Is aluminum conductive?

[Mark Chisholm]

Here's a good shot I got today. This is a ladder that was strapped to the tree to support the utility lines. Hmmmm? /forum/images/graemlins/whax.gif

 

[Rossturner]

Where is the picture,I would go no where near the ladders unless the power was switched out.

 

[Mark Chisholm]

Sorry /forum/images/graemlins/repost.gif

Try this one! /forum/images/graemlins/aaa.gif

 

[tod_k]

Are those phone and cable, a service or all?

 

[Colin]

Tod-
If you look closely you can see that the uppermost line (to the left of the left side of the ladder) is the 240v service drop. I assume the other two smaller wires running through the middle of the ladder are phone and cable.

 

[Mark Chisholm]

Bingo!

 

[Rossturner]

If the service line/drop is insulated you are ok but if the insulationshas been rubbed through i would request the fuse to be removed.
That is the procedure over here in the UK,Its the amps not the watts that kill.

 

[glens]

Maybe not the best recommendation, but perfectly safe for a quickie in that scenario. Everything's low voltage and the power lines are jacketed. Unless there were a very sharp edge on the ladder, it would take a lot more movement of the ladder to cut the insulation than is available in the photo.

Amps times volts equals watts. They're all components in what can kill you if you become a conductor.

Glen

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Whew...given the option of an aluminum ladder or a pole saw hook I think I'd opt for the hook or a 2x4. What happens if it rains and there is a nick in the sheathing. Cartoon electrocution is the only funny place.

 

[Kevin]

I would never trust my life to the insulation on electrical conductors.
I've seen plenty of nicks and scrapes in the insulation down to the bare conductor in some cases.

 

[glens]

No more than we know about the scenario, I'd be inclined to conclude it was not a professional at work there. Was a fiberglass pole an option? Why the prop job in the first place?

Fatal electric shocks are not a funny subject, but I get a mild kick out of the improper use of the term "electrocution". I did some work for a guy who told me about the time he'd gotten electrocuted but survived. The first thing I was wondering: what was his crime?

Glen

 

[ptar]

Glen, you don't have to commit a crime to be electrocuted,
you just have to die by electric shock.

1 : to execute (a criminal) by electricity
2 : to kill by electric shock

 

[glens]

Right. The "cute" tail comes from the tail of "execute". That's how the word was formed -- it means to execute with electric shock.

I understand "d'oh" is in the dictionary now, too...

:^)