I have a question for all you electricians out there. I am currently wanting to apply for a job as an electrician. This place doesn't require certification but it does require a general knowledge and also knowledge of 4160 voltages. I am wondering what exactly is there to know about it. I am currently seeking this job at an amusement park.

What you need to know about 4160v is that you don't even consider messing in your wildest dreams with it unless you have been thoroughly trained. Working with 120/240v and 208y/120 is somewhat forgiving depending upon the circumstance because there is 120v to ground. A 240/120, 3ph 4w system can have 208v to ground depending upon the phase you are tangling with. Then there is the 480y/277v system that has 277v to ground where there is a lot of 277v lighting that has caused more than its share of electrocutions.
4160v is a whole giant leap above 480 that has 2400v to ground which is never to be questioned as to be totally unforgiving and with almost all certaintly will result in death.
The best advice that I can give to you is to take an apprenticeship in a business that works with 4160 on a regular basis and take a safety course in working with it. It is best to know what you don't know and hire a qualified person to do that work no matter what anybody says and don't ever let anybody convince you otherwise.
So please take the 4160 very seriously no matter how attractive the job may be.

"General knowledge" of 4160?

Stay away unless you have SPECIFIC knowledge. That's all you need to know.

The link below is a 13 minute long video on electrical hazards and injuries at voltages under 600v. Be warned, some parts are quite graphic.
Now imagine the severity of a 5000v contact...if the voltage doesn't kill you, the force of the blast knocking you across a room, off a ladder, etc surely will.

You will also NEED to know what THEIR specific (not "general") procedure is for Lock-out/Tag-out (LOTO). The rides have many safety features(limit switches, fuses, etc) built in to protect the general public (ie, paying customers)...but what protects YOU from an accidental start? LOTO.

Here's the video...speakers will be needed: http://www.electrician.com/safety/electricalsafety_01.htm

WOW. Next applicant.

"I am wondering what exactly is there to know about it."
__________________________________________
If you need to ask, what there is to know about it, the job is not for you.

4KV cable requires special termination and probably stress cones. This type of system has nothing to do with the standard 600 volt and below installations. Anything you know about 600 volt systems is not applicable. As the others have said this may not be for you.

I;ve worked with 4160, 13800, 12470, 7200 and under 600 volts I;ve found most electricans know much if anything about this higher voltages and wiring methods. Even the code does not address them as it should. Its been getting better ever year. Just my two cents worth

Yoop, I'm guessing you mean most electrcians DON'T know much about this stuff. I'd say you are correct. This to me falls into a specialty area. But as many laymen might say, It's all just wires.

Just a little side story...while working on the structure over a 25kv catenary line for trains, I was the last man on the steel - it was my job to remove the ground from steel...in my haste, I removed STEEL first >WRONG< I got wacked with the induction from the parallel catenary lines, that hurt like hell.

I have never forgotten that "lesson" from some 20 odd years ago.

With voltage 5kv and higher you don't have to come in contact with it to get severely injured. All you have to do is get close and it will reach out and grab you.

I have seen ads for those sorts of jobs, and they typically call for evidence of having completed a utility company apprenticeship.

A man must know his limitations. The usual electrician apprenticeship has virtually no high voltage training- just a primer on cable types.

And don't kid yourself. Just because you ran some wire for a 15KV neon sign does not mean you're prepared for 4KV power lines. The tools, techniques, and materials are entirely different fron the usual "electric" stuff!

I have done <some> low voltage distribution line work, and know enough to stay the hel# away from things I am not qualified for!

Hey, any of you guys know where that video of the guy on PCP climbing the pole is? Its a perfect illistration of exactly what the dangers are... i.e. the man engulfed in the white/blue ball of light...

Didn't find video, But Doug wells found Pic's: http://members.tripod.com/~StormTrooper_2/index2.htm



[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 11-04-2005).]

I must agree with the concensus here.
HV equipment, lines and techniques are a totally different animal to anything that the majority of Electricians work with.
As Nick said above, you don't even have to be touching a HV line to get electrocuted by it.
That's why the Electrical safety distances are a lot higher at these voltages.
High Voltages command a deservedly large amount of respect from those that work with them.

Who Out there regularly messes with High Voltage while it is Live?? In theory we are all supposed to shut off anything before we work with any voltage. Anyone who works with Live HV is highly trained With multiple layers and levels of PPE!
As long as you know how to safely check for voltage and safely apply grounding jumpers with the proper PPE you are fine. Learning how to do a stress cone and check clearances is not an issue for anyone with "average" abilities.
Terminating Ethernet can be hard the first time or two. Making a rack of rigid conduit look good can be hard. Relay logic is challenging sometimes. I'd prefer to do stress cones myself.
All of that being said. You'd better be a knowledgeable electrician before you start messing with HV.
It's electricity, It Can Kill you if you Don't respect it... Survival of the fittest
Justin

I'm afraid this one is certainly a case where if you need to ask what you need know, then you're not going to get the job.

I've worked with HV in electronics regularly, e.g. measuring 1 to 4kV supplies for high-power transmitter stages, etc. and feel quite comfortable doing so, but that's still a world apart from 4kV power distribution systems. I would certainly need to learn from those more-experienced for the latter.

My experience with 4160 was strangely also while I worked at an amusement park.

I did not even consider working with it live.

Suit up, use an insulated boom truck and open the cut outs with a hot stick.

That said I did make repairs on the overhead 4160 distribution myself, the overhead work is not rocket science at least as far as repairing it.

The underground portions I called in an outside contractor for as I am not trained in making those terminations.

It seems unlikely that the current employees will not have some training for you if hired.

By the way 4160 is not used to directly supply any rides that I have seen.

208Y/120 is the most common while some large rides will use 480 3 PH.

I will second the LOTO, the only death in the park I worked in was the death of a maintenance man cut/crushed in two by a ride that was not locked out. Don't let this happen to you.

Bob

That must have been one badass cotton candy machine.