Electricity

Im not claiming to be an expert , and I'm not doing line clearance anymore . I agree with mrtree that education is a must working aloft, especially around conductors. Ehap is an excellent intro to the dangers of electricity and should be a bear minimum for every tree worker. From my experience though and guys that I have worked with 10 ft should be plenty safe . In Australia, Victoria, we would work around 240v , 33kv , then 66kv. 500kv if near transmission lines. 240v and 33 kV would be most common. Never been shocked or even close to getting one but our limits of approach would be touching for 240v, 300mm for 33kv and 700mm for 66kv. If unsure you go 900mm, this was with insulated equipment that was tested every 6 months. Australia is a humid place too , in the wet we could only do 240v work. Long story short don't get anywhere near these limits, 10ft should be plenty of room even from hv in humid conditions.
 
96coal449 said:
Another question.... although maybe a stupid one.... Could you have just simply have pinched your sciatic nerve? That's happened to me before and it felt like a shock even though I was no where even remotely close to an electric source. Just thinking .....
Click to expand...
I thought about that also. It could be a possibility. I haven't had any pain or issues in the past. The tree is getting tested in the next couple days to see if it's energized. If it's not maybe it was the saw. Maybe it's my sciatica. It was scary either way.
 
Kris Anderson said:
Im not claiming to be an expert , and I'm not doing line clearance anymore . I agree with mrtree that education is a must working aloft, especially around conductors. Ehap is an excellent intro to the dangers of electricity and should be a bear minimum for every tree worker. From my experience though and guys that I have worked with 10 ft should be plenty safe . In Australia, Victoria, we would work around 240v , 33kv , then 66kv. 500kv if near transmission lines. 240v and 33 kV would be most common. Never been shocked or even close to getting one but our limits of approach would be touching for 240v, 300mm for 33kv and 700mm for 66kv. If unsure you go 900mm, this was with insulated equipment that was tested every 6 months. Australia is a humid place too , in the wet we could only do 240v work. Long story short don't get anywhere near these limits, 10ft should be plenty of room even from hv in humid conditions.
Click to expand...
Thank you sir that is a lot of great information
 
Kris Anderson said:
Im not claiming to be an expert , and I'm not doing line clearance anymore . I agree with mrtree that education is a must working aloft, especially around conductors. Ehap is an excellent intro to the dangers of electricity and should be a bear minimum for every tree worker. From my experience though and guys that I have worked with 10 ft should be plenty safe . In Australia, Victoria, we would work around 240v , 33kv , then 66kv. 500kv if near transmission lines. 240v and 33 kV would be most common. Never been shocked or even close to getting one but our limits of approach would be touching for 240v, 300mm for 33kv and 700mm for 66kv. If unsure you go 900mm, this was with insulated equipment that was tested every 6 months. Australia is a humid place too , in the wet we could only do 240v work. Long story short don't get anywhere near these limits, 10ft should be plenty of room even from hv in humid conditions.
Click to expand...

This post concerns me. A (current) BC resident gives an idea of what to do in Australia. Electricity is not something we should be talking of "plenty of room", most jurisdictions and conductor owners have specific rules for working near energized conductors. The original poster needs to find the rules for the area he lives in (metro west) and begin there. Yes stay away from energized consuctors but know the specific rules that apply to you.
 
mrtree said:
This post concerns me. A (current) BC resident gives an idea of what to do in Australia. Electricity is not something we should be talking of "plenty of room", most jurisdictions and conductor owners have specific rules for working near energized conductors. The original poster needs to find the rules for the area he lives in (metro west) and begin there. Yes stay away from energized consuctors but know the specific rules that apply to you.
Click to expand...
What's an energized consuctor? Is this an incorrect or imprecise use of the word conductor? Hahahahahaha-I just couldn't help myself after the pissing contest you guys had earlier! Good info Mr. Tree-or should we call you Professor Tree? Keep schooling them!
 
Actually energized consuctor is imprecise typing (as opposed to inaccurate).

Unless you are shown (proof, tag out etc) that the conductors are de-energized and grounded to neutral you must treat them as though they are energized. This is rule one, after that if you are allowed to work near energized conductors (allowed in having permission from the owners of the conductors, tree owner and your boss), you need the correct procedures, equipment, knowledge and skills, and multiple barriers.

I cannot tell anyone what is needed in their situation but I do know the basics and I know that you need to find the specifics for the situation. Think of gloves, higher voltages - thicker and longer gloves yet some people are able to work live line because of specific training etc. Don't assume because one person or location does work a certain way that you can also do it. Find the info for yourself from legislation and reliable sources and don't trust google..
 
Plenty of room is a figure of speech. In Australia anyway. I'm not certified In Canada but I did ehap and 10ft is our limit to live conductors. I don't know how to ID the voltages here so I stay the maximum distances away. Artietree said that his tree was 10ft from the lines . I gave him a description of our working conditions and what i experienced there to help him figure out what energized his tree. I would love to know because I have never heard of or experienced such a shock like he had.
 
