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Posted By: pauluk Camouflaged poles?! - 08/22/04 12:59 PM
Looks like somebody's trying to camouflage the poles along this road (about 4 mi. from my home):

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

Not sure that there actually is a pole under this lot! I suppose there must be one somewhere in there...... [Linked Image]

[Linked Image]
Posted By: uksparky Re: Camouflaged poles?! - 08/22/04 11:09 PM
Good grief!!! [Linked Image]

We had similar things - though not nearly as 'grown-in' as those examples - until about seven or eight years ago. NORWEB sent in the chain-gang and desecrated the countryside around poles [Linked Image]. Anything growing under a line was cut down or hard back, anything growing toward was hacked likewise. People who had disguised poles in their gardens with creepers had to watch as they were unceremoniously stripped off.

At the same time every pole had not one but TWO "danger of death" notices nailed on to add insult to injury. Now they all stand out a mile - except those where the notices have "fallen off" [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Camouflaged poles?! - 08/24/04 06:57 PM
Yeah, I do wonder whether whether the modern yellow notices with "Danger of death" and all the other warnings are really necessary on every pole and enclosure. Especially those big notices at substations that go on for an entire chapter telling people to keep out, what will/might/could happen if they don't etc.

The old red/white signs were simple and to the point "Danger - High voltage" or something similar. What more is needed?
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Camouflaged poles?! - 08/25/04 01:41 AM
Paul,
Just a small question,
With the pole with the vines on it and the vertically orientated lines, I'm thinking 240/415V reticulation.
Would the Phase lines be PVC or XLPE insulated?.
I realise the Neutral wouldn't be Insulated.
With respect to Warning signs on poles, these little plastic or steel beauties are an "on-the-spot" disclaimer for the people that own the lines, as in "It's not as though you weren't warned!".
But, on the other side of the coin, you'd have to be certifiably crazy to climb a pole carrying live lines anyway!.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Camouflaged poles?! - 08/30/04 11:28 AM
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With the pole with the vines on it and the vertically orientated lines, I'm thinking 240/415V reticulation.
Would the Phase lines be PVC or XLPE insulated?
Correct on both counts, although if they're older lines they may be the impregnated cloth-type insulation.

The transformer feeding this lot is on the poles you can see to the right in the second picture. It's behind the bushes from this angle, but you can see the 11kV lines crossing the road.

In the distance of that photo is the house you can see in the first pic, and the lines continue around the curve of the road to several more houses. Coming back the other way from the 11kV pole are about another dozen houses on this same xfmr. The 240/415 probably runs about a quarter-mile in each direction overall.

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on the other side of the coin, you'd have to be certifiably crazy to climb a pole carrying live lines anyway!.
But as a lineman you do it all the time! What are you trying to tell us Mike? [Linked Image] [Linked Image] [Linked Image]
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