Circuit lock-outs on a quiet sunny day

[reppy007]

Had a circuit that locked-out near my home today,didnt find anyone to ask about the cause,but saw the troublemen going back and forth.....So I wanted to ask you guys what was the most usual cause of a circuit locking out on a pretty sunny day......Now,the thing is that saturday we had a really strong storm that hit the area,and I havent seen high winds like that since a hurricane.......the circuit didnt go out that day....it always happens like that .....doesnt it?:D

[splinter]

that's kinda squirrely

[Pootnaigle]

Umm i wud be lookin fera dead limb thatbrokE durin the high wind n fell onna blueburd day.Or a critter that got up on the breaker bushings

[loodvig]

Had a feeder once that would operate or trip every so often. I must have patroled it a dozen times myself and others did too. It got so bad the customers didn't call it in anymore! Engineers even messed with the load balance. Nobody could find it! One late night a guy was walking his dog and heard a buzzing and called it in. It was a bad glass or insulator plus they changed out 3 LA's (lightning arrestors) that looked bad. Never did it again.
I have also found limbs and dead critters too. We have reclosers not breakers so it takes 3 tries before it locks out.

[T-Man]

Lood, In the area I worked we also had a bad insulator do the very same thing. You just cant see the problem even from the pole unless you are looking at the cracked glass under the tie wire. Once you get one like that you never forget though. Every time the conditions got right the crack would arc over and trip the protection.

[Pootnaigle]

ummm it LOCKS the breaker out? seems to me the fault wud clear n the breaker wud reclose

[reppy007]

Someone once said that one of those little green tree frogs got between the arrester and the highside bushing ....on that arc mechanism and was taking out a circuit....hard to believe,but I believe it...........even on a clear sunny day........maybe not in the middle of the summer....at least here.