regulators?

[44kv]

what are there purpose? how are they wired(do they have a source and load side like reclosers?) also what is zeroing one out mean. i dont think i have seen a thread about them other than the pic of the ones topgroove hung. thank you.(also capacitors)

[Patriot]

Your not a lineman right? One screw up on a regulator might be all you will get.

[Koga]

Are exactly what the name implies. They regulate the line voltage to guard against voltage drop or spikes on a circut.They usually have tap changers on em that go up or down 10% depending on the load variations.To zero it out is to manually raise or lower the tcul's to 0.
Capacitors are probably one of the most dangerous things you can work on IMHO.They are used to correct the power factor. :o Now I know the next question is "what is the power factor ?" Well my man lets see if I can explain this simply.On AC the current and volts alternate.60 times a second.Thus 60 cycles! Think of it as 2 waves up and down ,up and down.As long as they rise and fall and turn around at the same time they are "in phase" and operating at 100% effeciency.But in the real world it dont happen that way because of inductance caused by load .So we install capacitors to correct it ,to bring it as close to that "in phase" as we can get it.Don't even think about workin on em untill you have some qualified lineman to show you how to take them off line, shunt them out properly and test em. Same thing goes for regulators."Oh Shit" :eek: aint what you want to hear or say in this line of work. Class dismissed :)

Koga

[dbrown20]

Best place to start is to purchase the Kurtz Lineman and Cablemans Handbook. You can usually find them on EBay or somewhere real reasonable. It gives you real good info. for most questions you might have. dbrown20

[topgroove]

Are exactly what the name implies. They regulate the line voltage to guard against voltage drop or spikes on a circut.They usually have tap changers on em that go up or down 10% depending on the load variations.To zero it out is to manually raise or lower the tcul's to 0.
Capacitors are probably one of the most dangerous things you can work on IMHO.They are used to correct the power factor. :o Now I know the next question is "what is the power factor ?" Well my man lets see if I can explain this simply.On AC the current and volts alternate.60 times a second.Thus 60 cycles! Think of it as 2 waves up and down ,up and down.As long as they rise and fall and turn around at the same time they are "in phase" and operating at 100% effeciency.But in the real world it dont happen that way because of inductance caused by load .So we install capacitors to correct it ,to bring it as close to that "in phase" as we can get it.Don't even think about workin on em untill you have some qualified lineman to show you how to take them off line, shunt them out properly and test em. Same thing goes for regulators."Oh Shit" :eek: aint what you want to hear or say in this line of work. Class dismissed :)

Koga
excellent explanation! Now as far as wiring it depends on what type of system you on , Wye or Delta. You have three bushings on a regulator, source , load and source load. On a Wye system the source load is the common neutral connection on a delta system the source load is another primary phase.
the most dangerous time is when your taking one off line or putting it on line. To take a regulator off line you must satisfy at least two of the following three indicators. A neutral light in the control box, a zero reading on the clock dial or a zero reading with a neutral indicator between source and load, ( be damn sure you don't get the meter between source and source load or load and source load ) there not made for primary voltage.
Once your damn sure the banks in neutral you can close the by-pass switch and then I turn the control box off and pull the fuses in it.
I won't get in to installing it cause I'm sure you'll have plenty of help with that. I will say make sure you have some fiberglass standoffs. Six for a Wye and nine for a delta. Once you make one lead hot you have to consider them all hot.

[44kv]

no im not working on regs or cap its just like swamp said" learn all you can". the lineman im with dont know that much about them so i thought i would ask you guys. hell i got a shit load of questions about alot of stuff! so i was just wondering and learning thanks for teaching!!!!

[Orgnizdlbr]

what are there purpose? how are they wired(do they have a source and load side like reclosers?) also what is zeroing one out mean. i dont think i have seen a thread about them other than the pic of the ones topgroove hung. thank you.(also capacitors)

Koga gave a great explanation, no need to expand ....on our loop feed system if there is a need to sectionalize a circuit with poletop regulation the regs are taken of the line until the circuit is back to normal....it aint a good thing to backfeed a regulator.....

