Hello, I had to work outside in the rain this week. How about you? Not once, not twice, but three friggin' times this week! On Wednesday, I was out there half the day tying in an A/C disconnect and condensor, the required outlet within 25', and a pair of ground rods for a service I'd be doing some time in the future. The #6 cu was run under a deck with very little room to maneuver (sp?).

Yesterday, same thing. 1 A/C disconnect plus condensor, 1 GFCI outlet upgraded at existing location (located under a water gutter no less!!!), and installation of 2 intermatic in-use covers. It was friggin' pouring out!

Today, I had to repair the line side of a 200 amp residential servicethat had been torn off the side of the house by a tree branch last night. Again, it was freaking pouring - all day too!

My question is this: I know water and electricity do not mix, but what are the dangers of bugging in a service in a drizzling rain?

I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening. Now I'm going to enjoy some hot tomatoe soup. Yum.

[This message has been edited by ShockMe77 (edited 10-14-2005).]

On the first nite of each new semester at Vo-Tech, I lay out the good & bad of wanting to be an electrician to theentry level guys.

My friend, for 25+ years I have worked in snow, rain, storms, heat, cold, and anything else mother nature throws out in New Jersey.

Like I tell the new guys.."you have to take the bad days, along with the good".....or get an office job (or something similar that's inside)

As to making service tie-ins in a mist/drizzle; again, been there, done that..PS: Wear your gloves

John

RE: doing a tie-in in the rain.

I hope you picked out your coffin first.

That is a job for the PoCo.

Peter

I think I'de welcome a little rain after the 85-95 degree temps we've had all summer even up to today... Ive been doing underground for going on 2.5 months on a big project we've got going right now... at this point I think I'de trade you weather if that were possible. I definitely prefer the cold to the heat, but then let me qualify that by saying it is California cold and heat I am talking about here.. As for rain, water and live parts, or just live parts in general.. my philosophy is: it's only dangerous to you if you are grounded, or become grounded.. definitely wear the gloves, and in my book, a little shivering always beats a little sweating any day.

Geez - I dread that approching day. I'm a first year apprentice and haven't been part of that scenario yet. I'm curious, when do you draw the line? Rain with multiple lightning strikes? Wouldn't it make more sense to pay attention to the weather night/week before and plan a different job? Are those gloves that good or am I just being a wuss?

Let's see.....you're up a ladder, on soggy ground, against a slick roof......and you're worried about electricity?

"RE: doing a tie-in in the rain.

I hope you picked out your coffin first.

That is a job for the PoCo.

Peter"

In NJ EC's do the tie in( they were as of 5 years ago, not sure about now) , the POCO comes around a few weeks later and redo it.

I have always cutout and bugged-in for as long as i've been doing services. Do they do it differently outside of NJ? I could not imagine having to wait for the PoCo to shut me down in the morning, and then wait for them again to hook it back up at the end of the day. That's got to suck.

Shockme, in FL the POCO does it. When I first moved here I didnt know that, my boss freaked out when I bugged a new service.

How 'bout that? I did not know that.

Working in drizzly rain is something you get used to here in England.

I live in a part of the country which is drier than average (about 25 inches per annum), but it can still be miserable sometimes. Fortunately, everything on the PoCo side of the meter is handled by the PoCo itself (or their agents) here, so that's not something we have to worry about.

I had quite enough of climbing poles in the rain when I worked for the phone company!




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 10-15-2005).]

One of the worst jobs I had to do in the rain was to replace a service cable. The building was old, the landlord was cheap, and the service was burniing up. So naturally, the service let go in the middle of a rain/hail storm. The people needed power and heat and the job was around 2:30-4:30. The POCO was just going to change shifts but luckily I knew one of the foreman. He was able to get a crew out there and help me change over the service. We were working in the stinging hail sones trying to secure the service to the house. We kinda got it up there, but it wasn't pretty. I had to go back and restrap everything nice and as per code. It was just a pain when you looked around and these hail stones were hitting you in the face,etc.

Digging my latest trench, and having to backfill a section so the landscaper (the project's "GC") could lay out the run for his walkway. Good old clay soil, too.


I hate trenching... did I mention that?

My 3rd day of my 1st week of work, which was this past Wednesday, I was doing a service riser installation in 2 new apartments that were built above an existing restaurant. The roof wasn't sealed yet, so every single place I had to be to do work was leaking. I was pissed on ALL day. Then, going from the 1st to 2nd to 3rd floor, all via extension ladder.

Slightly off topic, but since we're discussing hot gloves and rain: How is it that power lines can be safely serviced in the rain? Isn't there a much higher risk of flashover across the surface of the glove, or simply enough creep to cause electrocution, because of the water?

-John

One could argue that, as distilled water, rain is non-conductive.

Not this one, mind you, but some other one!

Here in the Mountain State we have a saying " A chickens head is only an inch wide, but it has sense enough to get in out of the rain."

Getting wet is just one of the many negatives to doing electrical work. However, there are those days that are so absolutely perfect (weatherwise) that you feel sorry for all those poor suckers working at a desk or in a factory or store.

Tom

I suppose it won't hurt to repeat the obvious.

Our primary protection against getting shocked is the "bird on a wire" principle. This is all the more important in the rain. I have seen (qualified) folks touch uninsulated 100KV lines with their bare hands, without ill effect- because they made VERY sure there was no place for the electricity to go!

Procedures come into play. For example, dealing with one line at a time, and exposing the 'live' end for as short a time as possible.

Finally, making sure that you only have ONE thing to worry about. That is, solid footing, and a comfortable position. You might even do some tree-trimming first, so you don't have a branch slapping you in the face!

As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations. Don't be afraid to back off, and say "maybe tomorrow." After all, my first goal at work is to go home at the end of my shift!

Into everyone's life some rain must fall
If your going to do electrical work - your going to get wet at some point.

Quote:
"I hope you picked out your coffin first.

That is a job for the PoCo. "

Being a "PoCo", it's good to know we're appreciated. Reminds me of a few months ago watching one of our lineman at the top of a 35 foot pole, raining, with lightning popping all around, having to change out an insulator. All goes well, gets down, and 30 minutes he later steps on a copperhead.

....alll in a days work.....