Maintenance man almost got fried !!!

[PCN]

I saw a sign in a diner down in southern Utah many years ago that said:

" Hire a teenager while they still know everything"

That about sums it up.

 

[satcom]

You know, there seems to be a
or "toughness" or "Stardum" in being an electrician. You see it in Lineman, and wireman alike. Especially when we talk about working live voltages, or walk around with those rubber gloves on, or talk about testing with our bare fingers. Then, when we talk about these issues in the general puplic, we have an automatic audience at full attention, because the general public is generaly scared, and respectfull of electricity. This makes us feel like a real man !!

So if we get past those false senses, and think about safety, our families, and the wellness of others, and, the increasing laws that are put in place to save us from such foolishness, we will realize its SMART to do it right... AND the more we act in the foolish ways, and, the more accidents that happen, the more these laws are put into place, and frankly Im sick of being choked down with such laws.

I remember some moron at a manufacturing plant telling a young gent, new to the company,
" What do you expect, they will shut everything down so you can work on the equipment."

He was made a fool of, for not changing a 100A distribution breaker hot, so the company head electrical moron, proceds to remove the breaker hot, after the fire department and rescue crew left, they all talked about how Mr not it all, will be spending months in the burn unit.

I always trust the guys that ask questions, not show any (toughness" or "Stardum" in being an electrician)

 

[MikeGee]

Well lazy to start and the first mechanic I ever worked with in Oct 2008 was 58 years old. The first mechanic he worked with was his father. His father did it so it kinda came down to me.

I dont do it often. Maybe 5 times in 8 years.

I meant oct. 2000

 

[MikeGee]

You guys are 100% right. I do realize the dangers involve. Maybe I should have kept them to myself because of those that might read this and may want to try it. I didnt think about other. I am really sorry for the foolish statements that I have made. I think I will discontinue those practices. I do own a Greenlee wand tester an Ideal digital meter and a Fluke 322. I will be putting them to use on everything from now on. Thanks for showing me the error of my ways.

 

[MikeGee]

You know, there seems to be a certain sense of "male pride" or "toughness" or "Stardum" in being an electrician. You see it in Lineman, and wireman alike. Especially when we talk about working live voltages, or walk around with those rubber gloves on, or talk about testing with our bare fingers. Then, when we talk about these issues in the general puplic, we have an automatic audience at full attention, because the general public is generaly scared, and respectfull of electricity. This makes us feel like a real man !!

So if we get past those false senses, and think about safety, our families, and the wellness of others, and, the increasing laws that are put in place to save us from such foolishness, we will realize its SMART to do it right... AND the more we act in the foolish ways, and, the more accidents that happen, the more these laws are put into place, and frankly Im sick of being choked down with such laws.

You know I have been doing silly things and at the same time. Saying I'd never be a lineman. I just learned a lot in 10 min.

 

[Mule]

You guys are 100% right. I do realize the dangers involve. Maybe I should have kept them to myself because of those that might read this and may want to try it. I didnt think about other. I am really sorry for the foolish statements that I have made. I think I will discontinue those practices. I do own a Greenlee wand tester an Ideal digital meter and a Fluke 322. I will be putting them to use on everything from now on. Thanks for showing me the error of my ways.

Now there's a sign of a real man !!!

 

[zog]

You guys are 100% right. I do realize the dangers involve. Maybe I should have kept them to myself because of those that might read this and may want to try it. I didnt think about other. I am really sorry for the foolish statements that I have made. I think I will discontinue those practices. I do own a Greenlee wand tester an Ideal digital meter and a Fluke 322. I will be putting them to use on everything from now on. Thanks for showing me the error of my ways.

Glad to hear it, get some FR clothing, rubber gloves, and safety training and be safe.

 

[MikeGee]

​

Glad to hear it, get some FR clothing, rubber gloves, and safety training and be safe.

some anti-stupid training.

 

[sparky723]

God

God

I told him to thank god for sparing his life....!!!

God is spelled with a capital 'G'. That is unless you are speaking of an idol.

 

[Karl H]

Maybe I'm getting old or just getting smarter.One "pet-peeve"
I have (and I have many) is hearing a guy say,"I could'nt find the ckt
so I shorted it out on the box to trip the breaker." My brain screams
"YOUR AN IDIOT !" I really need to get some GRAPHIC electrical
burn photos to keep in my truck for people like that.
25 years in the trade and I have NEVER touched a HOT wire on purpose.
I've done 25 years being smart. Not trying to show how "Tough" I am.
I saw a 6 year old girl get her arms blown off when she crawled inside
an unlocked utility PMT when I was a kid.So I 've always known the dangers
of electricity.People who don't value their own safety are certainly not going to value the safety of others.

