What is this on power poles?

[coobie]

I'm with @bunyip . I usually see critters climb trees and then move across power lines like a catwalk. Rarely see them climb the power poles...unless they are in a treeless prairie.

I wish I had a $10 bill for every time I pulled a dead squirrel or raccoon off a Hot overhead transformer in my 39 years as an electric lineman..

 

[Xfaxman]

One afternoon several years ago we heard what sounded like a rifle shot and the power went off. Looked out at the power pole and saw that a turkey buzzard had committed suicide:

 

[/pine]

All the more reason to bury and or enclose the distribution infrastructure...

 

[coobie]

All the more reason to bury and or enclose the distribution infrastructure...

Until you have a underground fault which takes twice as long to find and repair..

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Until you have a underground fault which takes twice as long to find and repair..

Also not really cost efficient.

 

[/pine]

Until you have a underground fault which takes twice as long to find and repair..

Just look for an idiot and an excavator...!

BTW...I meant to state "wherever possible"...

Around here the local co-ops spend ungodly amounts of money just keeping ROWs clear and then it's mostly trees just out of the ROW that end up causing faults...most of the stuff they cut will never interfere with the lines...

 

[Midniteoyl]

Didn't realize there was such a problem with critters climbing utility poles. I wonder how it would work to keep squirrels out of bird feeders.

I had the power go out once (popped the fuse) when a squirrel shorted them out. His head and shoulders were still attached to the arms grabbing the wire.. Over 4hrs to get a crew out to replace

 

[tmcj]

The company I work for makes fiberglass utility poles and crossarms, among many other profiles for various markets. No worries about critters climbing them, woodpeckers, etc. It is really a growing business for us. Anyone here familiar with fiberglass poles?

 

[ponytug]

Yup. Pricey, but in certain circumstances worth it in my opinion. Concrete and metal poles have their niches, too.

What types of customers do you sell the most to?

All the best, Peter

 

[Paddy]

Interesting to see several members working in the electrical power field. I'm a porcelain insulator engineer. Most of our products are for 245kV and above. The 765 kV insulators are 185 inches tall!