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Evans Electric

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Did you see documentary on guys maintaining 500,000volts distribution cables in the US ? They were replacing those X shaped seperators between the power lines on the pylons. Pray

Helicopter goes up with a bloke sitting on landing bar, pilot holds the craft dead steady next to the lines Applaud Smiley, the guy reaches out with a lead , the power arcs across to the helicopter, then with other hand he clamps a lead to the lines, presumably to put the craft at the same potential as the network :OApplaud SmileyApplaud Smiley

He then leans in, removes the seperator and fits new one, Crikey !!

Next job they were spraying the insulators with purified water to remove bird carp , the slightest impurity would cause a short to the pylon and blow them to kingdom come Guiness DrinkGuiness DrinkApplaud Smiley

 
Next job they were spraying the insulators with purified water to remove bird carp , the slightest impurity would cause a short to the pylon and blow them to kingdom come Guiness DrinkGuiness DrinkApplaud Smiley
A slight impurity - like some dissolved bird poo?

 
Good progame, but the real skill lies with the pilots. As we were told at collage when talking about this, The people doing that job have four deaths a year. How many electrians die each year.

 
I don't know how many sparks die each year. I've lost three workmates since the 1960s, one fell off the roof of a 10 story bldg walking backwards unreeling cable. One electrocuted when wobbly steps lurched him onto a bus-bar and a good mate down a lift shaft, never found out why he was in there.

 
I don't know how many sparks die each year. I've lost three workmates since the 1960s, one fell off the roof of a 10 story bldg walking backwards unreeling cable. One electrocuted when wobbly steps lurched him onto a bus-bar and a good mate down a lift shaft, never found out why he was in there.
:(

:(

and :( .

KME

 
It is sad KME, The mate who went down the lift shaft, I won't give his name, had a wife and two young sons about 8 and 10 at the time, good guy and a grafter. Subbing to another firm when our work dried up a bit. :( :(

 
I don't know how many sparks die each year. I've lost three workmates since the 1960s, one fell off the roof of a 10 story bldg walking backwards unreeling cable. One electrocuted when wobbly steps lurched him onto a bus-bar and a good mate down a lift shaft, never found out why he was in there.
How awful and saddening. I'm careful to turn off and double check everything I'm doing on the wires, tales like yours just make me tighten up even more. You just can't have a single cavalier moment, it has to be focus, focus, focus.

 
That's certainly sad reading and has been said makes you only too aware to the dangers.

As for the programme, yeah I saw that and fair play to them, wouldn't catch me doing it!! Actually saw a job advertised on a site earlier for doing similar paying

 
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