Even though it's not very apparent in this Image, the Pole is leaning to the Right-Hand side by at least 5° off plumb. May be more like 10°, but not sure (no Protractor at the time ...).

I would figure the heavy load of these Transformers would be a "Tower Of Pisa" cause, but not all the "Tilters" in the area have Pots on them.
BTW, the configuration of Xformers shown here is Delta / Delta, with two 75 KVA pots on the "outsides", and a 100 KVA pot in the middle.

Others in the area with Pole mounted Transformers on them are near 90°.

Have seen many Poles leaning; some not so much, others could be noticed by Mr. Magoo during a Solar Eclipse.

Just wondering a few things - which I am hoping someone familiar with Linework Design/Engineering can shed light on:

<OL TYPE=1>

[*] When is it considered "Leaning Too Much" ,

[*] Was the Pole set up with the leaning situation known,

[*] What is the main cause of the "Lean Phenomina",

[*] Does anyone else notice this stuff besides me.
</OL>

Also noticed some newly installed Transmission / Distribution Poles (one 66 KV circuit on top, two 12 KV circuits below), which had considerable tilt - only these were "tilting forward", not to the side.
They are unguyed, and all Conductors have been pulled in plus landed to the Insulators.

Pass by the above mentioned Poles, and see the Leaning Pole of Pisa every day (Monday thru Saturday) since the first week of May 2004.
Been working at the same large Commercial Complex since then, and should be there for another Month or two - as we have landed a few more large T.I. projects at this site.

Great people to work with,
Close to Home (apx. 12 miles one direction),
Lots to do,
Doing installations + As Builts ... And Getting Paid!
...YAHOO!!!

Scott Thompson (Scott 35)

You are not alone, I notice anything out of square, plumb, level etc.

I will go out on a limb here and say from my obsessive observations that the primary cause of 'leaning pole syndrome' or LPS is the lack of proper guys or incorrect wire tension.

A great book that I used to have was the "American Lineman's Handbook" it showed proper techniques for guying.

The books position was any change in the direction of the conductors no matter how slight required a guy wire to oppose that force.

As far as the large pots it is kind of scary how much is hanging up there sometimes.

Bob

I drove by a pole the other day that makes that one look straight. I was going to take a picture and thought no one would be interested. I will try and remember where it is and send the picture

Pierre

Are the next poles on both sides past this one leaning?

If not this one could be bowing under that wieght, or sliding down hill.........

I would think that pole is a little thin for that wieght.

Can't you get a degree in catenary(sp?) effects? I thought I saw that offered at some university out west.I thought I heard there were a billion poles in the US??

Scott
Drive down Bolsa Chica Rd between Westminster Bl & Edinger Ave, over by the Naval station in Seal Beach...The poles lean toward the street all the way down for the most part.. So Cal Edison replaced 'one' of em about 6 months ago! Most have no guys against the direction of lean (I'm thinking possibly due to the military owning the adjacent property, but couldn't Edison get ROW?)

-Randy

Sometimes a heavy secondary span {quadruplex cable} will “help.” Or, maybe late one day they hit hardpan at three-quarters hole depth.

I see 40+ year old poles with a bit of lean on them. Yes, including transformer poles.

Hi

A UK perspective...

When is it considered "Leaning Too Much" ,

When it is at 45 degrees often enough! Not usually of great concern unless conductors get out of line or it leans over something that matters!!

Was the Pole set up with the leaning situation known,

Sometimes yes! On 'turners' ( corners in the line ) especially, once the lines are up the stays should be able to straighten things up with a spanner. If not...oh well tough!

What is the main cause of the "Lean Phenomina",

Soft ground, 'turning' ( lines not through dead straight ), bad struts - bad night before for the pole crew!

Does anyone else notice this stuff besides me.

Yes - and it annoys the hell out of me! SOmething as obvious as that seems not to matter to most - but I can imagine the gip I would get if I stuch a service board up in a house on the same jaunty angle!!

Cheers:

John
(Newcomer )

Quite a few back roads around my area as well where you'll see a whole line of poles leaning, often where they're planted right alongside a ditch. See if I can get some pics next time I'm out and about.

We have TONS of these in the Morrisville PA area. There used to be one that fed the underground transformers for our subdivision, it was off by about 50degrees!! My TV still worked, and I could still post on ECN! Then there was anoher one that was off by about 30degrees. Then two years ago, some poles in our area were struck by lightning and were off by 15degrees, then 5 poles down the road, the POCO just replaced two ples that were off by about 5degrees. In the area that my father works there was a pole that NJDOT had just attached a traffic signal span wire. That NEW pole was hit by cars and replaced about 3 times. Luckily for the signals, NJDOT workers moved the span wire to a NEW traffic signal pole.

