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Joined: Oct 2000
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I told someone I would send in a picture of my sticks. The stick on the left is a 6' shotgun stick used for switching (and tying your shoelaces if you can) the stick on the right is a fusing stick meant for pulling and installing fuses from the ground, that one extends to 50 feet - now all ya need is the talent to stand on the ground with a stick extended to 50' that wobbles like a wet noodle, hit a hole the size of a quarter and you're in business :-D . it takes a bit of practice. I let an electrician who had never done any outside work try it one day, one of my most amusing days at work.
The little fella in the center is an antique. It is a wooden switching stick. We used to use it in the vaults at Lorton to pull the cutouts down in the manholes when we kept our transformers underground.
Thanks,
George
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Nice Shed George! What is that upper door for? Just for show? Bill
Bill
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Joined: May 2001
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Mostly, they put that upper door there to torque me off. It is a nuisance to paint, etc. BUT.... when I moved here, 20 years ago, there was a prison, farms, and large lots of land. Now, there's yuppies, row houses, etc. The state was buying a bunch of houses near me to knock down for the road. I had an old shed that after years in business, and personal use, was giving up the ghost (an old metal building) and it needed replacing. That 14' X 28' shed cost me $200.00...... Think I'll live with the upper door Now the Coleman genset broken apart on the benches... a friend at work, days before Isabel, when we were all preparing, said "I ain't worried about losing power, I've got a good genset", "What kind," says I "Coleman," he says. I laughed and asked him if he had replaced the capacitor yet, he said "Capacitor????" 2 hours into the hurricane, the genset lost output, he blamed me He brought it to me last week and ordered the parts. I just gotta learn to crop those pics.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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A 50-foot telescoping stick? I’m impressed. Out West, all the earthquakes make 35-foot sticks very challenging to plant.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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"What kind," says I "Coleman," he says.
I laughed and asked him if he had replaced the capacitor yet, he said "Capacitor????" I say "Capacitor????, That looks like the genset I own, can you fill me in on the spare parts I should tie wrap to the unit. I have got at least 100 hrs on it now, it did need govener ajustments when I got it. It was running about 57 hz. Seriously fill me in, Thanks Bob
Bob Badger Construction & Maintenance Electrician Massachusetts
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Joined: May 2001
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Coleman's have been used by a lot of people in some pretty tough areas. They do, however, have some...... uh, shortcomings. I owned 2 of the suckers when I was in business BTW. If I were going to use this as backup, where I had to depend on it, I would have several spare parts for the genset. The capacitor in the exciter circuit seems to be pretty danged tender in these things. It is the blue electrolytic cap you can see through the rear genset cover. You can find most recent models at their website at: www.colemanpowermate.com and they have an 800 number to get parts which is: 1-800-445-1805 In the case of this genset (and it's very common throughout the coleman line) it is an Ag-Tronic, part #034819 Again, if I were going to depend on these (this one was over 10 years old, and had only been worked on once) I would have 1 or 2 extra caps, a set of diodes, and brushes in a bag somewhere just in case. Be very careful about trying to run sensitive electronic gear off of them, they have a very high THD (Total Harmonic Distortion). Hope this helps.
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Joined: Nov 2000
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George, no disrespect, but what are your qualifications to use hotsticks? Are they tested annually? Are you trained in their use?
Some thoughts on this use. If you use a 50' hotstick to pull a primary fuse for a pole-mounted transformer, and the door breaks, what do you do then? Call the power company? How do they feel about you doing this?
I have a inspector friend who has a running battle with a local electrician who uses his hotstick to power up un-inspected services, bypassing the inspection process. Both the power company and the inspector frown heavily when this happens.
Just some thoughts.
Rick
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Joined: Jan 2003
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George thanks for the tips, I do use mine as a backup at home to run the oil burner and more importantly the sump pump which during heavy rains is on more than off.
A generator failure could result in some costly basement flooding.
Bob
Bob Badger Construction & Maintenance Electrician Massachusetts
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Joined: May 2001
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rmiell, I am a Class A lineman, the sticks are checked every 3 months, if I break a door, then I get the hooks out and go make repairs. As for the power company, not their poles, they really don't care, nor would they like to come watch me. So you don't have to do this for the genset, I am only certified on Cummins and Cats, coleman would have to forgive me for working on theirs.
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Tom
Shinnston, WV USA
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Joined: January 2001
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