A.B. CHANCE cutouts and Grid

[old horseman]

We were just informed that when we are changing out solid porcilin ab chance cutouts we are not allowed to mac out the c/o if they go to a can. We have to get an outage. I think we stand more of a chance creating hazard by tugging on these things especialy with a loadbuster then we do by just macing the the c/o. In the past if I had questionable c/o I would throw a blanket on the can and a blanket around the pole put my hillbilly mac on as close to the bushing on the can as I could and the other end on the phase. Roll the leads back take the c/o off the bracket install the new one put the leads in remove my mac and rubber and be done. Never had to mess with opening the door. Any thoughts??

[US & CA Tramp]

I am not trying to piss you off, but the way you described your procedure is not a safe practice. If you can't figure out why they want you to kill the transformer, then I am glad I don't work with you.

[dbrown20]

Use Extendo stick. dbrown20

[scammy]

I opened a chance cutout with a loadbreak tool, the cut out had a crack in it ,,,,,,,,there was a big fire,then the grass caught on fire also because of the pole ground,,,,if it were macked out ,the load would not be present. is this correct ?,,,,,,,,,our co. knew that the cutouts were bad and told us to only use them in areas which would only result in small outages,,,,,,,,,but then talk to us about saftey...go figure.scammy

[old horseman]

US & CA Tramp You can't piss me off I don't even know you. maybe I wasn't clear on the porceedure and why i'm not comfortable opening those damn things. the single piece AB chance c/o can and does devolop cracks and when you go to open them they seperate into 2 pieces. If you are working on 4800 volt system or a delta bank you have a hot conductor just roaming around looking for a place to land and it will. Macing the c/o using all the proper PPE and working smart is sfaer then then taking the chance of a having a fireball on top of a can. dbrown20 an extendo would work but you could still have fire ball when the bottom part of the broken c/o hits the top of the can. Although you would on the ground and the fireball would above you it would still scare the poopy out you. Bottom line those single piece c/o are dangerous be careful when you pull them

[F-Man]

Hey Horse if thats all they told you on our cutout procedures shame on them
Next time you go to work ask them for this :)

Doc.No: NG-USA EOP D001

this is a 5 page detail on our open and closed type cutout procedures on working on or around them

[old horseman]

I'll for the docs monday

[DuFuss]

Get pictures of these cutouts? I don't know if I've ever ran across them or not. Do the ALL malfunction or just some?

[igloo64]

I think horse was refering to a spring coil on the #6 out of the bushing. Taking the cut out off line and changing it and then sqeezing the jumper back on. That how we did it when sticking. I agree that a small outage is easier and safer but sometimes you cant because someone is too lazy to set it up.

[old horseman]

Talked with the FCC today and he gave me a copy of the procedure. He also showed us a video on the subject. We can mac the cutouts if they are not on a xformer i.e. if they are on a spur line or just a set of inlines. If they are on xformer they are afriad the wieght of the 4/0 macs will be to heavy for the smaller conductor going in the xformer bushing. Nobody uses hillbilly macs because they are not OSHA approved. Thanks Fman from nowI'll talk with FCC before confusing someone like US & CA Tramp. igloo I am talking about the potted porclian cutout. The type that has all the hardware molded into the porclian part of the cutout. As for the tails I normally take the high side out first and tape it on to the condutor or just take the hotline clamp off if it has one. A lot xformers on grid property don't have hotline clamps. Plus we have 2 men in the air to ensure we have positive control of the tail. The load side I just roll back to the top of the bushing and hold it well the other lineman changes the c/o or visa verus. Sorry about any confusion.

[scammy]

OK lets talk about opening cut outs on branch lines, sometimes you have to climb a little to get the stick to reach ,,,,,weve all done it, you should be on a hot board or backyard bucket or buckettruck,,,but now that more are faulty,your odds of death or injury are greater,,just like what happened to me ,if I were on a pole I would have been burned or killed,, remember it caught the grass on fire ,,gotta start puttin yourself first,,,,,,,,,scammy