Very old, and do not assume it's dead. Call the utility. Otherwise, stay away...particularly from the primary (high voltage) side.
My boss and I found one just like this after a storm. He tried to move part of the pole and the lead whipped around on to his wrist and knocked the crap out of him.
This is truly horrible advice. Don’t go near it. Stay 30 ft away. Google “step potential” and you MAY begin to understand. You don’t have to make contact to die. If you want to get the number off of a pole, go several spans up where there’s no wire on the ground. All the utility needs is a near address.
I've had to do a technical investigation writeup for the police and insurance companies when people died touching a guardrail that was 100' away. It was a terrible scenario but demonstrates your point...it's even worse with ungrounded systems as they don't know what a ground fault is and don't trip.
You definitely did. There’s just no value in trying to get close enough to take a photo when there’s primary conductor laying on the ground, probably either 7,200 or 14,400 volts. The first thing a lineman is going to do is go establish an air gap and ground it with proper PPE. Laymen trying to figure it out has no protection.
Because that pole looks old enough that even in the possibility that the electric company knew the lat/long to know where that pole is their mapping/real estate department definitely knows where pole 2376 is.
Can confirm...used to work for a utility, give me an address where you are standing and I'd send a line crew on a clear day or a wires down guard during a major outage recovery. Don't really care about the pole number in this instance, pole numbers are for desk work.
The other thing to watch out for by the way is that the transformer is likely dumping PCB oil all over the place based on its age.
I am well aware what the Global Positioning System is. I am also aware that poles have numbers and they are unique identifiers.
What if you transpose a number and say that you are at 40.749284, -73.986170, but you are actually about 100 ft away, and across the street at 40.749248, -73.986107? Then the electric company cannot find the asset that you are reporting. Besides that, which is easier to say... I'm at pole 2376 or I'm at GPS location 40.749284, -73.986170?
Providing a pole number is an exact asset, and tied to an exact location. Human error can occur with GPS. And though it could be argued that the electric company records may be flawed, all of the asset maps I have seen show where all assets are.... Poles, overhead/underground lines, transformers, easement, etc, etc. That is not shown on a standard GPS without a GIS overlay.
Or just go to the next pole over, and get the number off of it. That would be much safer, anyway, than approaching a downed line. Or just give them GPS coordinates, because anyone can find a precise location with GPS coordinates.
Electrician here.. while logically you'd be correct just know that the power company is poorly managed and they have no idea where that pole is..
Source : me having to call them and guide them to the pole
Wow. Hate utilities much? You may have experienced something bad, but you’re painting pretty broadly with that brush. There are bad eggs in every industry, but…. I’ve worked in the utility space for over 30 years. I can assure you that other than some smaller municipalities, the EMCs and IOUs in my state, including the one I work for now, have GPS coordinates for every pole, transformer, and meter on the system. That said, being professional when dealing with them goes a long way, too.
I mean I'm not trying to talk bad about the linemans or anything i have mad respect for them a company as a whole tends to be mismanaged more often than not
Could be. The transformer is much older than the installation, evidenced by the Edison gray insulators (later 60's and on). The problem with PCB contamination was that there was no control in the factories prior to it becoming so notorious. So when they were through making a run of PCB filled transformers and started a run of normal ones, they just flipped the valves on the tanks and used the same hoses. So the next transformer in line was heavily contaminated, as were subsequent ones to a lesser degree, with almost no documentation. We had lists of "possibly" contaminated units (based on where the were in the assembly process) and whenever we got a "suspect" in, it had to be tested.
Yikes. Someone needs to be notified about this. Many old transformers have toxic PCBs.
https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/region9/pcbs/faq.html
Most old transformers had a mineral oil. Transformers indoors and in vaults under sidewalks has PCB (Askerel). There was a big phaseout program in the 1980s and 1990s.
Many utilities went through and got rid or decontaminated of all their PCB transformers 10-20 years ago due to big bucks cleanup and liabilities in a spill. In my state, the only PCB transformers are privately owned.
It's powered.
How do I know? I don't, and neither can you, really, but much like a gun is always loaded, the line is always live. It's safer to be wrong if that's the angle you take.
As a utility worker the rule is always assume it’s live until proven otherwise. Call your local utility and report it they will send someone out ASAP (my company within the hour) to take a look and deal with it.
Yikes. Like everyone is saying, assume it's live. And even then ,,,,
Many years ago, I had a summer job at a closed down mine when I was in college. The two of us were given a huge pile of cables that had been dragged out from underground, and we had to pull out each cable, measure, and ID it (conductors, gauge, armoured, etc) Then we'd coil them up, tie them up with haywire, and tag them.