Kris Anderson said:
Plenty of room is a figure of speech. In Australia anyway. I'm not certified In Canada but I did ehap and 10ft is our limit to live conductors. I don't know how to ID the voltages here so I stay the maximum distances away. Artietree said that his tree was 10ft from the lines . I gave him a description of our working conditions and what i experienced there to help him figure out what energized his tree. I would love to know because I have never heard of or experienced such a shock like he had.
Click to expand...

I also would like to know what happen, in my mind I believe he made contact with something that was energized while he (the bucket truck) was grounded, perhaps not a great circuit but enough to allow some energy flow. If that is a correct supposition then he did not maintain correct distance (remember it is not you to the conductor but the closest part of the tree and/or you and bucket truck), perhaps not seeing that one part of the tree was touching etc.
 
mrtree said:
I also would like to know what happen, in my mind I believe he made contact with something that was energized while he (the bucket truck) was grounded, perhaps not a great circuit but enough to allow some energy flow. If that is a correct supposition then he did not maintain correct distance (remember it is not you to the conductor but the closest part of the tree and/or you and bucket truck), perhaps not seeing that one part of the tree was touching etc.
Click to expand...

I disagree. He was in an insulated bucket truck. The truck would not have been grounded. No way for electricity to travel through the bucket with the fiberglass boom. Plus it was recently dielectric tested to much higher voltage. Now, the lower section could have become energized, but the operator would never experience any electricity from this, it would have travel to the ground and only been an issue with someone on the ground touching the bucket truck.
I think this whole thing is kinda strange. But, if I had to try and figure it out I would be looking at the tree and see if that was energized in any way.
You have any pictures of the tree and set up @artietree
 
Earlier this year, one of our local contractors were working near distribution conductors and backed the knuckle into one. End result was the truck burned, the operator jumped from the bucket to a tree and slid down the trunk, house was set on fire and liability rates skyrocketed.
 
oldoakman said:
Earlier this year, one of our local contractors were working near distribution conductors and backed the knuckle into one. End result was the truck burned, the operator jumped from the bucket to a tree and slid down the trunk, house was set on fire and liability rates skyrocketed.
Click to expand...

Was the truck energized? Or was it a phase to phase? Was the truck non conductive? Also, what was the voltage of the distribution lines?
 
ROYCE said:
I disagree. He was in an insulated bucket truck. The truck would not have been grounded. No way for electricity to travel through the bucket with the fiberglass boom. Plus it was recently dielectric tested to much higher voltage. Now, the lower section could have become energized, but the operator would never experience any electricity from this, it would have travel to the ground and only been an issue with someone on the ground touching the bucket truck.
I think this whole thing is kinda strange. But, if I had to try and figure it out I would be looking at the tree and see if that was energized in any way.
You have any pictures of the tree and set up @artietree
Click to expand...
I do not but I can certainly go and take some. The town itself owns the tree and is now doing there own investigation. The tree in no way is touching any above ground power. Not a service drop, primaries, or any type of communication lines. But the road in which the tree abuts was recently worked on. And it is suspected Verizon ran fios lines underground. Very off chance but they are looking into it that as a possibility as to energizing the tree. But that still doesn't explain how I felt the energy. As you said I was in an insulated truck. The more I go over the scenario in my head the more I think maybe I had pinched a nerve. Because the situation is leaning towards I shouldn't have felt that kind of "shock."
 
artietree said:
I do not but I can certainly go and take some. The town itself owns the tree and is now doing there own investigation. The tree in no way is touching any above ground power. Not a service drop, primaries, or any type of communication lines. But the road in which the tree abuts was recently worked on. And it is suspected Verizon ran fios lines underground. Very off chance but they are looking into it that as a possibility as to energizing the tree. But that still doesn't explain how I felt the energy. As you said I was in an insulated truck. The more I go over the scenario in my head the more I think maybe I had pinched a nerve. Because the situation is leaning towards I shouldn't have felt that kind of "shock."[/QUOTE

At the time of the "felt energy" were you reaching far out of the bucket, or twisting in anyway?
Click to expand...
 
Truck was energized and burnt to a crisp. Single phase residential primary carrying 7.2 KV. Reclosers apparently did not update properly. Tires on the truck burnt. As soon as the first jolt hit the truck electronics, bucket operation ceased and op was unable to break contact.
 
I do a lot of work in substations and found touching anything metal usually produced a shock. I was helping my foreman do some layout for a manhole we were about to set (which was slightly further of the 16ft clearance needed from the 230kv bus) and i couldn't hold the end of the tape measure without constantly getting shocked (you could actually see the arc from finger to tape), not to mention any metal bollard you leaned up against u would get it too. Now 16ft is OUR working limit, but a "qualified" worker is allowed 10ft. Take it one step further and you see the length of the insulator is probably about 4 or 5 ft to the framing and on the wettest most humid day it has to have atleast 30% room left. sooo.. why do we keep getting zapped at 16+ft when you can probably be within 3ft and be safe (do not recommend it),
never got a staight answer, but always some talk of static.. bottom line only in 230kv and 500kv would this ever happen.. never happens around anything smaller like 16kv, but just food for thought.
.... also just like to add my husky backpack blower seems to zap me here and there right from the pistol grip.. just saying
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom