Ice and tracking of voltage?

[MEGA81]

Quick question. If a pole is coated in ice from top to bottom, will voltage track from the wire, down around the insulator, and onto the cross arm and then down the pole? Anybody ever heard of this?

[mainline]

In theory ice is the perfect insulator so it shouldn't. Whether it would or not is another story.

[BULLogna]

Pure ice is a good insulator and common insulators are designed with a drip lip to increase surface area and allow water to drip rather than run. really old insulators did not have this. heavy freezing rain could possibly over take this drip loop and cause tracking as well as contamination already on the equipment or in the rain. As far as the pole being covered in ice, that really shouldnot make a difference because the chemicals used to preserve the wood in croosarms and poles is conductive. the newer the pole the more conductive. so if the ice defeats the insulator everything could and probably would be hot.

[Special ED]

The ice wont conduct. But the impurities in it and on it will.
Fact is ice is a great insulator but it takes very little impurities to make it conductive.