Wood poles [vs] Fiberglass poles?

[PA BEN]

We have a new Boss from Tucson AZ. and in T.E.P. they use fiberglass poles and cross arms. He’s trying to sell us on them. He said that there the shit. He wants to use them on distribution and transmission. Wood poles and wood cross arms are all we know. Could you guys out there that work with fiber glass poles please give your opinion? :confused:

[old lineman]

Fiberglass poles are garbage! Fiberglass arms are a great product, the deadend Hughes arms are awesome. I have to tell you how sorry I am that your new boss is from TEP. Don't listen to and don't believe a damn thing this guy tells you. TEP's system is a disaster, they have a very hard time getting guys to work there. If you would, please PM me your new boss's name.


Seems like you can run but you can't hide now that we have this venue to exchange info.
Isn't that great! No more snow jobs if we use it to the advantage of the industry workers (who are the most vulnerable)---the linemen.
Chaulk one up for us.
The Old Lineman

[electric squirrel]

THEY SUCK!!! you cant tighten your hardware very tight,and they take forever to frame!!! When you do have to climb them they arent very comfortable cuz you gotta stand on the step and they never seem to be in the right spot! When you do a set of doubles though and you can stand up on top and prtetty much dance all over the place because the arms are sooooo wide! E.S.:cool:

p.s. I'll down some pix when I learn how to resize them

[PA BEN]

LostArt gave me this site to re-size pict.s
http://photobucket.com/

[Schmitty]

have seen fiberglass crossarms on wood poles before. seem to be ok as long as there's no chance of having an ice storm. the wood arms will withstand alot more weight before they give.

[BigClive]

Do the fibreglass poles shatter when they fail?

[Squizzy]

How do the fiberglass poles and crossarms go with aging in the sun? Alot of the fiberglass gear we use like control boxes and spreader bars get all frayed over time and when you touch them all you see is like a trail of glitter as all the fibers break off...

[electric squirrel]

THATS what I keep saying!!!!Look at all them switch rod handles all over Gods creation!!!!Seems to me the poles will do the same thing! Tramplinemans right about car hit fiber poles!!!I have put in around 100 poles I would say,and seen half dozen or so hit by cars! Dont even slow the cars down!!!! And if you put them out in the woods like Edison does up around Springville ,Ca when you get a forest fire them poles melt and fall over just like they were made of "play -do".
E.S.:cool:

[PA BEN]

So, as a linemen, how do you give fiberglass poles a fair test when management buys some to put up in your system to try out? I hear from you guys that they suck and suck bad, BUT, we have a salesmen selling his product. And he tells them what they want to hear. We all know that management doesn’t know a thing about line work. I can hear it now, “It’s just a bunch of linemen who don’t like change”.

[tramp67]

So, as a linemen, how do you give fiberglass poles a fair test when management buys some to put up in your system to try out? I hear from you guys that they suck and suck bad, BUT, we have a salesmen selling his product. And he tells them what they want to hear. We all know that management doesn’t know a thing about line work. I can hear it now, “It’s just a bunch of linemen who don’t like change”.

If the salesman is so sure of his product, get a demo section and plant it in the ground. Give it a "nudge" with a backhoe or line truck bumper, see what happens. Ask him what happens if someone burns a ditchline and a pole happens to be nearby. Put a bit of brush next to it and see what the fire does. If his product is so good, a few field demonstrations shouldn't be asking too much!!:rolleyes:

[Squizzy]

How are the poles set up? Do they have climbing pegs on them or are they bucket and ladder access? I'd imagine that spikes would not do them any favors with all those frayed fibers starting to hang out after a couple climbs...

[PA BEN]

Had a car pole last night. A Ford F-150 center punched a class 4, 40. The pick-up hit so hard it rolled on it’s top and skidded down the street. The pole had an alley arm on top with a single phase tap to the south and an overhead guy to the north, phone and cable TV. Cutouts were open, but no wire on the ground. It broke the pole in two about 5ft above the ground, we grabbed it with the line truck pulled the two halves together with a hoist and bolted two cross arms on each side, re-tamped it in, heated her up and went home. We can change out the pole during reg. working hours.

Question: If this was a class 4, 40 fiberglass would we still be there? :D

[BigClive]

The main failings of fibreglass are:-

The resin degrades over time even when UV inhibitor is used.

Water ingress through age/stress induced hairline cracks causes delamination and disintegration.

Fibreglass burns readily even when "fire inhibitors" are used. Once it goes it goes well.

It shatters with impact sending razor sharp fragments in all directions at great velocity.

Old fibreglass is extremely abrasive and causes deep skelves that can result in infection. Decaying fibreglass also liberates fine glass powder when it's brushed against and poses a lung hazard.

There is a reason wood is still in use. It's still the best material for the job.

Remind your manager that there's no such thing as a perpetual pole. Ongoing maintenance and renewal of an electrical distribution system will always be required.

[Space]

The up side is , when your cutting deadend tails , you can just let the phase slap against the arm , setting poles with no rubber , :D WOW! what fun !!:D

really , it's shame they are crapping out , haven't worked any , but did see some fiberglass arms in NOVEC's yard the other day , have to say they where a lot lighter than wood Buck arms . Who know's maybe they'll get the kinks of em worked out , I for one would appreciate anything they can do to lighten the load , provided it is workable . Space .

[thrasher]

The only fiberglass poles we use are underground fed lighting poles. They are fine for this as there is no strain to speak off and they are always located for bucket access. We have had them in the ground since 1990 and still no sign of degrading in the sun. The ones we use have a very heavy thick black resin as the outer layer. In fact it's so thick that you can't see the fiber pattern thru the resin.
We have some fiberglass arms that we are trying in a couple of swamps to see how they hold up but they have only been there three years so far.