Yes the crew tested for dead on the seconday conductors before handling them. The primary cables were grounded and isolated on parking stands. The jolt came during disassembly of the secondary...

Dont really know........the two people who got bit by it was not at the same time and they said it was not just a pop and done, the one guy it grabbed and he couldn't get off of it for a second,...

A customer owned 2500 KVA 277/480 padmount went bad yesterday. Our transformer/apparatus repair shop foreman went out to high pot it and their secondaries to help the customer determine the problem...

I don't see it as a hazard when people pay attention and do what they are supposed to do. By removing/reducing the ground potential of a wooden pole when possible/needed you lessen the chance of a...

We call it running rats. We run (usually) 4/0 THW down from the secondary bushings on the TX and tie them onto spools and then make our connections near the spools. This serves a few purposes 1. ...

I am a firm believer to learn to do everything you can. You never know when you can use it to make your job easier, better, and even more enjoyable. I actually enjoy learning new things and using...

How many of you were taught to cut or otherwise disconnect the pole ground at a point or points to lessen the ground potential in the primary zone when moving phases, changing insulators, etc? I...

We require workers to wear their rubber gloves when setting poles in or near primary. Depending on situation and clearances we place rated cover on the line and/or on the pole. As far as when a...

I am against grounding any truck that has a lower boom fiberglass insert due to chances of this kind of accident happening. On digger derricks and trucks without a lower boom fiberglass insert I...

In the past year my crew has reconductored around 2 miles of 4/0 copper to 795 aaac. We still have many circuits that have 4/0 copper conductor. The job we just finished was re-insulating about 20...

We routinely use feed thrus for switching, isolating, testing, and at times grounding. In the past we have placed both cables on a feed thru in a single phase TX to kill the TX while we changed it...

I would say the coolest, bad ass thing I have done is something that is also the stupidest, craziest, not to be done again thing.

Transfering from the skids of a helicopter onto the tops of towers...

The need for a large neutral conductor for the neutral buss on a tx bank is because the neutral current can be as high as the current on any one hot leg. This is especially true when the load placed...

One bone-in boston butt

Debone boston butt in such a manner that you can filet the butt in a spiral manner to end up with a long piece of meat that is about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick.

I then take...

I would say the fact that there were multiple places that were arcing is testament that there was not an effective ground. Yes electricity was going to ground it each point there was an arc but it...

Decision Points-
A good book describing the presidency of George W. Bush. While I may not have agreed with all of the decsions he made, it was interesting reading his thought processes and those of...

My fellow coworker/friend and I always constantly looked for ways to put our self in a position to do most of or all of the work regardless of whether it was climbing or bucket work. Many times we...

AB Chance used to come do hotstick training. Not sure if they still do though. My company used them a few times and always received good quality training.

Goals give us something to look forward to and work towards, as far as linework in the next ten years....

I'd like to learn more about all aspects of the trade and ways of doing things more...

One that I have found rather interesting is Alabama White BBQ sauce. It is a mayo based sauce and you can find numerous variations on the net. I prefer the ones that use horseradish and garlic, but...

We install our Hendrix cable without the messenger and spacers due to when trees fall on the 7#8 alumaweld messenger that it would break poles and cause our outages to be much longer. I have heard...

We retest every year for pole top, bucket truck, and confined space rescue as well as CPR and First Aid. Anyone still in the Apprentice program does pole top and bucket every 6 months regardless of...

While customers can be a pain at times, they can sometimes help point you in the right direction quicker. I work for a small/medium size utility ( about 50 linemen) and it doesn't take long to...

Before the more modern/reliable types of lightening arrestors, it is my understanding, the neutral was installed in the static position to help lessen the chance of a direct lightening strike to the...

We do live line glove work at night on an emergency basis for repairs and such as needed. Very seldom do we schedule any routine types of work unless it is due to traffic concerns, customer outages,...