{Edited on 9/3/04 by TheElectriKid.)

[This message has been edited by Theelectrikid (edited 09-03-2004).]

Don't you just hate it when cars hit poles? I've always wondered what would happen if a car hit a 3 tranformer pole like the one up above that is leaning?

Probably only hit it once. The car wouldn't look too good after the transformers came down on it, possibly still hot! I would not want to be in a car that did something like that.

For anybody out there that doesn't know, it's the wires and cables, and guy wires that hold p the pole, not the ground. No they don't use concrete or cement, just dirt. That's why if a pole gets hit by a car it will still stand. Makes ya' wonder what holds up the new poles with nothin on them...
Probably just perfect balance.

Randy;


LOL!

Have seen these tilters when traveling down there to do an active Branch Remodel a few years back.

BTW,

We have a new Electrician (new hire) that knows you...
Her name begins with "G", and mentioned the pictures of crazy installations which you have taken / posted at ECN.

Small world, huh!

Scott35

Scott....
Very nice young lady there.... & a hella good electrician Tell her to sign up here already! You looking for more new hires? I've got a couple people I'd actually like to get rid of, & I'll trade for "G" back

-Randy

PS. Ask her about the creepy condo's with the low ceilings

 
Occasionally poleline construction doesn't get the credit it deserves.

    




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 08-17-2004).]

Wow that’s a crazy pic! It’s hard to tell from the pic if the 3 lower wires are holding that car by the right front wheel, or if it’s somehow tangled in the guy wires or both. Either way its amazing it can hold the weight.

OK, you must tell us... How did the car get up into the wires??? A kite I can see, but a car?...

Nice Car-Catcher!

1.In Iowa, the Iowa Utilities Board governs investor owned utilities (POCO), and they say 2' out of plumb has to be straightened.

2.Often new poles are "raked" a foot or more to lean away from the pull of the conductors. But it's not done when that kind of weight is up there.

3.The "Lean Phenomina" can be caused by nothing more than the wind blowing and soft ground. More often it's caused by heavy service cables, poles not in a straight line, and hanging pots on one side of the pole. Guy wires, or car catchers, help stop the leaning.

4. All the time. I'm a licensed Journeman Electrician and a Field Engineer for the POCO.

There are many other poles around here which lean much more than this one, but this happens to be just a mile up the road:

As a newly registered member, (I love this site!) leaning utility (not telephone-LOL) poles are quite common. Usually caused by ground settling, incorrect pole class, improper tamping procedures and so on. Hopefully the utility owner would notice a substantial lean in a pole and make repairs, however a slight rake or lean is not uncommon. As far as what holds a pole in place, FYI, several factors come into play. Poles are in fact, set deep into the ground, determined by the length of the pole and the soil type, or rather the soils ability to "hold" the pole. For instance, a pole set in rock obviously need not be set as deep as a pole set in a marshy,sandy soil. There are other factors involved in the depth of the hole, but let's not get too involved, might put one to sleep. :-) Additionally, poles can and do get set in concrete when needed and in fact, they do make concrete utility poles. Just some FYI. For more information, you can find it in the Lineman's and Cableman's Handbook. Cheers!

1. When is it considered "Leaning Too Much"
***when it hits the ground

2. Does anyone else notice this stuff besides me.
***every day.

most any place with poles could have a crew/s busy each and every day, fixing the lean!! as well as tree clearing from poles/lines...


someone needs to tell that guy that after washing his car not to hang it on the line to dry! LOL

[This message has been edited by cs409 (edited 08-24-2004).]

This is a discussion that I intended to stay out of.

FWIW, we set our poles at 10% of the pole height plus two feet. A 45' pole would be set 6 1/2 feet deep.

If the soil is not heavy so we can tamp the butt solid, we will backfill around the pole with #53 crushed stone. We also use #53 crushed stone around most of our main line distribution and the transmission poles.

_________________________________________________
Charlie Eldridge, Indianapolis, Utility Power Guy

Here's another rather drunken-looking British pole:

Little side note,
When there is a risk that a pole could be pulled out of vertical plumb (angle poles or Transformer poles), we guy them.
Poor drainage around the pole base can also cause poles to lean.
In the worst case, it can rot the pole out and cause it to snap.