 

[celtic]

I really need to get some GRAPHIC electrical
burn photos to keep in my truck for people like that.

Here ya go:

OSHA Construction eTool: Electrical Incidents - Burns and Other ...
[2 clicks to pix]

Electrical Flash Burns - Medical Illustration, Human Anatomy Drawing
[1 click to pix]

[no click to pix]

 

[ptonsparky]

Had a location with grounded delta 480v that would not start the motors. Voltage seemed to be okay via the indicating lights on the Beha tester but after several checks I noticed the long spark that followed the tip of the tester as it disconnected from the lugs. Got my real meter out and about fell over. Don't remember the voltage reading now but it was well over what the Beha should have been subjected to. That was when I quit hanging that tester around my neck while making voltage checks. Also learned that POCO can have crew with trucks & transformers enroute within 1/2 hour of phone call.

 

[Mule]

God is spelled with a capital 'G'. That is unless you are speaking of an idol.

YOU are absolutely correct thanks......

 

[charlie]

. . . I saw a 6 year old girl get her arms blown off when she crawled inside an unlocked utility PMT . . .

That is why the NESC requires two conscience acts to unlock a pad mounted transformer or other types of pad mounted equipment. In my world, it is the physical removal of a padlock and then the removal of a recessed penta headed bolt. Add to that requirement, most electric utilities use dead front primary (elbow terminators and the like for lightning arrestors, dead end bushing caps, etc.) to give a bit more safety when the equipment is open. Leaving pad mounted equipment open is normally grounds for dismissal.

 

[bjp_ne_elec]

Had a location with grounded delta 480v that would not start the motors. Voltage seemed to be okay via the indicating lights on the Beha tester but after several checks I noticed the long spark that followed the tip of the tester as it disconnected from the lugs. Got my real meter out and about fell over. Don't remember the voltage reading now but it was well over what the Beha should have been subjected to. That was when I quit hanging that tester around my neck while making voltage checks. Also learned that POCO can have crew with trucks & transformers enroute within 1/2 hour of phone call.

Which Beha Tester did you have - most are rated above 600V (usually 690V). Was there an issue of being greater than 480V?

 

[ptonsparky]

Which Beha Tester did you have - most are rated above 600V (usually 690V). Was there an issue of being greater than 480V?

This was before the Cat ratings showed up on meters. The Fluke I used at the time doesn't have it. I am thinking plus side of 700v on the Fluke display. For some of you that is NBD but it sure was for me.

 

[zog]

I really need to get some GRAPHIC electrical
burn photos to keep in my truck for people like that.
.

Here is a series of pics from an accident at an old training customer of mine, this was a case of assuming a line was denerigized, they had isolated the wrong line and no one checked it.

 

[jrannis]

You are the reason I want to leave this forum sometimes, you are an embarassment to your trade and clueless on the dangers of electricity.

The amount of tickle you feel is equal to how hard you squeeze it with your fingers.

 

[zog]

The amount of tickle you feel is equal to how hard you squeeze it with your fingers.

Good, squeeze really hard.

 

[Mule]

Got a call today from a maintenance man that works full time for a client of mine out on a large ranch/museum. He called to ask me some questions reguarding some water pump controls that had not worked in over ten years. He a decent repair man, but not an electrician.

He said he tested a couple of wires with his fluke and the meter smoked in his hands !!......Then he (dummy)lifts a wire off a screw and when he goes to reland it, it arcs across when he get about a 1/4 inch from the screw......Then he tells me that the power companies pole had one fuse hanging down. I told him to thank god for sparing his life....!!!

So I told him to back away from it and NOT to touch it again, that it appeared that there was a short in winding, or some sort of a fault in the transformer bank, and he could be dealing with 7200v or perhaps higher. So I said call poco Now ASAP so they can pull the other two fuses, and also to caution tape the area off untill they get there. He didnt seem to quite get it, so I asked him, do you want me to come out there? (18miles) he said "AH when ever your out here next" duh....So I knew then that he was not putting enough importance on the issue. So I hung up the phone, turned around and called the service center (power company) directly and told them. They sent out a service man, Havent heard the results yet, but Im curious to hear what happened.

So Im assuming these are oil filled transformers, and a 3phase bank....So is it possible to get a primary to secondary fault? Or perhaps a ground fault with one phase blown, and the other phasing drifting or floating?..trying to figure out what could have happened...or I guess a primary stinger might have fallen down across the secondary connections?

So, I talked the maintenance man yesterday, and asked him what was the outcome. He said the power company only found a blown fuse, nothing wrong, probably lightning......So here's my question,

"What kind of transformer connection would have yeilding this scenerio above?" Or do they still have a problem? I havent been out there yet, nor have I talked to POCO about it...