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View Full Version : Feeder lockouts



rcdallas
11-22-2011, 11:10 PM
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hotwiretamer
11-23-2011, 12:13 AM
Tell me, what's yer method to responding to a feeder lockout? Does the operator tell you where to go or do you have a say? In Dallas they have Red/Blue lights with sirens to cut through traffic in this part of the world on stuff like that.

We decide which way we want to go to partrol feeders that are locked out.

Pootnaigle
11-23-2011, 12:35 AM
Ummm depended on where I was when the call came in.... Often while in route we would get sumpin from the cops or fire dept. and divert to that location. No red n blue lights on the utility vehicles Just yellow strobes, and people tend to ignore them in daylight n dont do much better at nite.

topgroove
11-23-2011, 01:33 AM
Same here Poot. I try and plan my route so it takes me to the station and I can follow the three phase out and patrol as I go.

Hopefully a customer or a cop saw something and called it in. If not its best to at least open a set of disconnects somewhere between the station and where you know the primary is clear , Have regional control close the breaker and get as many as you can in as fast as possible.

Pootnaigle
11-23-2011, 08:00 AM
Ummmmmmm N sumtimes its real predictable, Like when ya lose 2 different feeders from 2 different stations at the same time, Just head for the NO tie switch.

gwolf001
12-05-2011, 02:49 PM
i'm from a coop in central Texas,and when we have a feeder that goes out our scada opperator looks up the fault infromation for that feeder and gives us a pole number as to where they predict the fault to be, we then but the pole number into our UAI system in the truck laptop and off we go. most of the time they can get us to within 5 spans of a fault.

rcdallas
12-06-2011, 08:07 AM
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gwolf001
12-06-2011, 01:33 PM
been there done that. work for Bluebonnet Electric

topgroove
12-06-2011, 02:54 PM
That may work in rural Texas, But here in NY we have thousands of customers on each feeder. Everyone of those feeders have customers in hospice situations. Sure most have some sort of battery backup but its still a stressfull situation. Think of all the businesses that lose revenue during an outage. The light manufacturing that has to let an entire shift go home, not to mention the lost product.

NYS PSC tracks our outages and the duration of outage. A feeder lockout is a really big deal around here.

reppy007
12-06-2011, 11:59 PM
That may work in rural Texas, But here in NY we have thousands of customers on each feeder. Everyone of those feeders have customers in hospice situations. Sure most have some sort of battery backup but its still a stressfull situation. Think of all the businesses that lose revenue during an outage. The light manufacturing that has to let an entire shift go home, not to mention the lost product.

NYS PSC tracks our outages and the duration of outage. A feeder lockout is a really big deal around here.

Like topgroove said,here circuit lock-outs are a big priority,with thousands on each circuit,sure we have some with a few hundred customers,maybe some with less in the country.I cant imagine a lineman having a big say on where to go unless he happens to see the problem area,which is luck.The dispatchers have up-dated maps,lamberts,now with everything on computer screens,they have the updated info on new switches in the field.With large hospitals,businesses,malls,maybe even a stadium,with all the elevators with people inside,theres not alot of time to have a guy in a truck determine where he wants to start,or end.This whole process is made more easier when the guy in the field knows the roads,short-cuts and really nice when he knows the circuit.Some of these guys have what i call a picture in their head of some circuits,they have worked on certain ones more than once.We have even asked the dispatchers to heat the circuit up at night,when not finding the problem for awhile.Even had one where i told the dispatchers that the problem was under a certain road,they asked me how did i know,well i knew cause one fault blew a man-hole cover off and came really close to messing up this car,i wasnt but a hundred feet away.Here in this part of texas we dont treat a lock-out lightly.

rcdallas
12-07-2011, 01:41 AM
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T-Man
12-07-2011, 01:38 PM
We have the smart switches on the large 24.9 feeders so they isolate the problem to a smaller section then we patrol and find what went wrong if nobody calls us to a location like dig in or pole struck.

Then like you already mentioned we split the feeder and try it to find out which side it is in and work from there. Our control center calls the shots, but a good dispatcher looks at the maps and lets the responders know if there are protecting devices to look at on the way to where the calls come in.

A big portion of our system has bridging available so we can cut a problem clear and pick up load from another feeded.

Broken insulators flashing over in the rain or snow are the hardest to find, They dry themselves off in the faut and you can restore the line but it will go out again sooner or later and you can partol for ever and not catch the cracked glass. . . .

lewy
12-07-2011, 05:07 PM
Our system operators will send us to a starting point. Quite often it is to check out FCIs & go from there. Real hard on equipment to just sectionalize & close. Once the problem is found we then isolate & pick up remaing load.

Pootnaigle
12-07-2011, 06:17 PM
Ummmmmm we never split a feeder unless it was in an alley for that same reason.And on many of them we installed flashing fault indicators that reset themself on current flow. Sure saved walking out every alley on the loop. Put em on the road crossings.On a real long feeder we also used some. Right handy lil thangs and I cant say I ever saw one fail to work.Nowadays they have radio controlled OR's throughout the trunks that open on both sides of a fault and close at a normal open point within a matter of minutes.They too work real well but I always hated working with a hold tag on one of those circuits( never trusted the relays to be disabled)

T-Man
12-08-2011, 07:09 AM
Those FCI are real handy Poot we have them too. . .In a hold off clearance automated switch need to be decoupled so the motor is not attached to the switch incaes the relays or someone tries to operate them remotely.

Have you guys seen the pole top switchs that have a switch bellcrank on the switch it self, No pipe running down the pole to a switch handle? You open and close with an extendable stick.
How do you lock that open and install a card?
Look at options here:
http://www.sandc.com/products/switching-overhead-distribution/omni-rupter.asp

Pootnaigle
12-08-2011, 07:39 AM
Ummmm we used them switches also. There aint no lockin em but we put a tag at the base of the pole where the switch number was. I had a few problems with a couple of those thangs. Either wouldnt open or Close one blade no matter how it was adjusted. It was a good idea but it still had a few kinks innit.

rcdallas
12-08-2011, 04:54 PM
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hotwiretamer
12-08-2011, 08:01 PM
Ummmm we used them switches also. There aint no lockin em but we put a tag at the base of the pole where the switch number was. I had a few problems with a couple of those thangs. Either wouldnt open or Close one blade no matter how it was adjusted. It was a good idea but it still had a few kinks innit.

We use the same type switch for our feeders. I agree Poot, a lot of times the switch works great untill you land the wire/jumpers on it. Then all of a sudden it is almost impossible to open or close from the ground with an extendo.