[BigClive]

Are exactly what the name implies. They regulate the line voltage to guard against voltage drop or spikes on a circut.They usually have tap changers on em that go up or down 10% depending on the load variations.To zero it out is to manually raise or lower the tcul's to 0.
Capacitors are probably one of the most dangerous things you can work on IMHO.They are used to correct the power factor. :o Now I know the next question is "what is the power factor ?" Well my man lets see if I can explain this simply.On AC the current and volts alternate.60 times a second.Thus 60 cycles! Think of it as 2 waves up and down ,up and down.As long as they rise and fall and turn around at the same time they are "in phase" and operating at 100% effeciency.But in the real world it dont happen that way because of inductance caused by load .So we install capacitors to correct it ,to bring it as close to that "in phase" as we can get it.Don't even think about workin on em untill you have some qualified lineman to show you how to take them off line, shunt them out properly and test em. Same thing goes for regulators."Oh Shit" :eek: aint what you want to hear or say in this line of work. Class dismissed :)

Koga


Nicely put Koga. It's hard to explain power factor correction in simple terms. In short a shit power factor means that transformers are used rather inefficiently and balancing the PF has significant cost savings for the power company.

Two nasty things about capacitors. They hold a charge and while some have bleed resistors that will slowly drain the charge on them away, some don't, or have dead resistors that don't bleed the charge away. The upshot of this is that if you diconnect a capacitor then it's best to assume it's holding a high DC charge on it's terminals that could easilly kill you. Even a capacitor that has been subsequently discharged and then left for a while can develop a modest charge from electrolytic absorbtion. So always discharge again before handling a disconnected capacitor.

Second unique feature of capacitors is due to their construction of lots of layers of live metal sandwiched with thin layers of insulation. When something goes wrong they explode with force. A whole lot of energy gets vented in a sealed metal container and BOOM!

One of my first experiences of working on distribution gear as an apprentice electrician was connecting lugs onto a capacitor bank in a steelworks. I think I was given the job because everyone else was scared to do it. Likewise being tenchnically savvy to the characteristics of capacitors, I wasn;t too thrilled to be doing it myself. Especially since this was in the days when you just had to take your gaffers word for it that the thing was suitably isolated and discharged.

[linemanfrog]

A voltage regulator is little more than a primary transformer. They usually have a "correction factor" of +/-10%. Internally they have windings similary to a standard tx. The difference is the output voltage (still primary voltage). They have voltage sensing devices in them that tell the control panel what the primary voltage is. Depending on the line voltage the regulator will do one of three things. 1. Nothing....voltage is good. 2. Step the voltage up due to the primary voltage being lower than wanted. 3. Step down voltage due to higher voltage than needed.
As has already been said....never attempt to bypass a regulator until you are sure it is in the neutral (zeroed) out postion. Very bad to attempt that. Alot of the newer ones can be fed from either direction (useful on circuits that are switched alot). Just remember source and load are hot on a wye system. Sourceload is neutral connection. We install a 4kv arrestor between the source and load bushings (we have a 7.2/12.4 system) to protect the internal windings from lightening damage. Beware of the older bypass switches that are hooked up in such a way that the bypass one closes as you open the source one.....never seen it happen but Ive heard that they dont always work as they were designed. We took all of them out of our system.

Regulators can give you a few problems you will see down line while you are trouble shooting. For instance if you have more than one transformer giving you high or low voltage then ask dispatcher where the nearest regulator is. Sometimes they will get stuck in position and as load changes you may get excessively high or low primary voltage. Look at the clock indicator to see what position the regulator is in. If it seems higher or lower than what it should be then check primary voltage on both sides of regulator to see if it is stepped up or down more than needed.
When switching circuits it is best to put them in the manual position until swithcing is completed or you will have one regulator "fighting" the other trying to stabilize voltage.

Hope this answers some of your questions. As far a cap banks.....hopefully someone smarter than I can explain that to ya.

[loodvig]

The main thing on regs is make dam sure it's in neutral position if your going to by-pass or take it off line. Some of the older controls don't have a neutral light or the bulb is out. The dials or pointer is not always correct either!

[44kv]

I hope and pray that when i have been in the trade as long as some of you guys i know half as much as some of you know. thank all of you for the info!!!

[Patriot]

Try to remember, to use two methods of determining zero on a reg. Never just trust one indication of zero. When in doubt, open the line. I have seen a substation tech engulfed with burning oil from a non-zeroed reg. I thought he was a gonner. Many mistakes on his part, and he walked away with burned and smokeing hair, and dripping with oil. Winter clothing saved his butt.


