Have you ever worn those gloves or sleeves? You really ought to spend just 1 hour in them when the temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the Relative Humidity is 60 or more percent. The pace of any hot work is, of necessity, much slower than reconstruction work needs to be. Once a line is grounded out it is considered perfectly acceptable to work with only regular gloves to protect the hands from broken wire strands. If the linemen worked everything as if it were still energized storm damage repair would take 10 times as long. Would you be one of the people complaining bitterly about doing without power for weeks instead of days? Tree workers are not equipped or trained to use electrical protective items and they are intimately involved in clearing the lines of debris so that the lineman can rebuild them. It takes 3/100ths of an amp to kill a person. Why is anyone's convenience or money worth more than a storm recovery worker's life?
Generator Problem
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Eddie_T
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A Duke Energy line supervisor that I knew was fired for not having his gloves on and he was only watching. It was a set-up by a disgruntled employee but he lost his job nevertheless. Following is another quote indicating the danger;
"Polk County, Fl
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 10:12 AM EDT
http://www.polkcountydemocrat.com/articles/2009/09/02/news/local/doc4a9dade2d4283632518688.txt
A Bartow electric department employee escaped a brush with death Monday night when a downed line he was repairing became energized by a homeowner’s generator.
Eddie Watson, an apprentice lineman, was grasping a line while wearing leather gloves as he worked to repair a line that was brought down by a falling tree in Monday night’s fierce thunderstorm.
When a homeowner whose house was served by the line started up a generator, it sent a surge of power through the line, Interim Electric Dir. Eschol Radford said.
The electricity went through a transformer, stepping up the voltage from 110 volts generated by the generator to 7,200 volts, the transmission voltage. Usually, the transformer does just the opposite, stepping down voltage from 7,200 to 110 volts for service lines to homes.
“He was lucky,” Radford said of Watson.
“Fortunately, he had a young guy, Scott Harrison, a lineman helper, working with him. Scott knocked him off the line and probably saved his life.”
Watson was rushed by ambulance to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, then transferred to the Tampa General Hospital burn center “to keep an eye on him overnight.
“Fortunately, he only had a couple of burns on his hands; he was really lucky,” Radford said.
Watson was sent home on Tuesday, “and is doing really well.”
The accident happened at Harney Road and Holly Lane in Alturas at about 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Safety procedures call for linemen to work every line as if it were energized, which includes the wearing of heavy rubber gloves, Radford said.
“He took a shortcut and got caught; we’ve all done it. He wanted to get the power restored as fast as possible.”
Watson has been employed by the city for about 20 years, half that time with the electric department, Radford said.
Harrison has been with the city three or four years.
Homeowners who use a generator to restore household power during an outage should turn off the main breaker to their home to prevent this type of accident, Radford said."
I turn off my main breaker before connecting my generator and no one else in my house accesses it during generator use. For my own use as my gen is 5K I turn off all my breakers then turn on only what is needed, a lighting circuit and outlets in the den. Then everything else is planned one at a time or as the the generator is able to carry the load. I am not going to recommend this approach to others as other postings indicate everyone is not competent enough to do this. I don't mean it disparagingly but as an engineer when I throw a switch I see the circuit in my mind (as when driving I see a road map in my mind and some people can't even read a road map).
"Polk County, Fl
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 10:12 AM EDT
http://www.polkcountydemocrat.com/articles/2009/09/02/news/local/doc4a9dade2d4283632518688.txt
A Bartow electric department employee escaped a brush with death Monday night when a downed line he was repairing became energized by a homeowner’s generator.
Eddie Watson, an apprentice lineman, was grasping a line while wearing leather gloves as he worked to repair a line that was brought down by a falling tree in Monday night’s fierce thunderstorm.
When a homeowner whose house was served by the line started up a generator, it sent a surge of power through the line, Interim Electric Dir. Eschol Radford said.
The electricity went through a transformer, stepping up the voltage from 110 volts generated by the generator to 7,200 volts, the transmission voltage. Usually, the transformer does just the opposite, stepping down voltage from 7,200 to 110 volts for service lines to homes.
“He was lucky,” Radford said of Watson.
“Fortunately, he had a young guy, Scott Harrison, a lineman helper, working with him. Scott knocked him off the line and probably saved his life.”
Watson was rushed by ambulance to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, then transferred to the Tampa General Hospital burn center “to keep an eye on him overnight.
“Fortunately, he only had a couple of burns on his hands; he was really lucky,” Radford said.
Watson was sent home on Tuesday, “and is doing really well.”
The accident happened at Harney Road and Holly Lane in Alturas at about 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Safety procedures call for linemen to work every line as if it were energized, which includes the wearing of heavy rubber gloves, Radford said.
“He took a shortcut and got caught; we’ve all done it. He wanted to get the power restored as fast as possible.”
Watson has been employed by the city for about 20 years, half that time with the electric department, Radford said.
Harrison has been with the city three or four years.
Homeowners who use a generator to restore household power during an outage should turn off the main breaker to their home to prevent this type of accident, Radford said."
I turn off my main breaker before connecting my generator and no one else in my house accesses it during generator use. For my own use as my gen is 5K I turn off all my breakers then turn on only what is needed, a lighting circuit and outlets in the den. Then everything else is planned one at a time or as the the generator is able to carry the load. I am not going to recommend this approach to others as other postings indicate everyone is not competent enough to do this. I don't mean it disparagingly but as an engineer when I throw a switch I see the circuit in my mind (as when driving I see a road map in my mind and some people can't even read a road map).
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The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is committed to aggressively seeking criminal prosecution of anyone who endangers, injures, or kills utility and contract workers or constructs assemblies which are then used so as to do so, by generator back-feed. You are only one mistake away from killing an Outside Wireman. Write as much and as fast as you like it will not change the fact that your actions are criminally negligent. I am retired out of the Volunteer Fire Service in my community with 35 years of active service. I have attended 2 such incidents during that period. Seeing the small entry point of the deadly current while working hard to keep blood flowing to their brain until the defibrillator is brought into service was not a fun time had by all. One we saved and one we lost. You may have noticed that I AM A SORE LOOSER! I can only hope that you are as lucky as you are arrogant.
--
Tom Horne
Well we aren't no thin blue heroes and yet we aren't no blackguards to.
We're just working men and woman most remarkable like you!
--
Tom Horne
Well we aren't no thin blue heroes and yet we aren't no blackguards to.
We're just working men and woman most remarkable like you!
Eddie_T
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I do understand however there is little chance that such a mistake could happen. A much greater risk is my driving, after all one could change lanes without checking the mirror or looking to the side first. But to go into the garage and flip a main breaker wouldn't be an accident, one would have to purpose to do so. It's not arrogance, it's just that I can't even imagine such such a thoughtless action.
slownsteady
Well-Known Member
Just remember (everyone please!) that the advice you give here is visible to all: Both pro and amateur, contractor and DIY. Once your post is on the forum it is free to travel. Better to err on the side of safety.
