Cross arm braces

[PA BEN]

Does anyone here use wooden crossarm braces. We use flat metal braces on standard distribution and a solid V brace’s on heavy arms. The wooden braces are 2x2 wood that look like they mount under the arm. For the life of me I can’t see why they would be better. What do you guys have to say about them?

[co lineman]

xcel energy uses them in Colorado and they seem to work well...Usually just lag when it was little wire and drill a hole and bolt them for bigger wire...

[Bigheadnc]

PA, Here's what I noticed: those HD wood braces will give a little in ice and such. But the flat braces last alot longer.

[dbrown20]

use those wooden braces everywhere Ben. Better BIL. Go with the flow Ben. Are you talking about those old steel V braces? Bad BIL. dbrown20

[PA BEN]

use those wooden braces everywhere Ben. Better BIL. Go with the flow Ben. Are you talking about those old steel V braces? Bad BIL. dbrown20

The flat brace you can mount on the arm send it up. Land the arm pull them down, level the arm lag it. Done deal. As for the V brace we use them on our heavy arms. The wooden braces install about the same, but a regular arm will take longer to install. We have no choice but to go with the flow.
This is also a wet and corrosive environment here, right by the ocean, he’s from a hot and dry environment some of the changes he wants wont last here. But what do we know.:eek:

[thrasher]

Our coop has lots of swamps and LOTS of agriculture with spray fertilizers and we changed to the wood braces almost 20 years ago due to corrosion problems with the metal braces. Also we are close enough to the coast (about 30-40 miles inland) that we regularly get hit with hurricanes. It seems the wood braces will flex a little in a storm and then spring back where the metal brace just bends and stays bent. However goes without saying that's the case on the east coast. Your environment may be different. Question: Do you have corrosion problems with the metal braces you are using?

[Squizzy]

We use a T-piece made out of steel channel, it has 2 18mm holes top and bottom and 2 14mm holes on the outside of the the T. The 2 14mm holes are the anti swing bolts so that the actuall arm has two 12mm bolts (1/2 inch) and a 16mm (5/8th) bolt through it and another 16mm bolt through the bottom of the T-piece. If we do require a crossarm strap generally for an offset drop out fuse arm they are a peice of flat bar steel which goes well with our steel HV arms which is made all the better with some of these arms being connected directly to an earth rod via a 70mm earth cable on some constructions:eek:

[PA BEN]

Our coop has lots of swamps and LOTS of agriculture with spray fertilizers and we changed to the wood braces almost 20 years ago due to corrosion problems with the metal braces. Also we are close enough to the coast (about 30-40 miles inland) that we regularly get hit with hurricanes. It seems the wood braces will flex a little in a storm and then spring back where the metal brace just bends and stays bent. However goes without saying that's the case on the east coast. Your environment may be different. Question: Do you have corrosion problems with the metal braces you are using?

The galvanized flat braces seem to hold up well. The corrosion problems we do have are service deadends wedge type after years in service they turn the ACSR neutral into white powder. Connectors, aluminum to copper, split bolt type. Al. to Al. seem to do well, de-ox of course. Copper to copper do well, but if you uses a bi-metal connector, the connector will turn to white powder all over the copper. Stainless steel transformers rust out, reg. transformers rust out. I’ve seen steel J-boxes rust out in 5 years when next to the water. I’m from a dry part of the State been there 22 years, been here 2 years, and I’ve never seen the corrosion problems that we have here. Do the wooden braces rot out

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s276/PABEN07/PICT4769.jpg

[thrasher]

Yea we have a few braces rot but not as bad as metal braces rusting. It's a trade-off that each company makes.

[PA BEN]

Looks like a trap to me. Lazy linework should be pined over the arm. Is that a curved washer that should be squared and not diamond on the top arm?

[dbrown20]

there Ben. I believe you're right on the washer. It needs to be rotated a little bit so the curve will fit the pole.

However on the jumper I do agree with some folks that prefer the air gap instead of tying it in on a pin and insulator. I was always taught that a belly jumper was best. Done it both ways though. Some people say a hand might climb up and stick his head into a belly jumper. If he's that dumb he'll probably do something else to get into trouble.

Those old Hughes arms were standard one place I worked on 4/0 and above. Puts a grunt into a bind to send one of them up. I had an old guy do it once for me though. Most of the time we pulled them up with the handline tied to the truck. I'm pretty sure I remember that old guy pulled it up by hand. They average about 80 lbs. Some guys call them huge arms. dbrown20

[woody]

Lazy Linework...yup...in a quiet city by the sea no less... are YOU stupid or better yet most likely...bored!!!! SHIT...HELL>>>SHUT THE F*** - UP. Enjoy everything you have in your little rea that your better than everyone else at that has ever done linework. Duh. woody...Jeez does this mean I gotta work extra hard now that dummies invaded my early retirement area's...REA'S.!!!

[PA BEN]

Lazy Linework...yup...in a quiet city by the sea no less... are YOU stupid or better yet most likely...bored!!!! SHIT...HELL>>>SHUT THE F*** - UP. Enjoy everything you have in your little rea that your better than everyone else at that has ever done linework. Duh. woody...Jeez does this mean I gotta work extra hard now that dummies invaded my early retirement area's...REA'S.!!!

Glad to hear your opinion. Never worked for and still don't work for an REA:D

Never judge a man untill you walk a mile in his shoes.

[graybeard]

We've had good luck with the wood brace in the midwest. Has some give to it when you get ice loading and high winds. As for the Hughs or buck arms we quit using them and went to a fiberglass arm and they are lot better to work with. Swamp you would like these they come with a guy attachment built in and you can some working space without the braces.

