ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion Interesting Transformer Vault

Where are those two black wires coming out of those grey open pipes (at the left hand side of the green box) going to?

They seem to be going into the ground. Are they just chopped-off stumps or are they actually connected to something?

Sven, I can't speak for spyder but my guess would be phone and/or cable tv lines. The power lines stub up into the x-former enclosure (obviously).

A lot of phone and cable companies require a 2" or larger conduit for an underground service.

That hi-side cable is a real peach.

The black wires exiting the conduits by the transformer are TV and Telephone wires. The respective companies could have done something to make the installation neat and workmanlike.

Doesn't this kinda make you think twice about walking over those steel vault covers???

"Doesn't this kinda make you think twice about walking over those steel vault covers???"

I don't know how you could ground a vault cover well enough for that!

That's the scariest thing I've ever seen by far. I remember when I was an apprentice, I lived in an apartment with a warehouse behind. The warehouse had open-bushing transformers sitting on the ground behind a chain-link fence. My foreman came to pick me up one day, and he shuddered at the sight of it. But at least you could see it!

Randy,
It does, if there was a half decent explosion in there, I'd be thinking of a "magic carpet" scenario.

Mike,
I printed the picture of the pole pig out and showed it to our linecrew supervisor at work.. He about blew his lid! (Electure would blow his lid if I actually wrote what he said ) I seriously can't fathom what went through the mind of a professional linecrew to think throwing this thing in a hole was a good idea... or even an "OK" idea!

Yaktx, there's a 3phase transformer bank just like the one you described out here along a main highway with 12KV primaries dipping down to metal crossarms all but maybe 10-12' above the ground. The whole setup looks maybe about 50+ years old.. The fencing is right along the back of the transformers... I'll have to go get some pics this weekend and send them in