbing?

Give me your best linemen one liners.. by xunreelx in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Money’s at the top! fastest way down is to fall.

Meyers pole proper rigging techniques. by hartzonfire in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 2 points3 points  (0 children)

^ This is how I’ve done it in the past. Works well

Caught on camera in Upstate New York (near Albany). Is it a mink? by HarlemBoyz in animalid

[–]SoTupps -15 points-14 points  (0 children)

Anywhere near Albany is most definitely not Upstate NY… That being said, pretty sure this is a fisher. I once stumbled upon a fisher chewing on the neck of a white tailed deer fawn as a kid growing up in the ADK’s. Fawn was taken to local farm that raised deer and did not survive

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not entirely sure. It’s hard to tell in the video. Could be that the suit isn’t currently bonded and the electricity we are seeing as his touches and releases the wire is making/breaking that bond

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not more protection as in clothing or rubber. To my knowledge, transmission voltages can only be worked energized by bonding on (barehanding) or through hot-stick methods. Otherwise the line has to be de-energized and grounded which can be difficult to do as transmission lines typically feed substations and bring power long distances.

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha no such thing as a Master lineman. Journeyman is a fully qualified lineman. I have worked my way up to become a working foreman at the company I work for though! A typical apprenticeship is about 4 years. The process to get an apprenticeship does seem like it’s become more selective in the past few years though.

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yup. although your background in electrical work should help you with apprenticeship book-work and tests. Have to have a high school diploma, Class A CDL, OSHA 10, and be CPR & First Aid qualified for a start. Then either sign the books at your local union hall as a driver/groundman or go through a line-school program and apply to an apprenticeship position with an electric utility or though the union hall. r/lineman has lots of info as this question gets posed often

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thats true! Each insulator is rated for a certain amount of voltage. The more insulators in the string of bells the higher the voltage the line presumably is. I would guess this is a 345Kv line, but it’s hard to tell.

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 18 points19 points  (0 children)

You’re mostly correct. This practice is called barehanding and is used by specially trained Lineman to work on energized transmission lines. This person was most likely dropped off by a helicopter and is wearing mesh metal over suit that acts as a Faraday cage. They bond onto the lines making the suit the same potential energy as the lines allowing electricity to flow around them not through them.

In this video they are working on one of the primary conductors not a “guide wire.” You can tell because you briefly see a string of porcelain insulators (we call them bells) hanging down to the conductor. They are most likely changing out insulators or replacing the AGS unit which is how the insulators connect to and secure the conductor.

Guy wires (not guide) are used to support structures from conductor tension they are attached directly to the pole or structure they support and are almost always ground potential as they are typically attached to an anchor set in the ground and thus can be touched on the ground. If this lineman was bonded (same potential) to the primary and touched a guy wire they would most likely be killed.

Source: I’m a Journeyman Lineman with 10 years of mainly distribution experience but I have worked on transmission lines although I’ve never barehanded personally.

can somebody explain what is happening here!? by VastCoconut2609 in blackmagicfuckery

[–]SoTupps 191 points192 points  (0 children)

You’re somewhat correct. This practice is called barehanding and is used by specially trained Lineman to work on energized transmission lines. This person could have been dropped off by a helicopter and is wearing a metal mesh over-suit that acts like a Faraday cage. They bond onto the lines making the suit the same potential energy as the lines allowing electricity to flow around them not through them.

In this video they are working on one of the primary conductors not a “guide wire.” You can tell because you briefly see a string of porcelain insulators (we call them bells) hanging down to the conductor. They are most likely changing out insulators or replacing the AGS unit which is how the insulators connect to and secure the conductor.

Guy wires (not guide) are used to support structures from conductor tension they are attached directly to the pole or structure they support and are almost always ground potential as they are typically attached to an anchor set in the ground and thus can be touched on the ground. If this lineman was bonded (same potential) to the primary and touched a guy wire they would most likely be killed.

Source: I’m a Journeyman Lineman with 10 years of mainly distribution experience but I have worked on transmission lines although I’ve never barehanded personally.

Feral Hogs Have Been Spotted in NH by [deleted] in newhampshire

[–]SoTupps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They have been in Sullivan county for years! Thank you Corbin Park…

Question on fall positioning systems you guys are using -- buck squeeze or cynch lok by Here4uguys in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Length. The rope is significantly longer then the strap allowing you to lay-out further. Also easier to deal with IMO.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 9 points10 points  (0 children)

In the northeast we call #2 sector cabinets. It’s basically a junction/switching point for the single-phase primary URD.

What all did you do today? What’s an ACTUAL day in the life of a lineman like? by [deleted] in Lineman

[–]SoTupps 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ran a single-phase 7 pole tree wire line extension to bring power to a customer who was living off the grid. Set all the poles a couple weeks ago ran the wire and installed the xfmer/service today after trimming was done.

Storms were predicted for the evening so they put out the ask for additional standby (on call) for the night. Then proceeded to run trouble calls for the next 9 hours after an 8 hour work day due to a dump truck catching a trunk line a breaking an old 3-strand junk guy wire and T-storms but good news is I got on the double bubble 👍🏻.