[Viperexaf]

we're doing a reconduct job down in south texas and on all the new poles we've been putting up has had fiberglass arms. They're not bad putting up, alot less time and hard ware, but this first time i've used em before, so i don't know how well they're gonna hold up to the weather and high winds, suppose time will tell.

[LINETRASH]

.

However on the jumper I do agree with some folks that prefer the air gap instead of tying it in on a pin and insulator. I was always taught that a belly jumper was best. Done it both ways though. Some people say a hand might climb up and stick his head into a belly jumper. If he's that dumb he'll probably do something else to get into trouble.

dbrown20

I alway heard rea's framed like that to save the cost of an insulator.

Seen plenty of double deadends with just a ridge pin, the road and field phase jumper hangin.

Funny how they still frame stuff, like installing the
'climbing space" link, a peice of flat steel , between the pole and deadend bells, on a pole right by the road!

'course, my daddy always told me : "Never do anything out th' bucket you cant undo off th' pole"

This came to fruition a couple times trying to remove transmission grounds istalled out the bucket, then the f'ing bucket broke down, took some doing, got 'em off, but NEVER AGAIN!

Always remember the dude coming behind you. You May be drivin a High Ranger, he may be drivin a set-o-kleins!

[woody]

cotter keys to the pole...and jumpers to the pole(if by chance they had to be hammered off)...any and ALL hot-taps facing to the pole... and all stirrups turned to the pole. Everything done with the frame of mind that it was done on the pole. Which it usaually is... in the dark on emergency restoration... where LINEMAN are required. woody

[m_kohner]

and they are lighter than the wood ones. what area of texas ya at...

we're doing a reconduct job down in south texas and on all the new poles we've been putting up has had fiberglass arms. They're not bad putting up, alot less time and hard ware, but this first time i've used em before, so i don't know how well they're gonna hold up to the weather and high winds, suppose time will tell.

[otpig2]

Swamp
here we replace bells with the cotter pin to the pole
and still square the washer
M kohner went to ice storm in eastern So Dak the fiberglass arm was wrapped around the pole when the conductor broke they didn't handle the strain,and yes i've seen the xarm pin split the end of the wood arm but a saddle pin would get the wire back up

[Viperexaf]

Interesting.

I've been "out" of linework bout 3 years now. Never have had any experience with the Fiberglass cross arms. Never even seen one installed.

"Sounds" like a cool thing.....
What type of Braces and Pins do ya use on them? Steel?

Are these those "Braceless" Arms? With the "contraption"...hardware for boltin them to the pole? Cool Idea....Gettin rid of the Braces on crossarms.

A wood Crossarm will last bout 20 years. What's the Advantages of a Fiberglass crossarm? I'm sure they're a shitload more expensive for a company to purchace.

Like I said, never seen or installed one.

Ain't got a clue.

Teach me......

honestly swampy they're still relatively new to me as well from what i've seen then they just take 2 12" bolts to hold em up, all the holes for the insulators and holes on the outside for your cutouts, no braces at all, you do however have a ridge pin that is installed above em if you got 3 phase. Like i had posted earlier, not sure how they hold up to high winds or weather but they're pretty easy to install.

[Viperexaf]

it's like anything else, once it gets massed produced then the prices of em fall a bit. I'm relatively new to the construction side of this job and needless to say learning quite a bit about new materials and methods of doing things compared to what i was doing in the past. But swampy i am with ya on the wood though, i'd still rather put wood up then the fiberglass just cause it's the old skool way of doing things plus it was what i was brought up on when i was an ape. So far the crew i've got and the foreman are a great group of guys down here, enjoyin it quite a bit. be safe bros

[Hemingray Insulators]

they do have a metal bracket for wood arms, that make the wood "braceless" i've seen em installed, but not arround here. i'll look on the web when i get home and see if i can find a pic for ya swamp.

[Orgnizdlbr]

they do have a metal bracket for wood arms, that make the wood "braceless" i've seen em installed, but not arround here. i'll look on the web when i get home and see if i can find a pic for ya swamp.

Ive used 2 types of "braceless gains" they suck, I'd much rather use braces.

[Pootnaigle]

heres the deal on those things, they are actually made for use in alleys but lottsa guys are puttin em up on the streets also.Give em a few years to deterioate and when you get anywhere near em youre gona get covered in loose fiberglass( adheres really well to sweaty skin) I'm sure everyone has seen how most fiberglass products dont hold up well under the weather conditions once the gelcoat deteriates and trust me it does. I've seen fuse barrels and stand off brackets that look like you could weave a blanket outta em.

[PA BEN]

heres the deal on those things, they are actually made for use in alleys but lottsa guys are puttin em up on the streets also.Give em a few years to deterioate and when you get anywhere near em youre gona get covered in loose fiberglass( adheres really well to sweaty skin) I'm sure everyone has seen how most fiberglass products dont hold up well under the weather conditions once the gelcoat deteriates and trust me it does. I've seen fuse barrels and stand off brackets that look like you could weave a blanket outta em.

Have you worked with fiberglass poles at all? We have 8 on there way here to try out:(

[harley]

Yes I have set around 20 over the last 2 years. Both Shakspear and RS. They are set on the rear lot line where you can not get any equipment to. We carry them in by hand. They have held up pretty well so far.

[PA BEN]

We have 8 coming to try out. There Shakespeare and for the life of me why would management go along with poles that are over double the cost of a wood pole.

[woody]

Because they can...they are in their own little fifedom...and they will do things...just to show you; that they can do anything and everything...when thet want. woody