Loadbusting Switchgear

[rcdallas]

I have yet to come across a non-load break switch gear, all I've been told is that I'll know it when I see it. There was a time about a year ago where another guy opened one up and had a flash on the end of his stick...

Anyone have any pictures? Or tell me what I'm supposed to be looking for?

Do they make an attachment or anything for the loadbreak tool to be used inside of a switchgear?

[MI-Lineman]

I have yet to come across a non-load break switch gear, all I've been told is that I'll know it when I see it. There was a time about a year ago where another guy opened one up and had a flash on the end of his stick...

Anyone have any pictures? Or tell me what I'm supposed to be looking for?

Do they make an attachment or anything for the loadbreak tool to be used inside of a switchgear?

They used to put horns in some of the cabinets on the switches? Haven't seen any in this HQ I'm now in? Just look for anything that DOESN'T say "Load break" AND DON'T OPEN'EM!!!:eek: Not until you get verification that they are anyways!!

[CHICAGO HAND.]

Many of our older gears require you to put a load buster on your stick.
We use the mini load buster for those. The full size busters won't fit in there. If it doesn't have ears it ain't getting opened hot.

[topgroove]

Here in the northeast you may run accross some old mark four switchgear. You really have to be carefull.

[T-Man]

Some of that "Live front: gear had solid blades with Loadbuster hooks on the switch and NX fuses on the load side. They weren't gang opersted switches either. They don't operate them energized any longer, they switch them out from remote locations and replace them if there are anymore around.

[thrasher]

Used to work with some 1960's and early 70's gear from S & C that had an expulsion fuse mounted in a station style cutout at ground level inside an open cabinent. These things even had a screw on muffler for the expulsion blast. They had the ears on them for a loadbuster but were a real b@#$% to operate with the standard loadbuster. Could be done but you had to line up perfectly, very unforgiving. I think they have all been changed out now with CLF fuses in a switching cabinent, so you can isolate the fuse to change it.
Some old live front transformers had an arrangement in them with a bar on the incoming and outgoing cable and an NX fuse in the center for the transformer coil. The bars had a spring loaded snuffer that slide up to cover the copper and break the arc when you opened them. The idea worked great in theory but after 20 years they sometimes hung-up and things got real interesting.

[Trojan]

S&C makes a plastic cover that fits on the top of the load buster to keep distance in switchgear.

I think the mini load buster's brand name is Load Ranger.

Anybody open switchgear fuses with a S & C "unirupter"? They can drop 200A. You have to make sure it is all the way in at the top before you open it with a hook stick. If it isn't, you will pull an arc just like opening a switch. Probably arc over to the case and, hopefully, trip out the line