Our safety manual demands two methods before bypassing.

Electronic or digital neutral meter, primary volt meter, neutral light, and drag hands. We zero with light and drag hands then throw the test meter on it to boot. It only takes a few minutes, and never, NEVER trust anything mechanical!!! :-)

[md2]

when replacing worn out regulators you almost always have to drop the line. because the almost never burn up on zero and there is no way to zero them out

[PSE Lineman]

The ones that work both ways say right on them in big painted letters "BI-DIRECTIONAL" That's all we're getting around here now...

[WFO]

The ones that work both ways say right on them in big painted letters "BI-DIRECTIONAL" That's all we're getting around here now...

Don't count on it being marked, though. Many of the older regulators can be made bi-directional by upgrading the control on it.

Another note about the neutral light. I've seen a Siemens regulator that would give the neutral light on in more than one spot. So our standard procedure for checking the light now is to go to neutral (get a light), keep going past it to the next step to verify that it goes off, then come back to neutral again. The really nasty thing about regulators is that being close is much worse than being way off. The circulating fault current is at maximum one step off neutral (boost or buck).

[Brooks]

the lineman im with dont know that much about them


RUN AWAY and don't look back.

[Husker apprentice]

Regulators have 32 positions, 0-16 Buck or 0-16 Boost , meaning lowering or raising the voltage by +- 10%. Zeroing them out has a few steps, you flip the control from automatic to manual, look at the drag hands to see where u are then raise or lower the tap changer to 0. The drag hands will be at neutral, the neutal light will be on, (you might here the reversing motor click)
And to make sure it's on zero or neutral, use a voltage tester between source and load, the voltages will be very close to the same. Run up or down one and see the difference.


NEVER BYPASS A REGULATOR WITH OUT IT BEING ON THE NEUTAL POSITION!!!

If u can't be 100% sure, kill the line and bypass it , then re-energize the line!

be safe!!

[loadbreak55]

:rolleyes: Checking voltage is the "only"sure way to varify a "neutral"position on a reg station.If there isn't a neutral light,you can run a reg all the way up or down 'till it "maxes" out then count the steps back to Zero.That's 16 operations for any reg.to get back to zero.Then,CHECK VOLTAGE BEFORE attempting to open any switches! :confused:

[44kv]

i never knew? i thought you could just open them up. when ya'll talk about checking voltage,if the reg is in the neu postion then the voltage will be the same on both sides of the reg correct?

[WFO]

:rolleyes: Checking voltage is the "only"sure way to varify a "neutral"position on a reg station.If there isn't a neutral light,you can run a reg all the way up or down 'till it "maxes" out then count the steps back to Zero.That's 16 operations for any reg.to get back to zero.Then,CHECK VOLTAGE BEFORE attempting to open any switches! :confused:

GE's have a mechanical stop if the electrical limit switch doesn't work. Unfortunately, it makes a loud click that sounds like a tap change but isn't. Tends to make your count be one off and makes counting REAL iffy.

Also, look out if someone has used the "load bonus" feature (that's what GE calls it, Siemens and Cooper may call it something else). This is physically setting a limit switch so that the regulator doesn't go to all 16 steps.

Always a complication.

[thrasher]

Two more problems with counting steps. First on a lot of systems if you go all the way to sixteen buck or sixteen raise you are going to put out so low or so high of voltage that the utility will be buying several hundred consumer items from either putting out 108 or 132. The second problem is on some older regulators the reversing switch sounds like a step. So you will count 34 steps for a sixteen step regulator.
If you have any doubt, drop the line isolate then put the line back on. Personally the only thing I trust test wise is the Hastings Neutral Detector, it works like a champ and gives a very clear indication.

[tramp67]

Another thing to remember about regulators involves closing in a loop feed from a substation. One set of regulators in the substation MUST be in manual or taken offline before closing the loop. Otherwise, you run the risk of the regulators fighting each other, with one ramping up and the other backing down, until something blows up or burns down!

[44kv]

was told of a duke service tech that just pulled up and used a pogo stick to open the doors on one with out zeroing any of the 3 out out. My foreman was there he said they never found the lid to one of them and it burnt the whole 3 reg bent up!!!!