Sorry kid, this is why one never plays with downed power lines!!!! The AIC for a main circuit breaker connection is ~10,000 amps plus. The connections before it are without any protection for the most part, there are usualy no fuses and a short will recieve all that the neighborhood transformer can deliver - instantaniously and contiuously thoughout the duration of the short!
I relay a story as an example..... I was closing a gutter about ten years ago while on a 20' ladder. The gutter was on the POCO side of the meters and mains, and a set of the 250MCM conductors had some spring to them when pushed in the box. Notheless, it shifted as I was putting the cover on, and the split-bolt slapped against the cover, and pierced the tape covering it creating a short to the cover I was holding at face level. It blasted a 3" hole in the cover, sounded like a grenade, and splattered molten metal specs into my face, and shirt! I then rolled down the ladder, and luckily got caught 1/4 of the way down by one leg, the ladder rolled over and I then rode it to the ground upside down. Not hurt by the fall - but the flash tepmerarily blinded a portion of my vision - a big white spot. Not to mention my nerves were pretty shot.... I had to go out to replace the cover the next day, and it took several hours for me to get the nerve up to even climb the ladder without shaking. And since then I have learned quite a lot about proper PPE and the reasons for it... Did I mention that I am one of the luckiest persons I know????
120 - ground will do it... The damage will be proportional to the size of the transformer and relivant distance to it. Look up Arch Flash Calculations.
[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 12-18-2006).]