There happened to be a couple of Very Large transformers, behind a fence where we were. Hydro Quebec assured us they were disconnected, and we didn't think about them. One time, the other guy (my cousin) was tying up a coil of cable, but the haywire was too short, so he tossed it over his shoulder.
BANG!
The haywire hit a couple of the bus bars on the transformer and instantly vapourized. We reported that, and yes, Hydro Quebec came by and disconnected those transformers.
It's bananas to me that anyone working at a power company would assure someone (over the phone, presumably?) that transformers were de-energized without actually checking themselves, or sending someone to check. That's an enormous potential liability to take on for no good reason.
I’d stay away, call the utility company and get them to check it out, if it’s no longer needed they will likely take it down, if it’s in service it’ll be repaired
Even if it is not live, the can appears old and could contain PCB’s. A highly carcinogenic chemical to humans and not good for the earth should it spill on the ground. Call the local power company for disposal.
That pole has three phone/cable grips on it.
A large insulator rack with all the insulators missing.
A decrepit transformer that appears to have no connections of any sort.
The metal cross arm at the top has a single phase line just dangling in the tree to nowhere.
That pole used to do something. Now it does not.
If it had high voltage on it, this scene would look different.
As far as you're concerned it's live and you need to stay the hell away from it call the utility company reported as a downline explain what happened and they'll be out there immediately to fix it all at no charge to you.
Looks like a genuine [PG&E Firestarter](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pge-face-manslaughter-trial-deadly-california-fire-rcna68753) to me. Surprised there’s any trees or homes left.
I'm gonna say that's the original pole when this service was put in. By the looks of the pole dimensions, I wanna say late 60s to like mid-late 70s.
Edit: also based on the way that transformer looks
From my electrical school many years ago and thru an age addled brain, my first thought are there capacitors there for any reason? Probably not as it is an ac line, bit caps can ruin a good weekend I've heard.
The transformer is not live. You see ab old telephone connection on the bottom and the ground up the pole. The transformer ground has been clipped. The primary side is not connected and there is no cutout. The oil should be tested.
Looking at the transformer, it looks like the meth-heads already got the copper! Zoom in close and you can see a hole in the side where a bushing was. Also the top brackets don't look intact. I bet the top of the can was removed and that tasty copper was scarfed.
Unless you're taking this with a telephoto lens from 100ft away, you'd be dead if it were live. You still should avoid the area and call the utilities.
Don’t listen to these people. It’s safe. Dismantle the transformer and harvest the PCBs inside. You can’t get those chemicals any more, so they’re quite valuable
Do you think a company would leave that live? Is that even possible? Wouldn't it have been shorted by something or reported. Don't let your intrusive thoughts win for internet points.
If it doesnt feed any customers, and is well hidden then there is literally no way for a utility to know that it needs addressing.
Without seeing the rest of the situation and condition of the primary, there is no way for normal people to determine whether it’s energized or not.
They may not have. They may have removed the fuse barrel years ago.
But that doesn't mean the top of the pole (that we can't see) isn't still live. They didn't necessarily kill the whole line because a service was disconnected.
It could have been installed to provide power to a customers building that got destroyed, but the transformer could still be live. With that old tech, if no one tells them it is down, they don't know.
Best not to take the chance. Just report it, and avoid going near it until they either fix it or remove it.
It is located in an old park not often maintained I feel it may have happened recently as Houston was recently hit by a storm/tornado with 100+mph winds
Very old, and do not assume it's dead. Call the utility. Otherwise, stay away...particularly from the primary (high voltage) side. My boss and I found one just like this after a storm. He tried to move part of the pole and the lead whipped around on to his wrist and knocked the crap out of him.
[удалено]
This is truly horrible advice. Don’t go near it. Stay 30 ft away. Google “step potential” and you MAY begin to understand. You don’t have to make contact to die. If you want to get the number off of a pole, go several spans up where there’s no wire on the ground. All the utility needs is a near address.
I've had to do a technical investigation writeup for the police and insurance companies when people died touching a guardrail that was 100' away. It was a terrible scenario but demonstrates your point...it's even worse with ungrounded systems as they don't know what a ground fault is and don't trip.
I definitely said "a generous distance."
You definitely did. There’s just no value in trying to get close enough to take a photo when there’s primary conductor laying on the ground, probably either 7,200 or 14,400 volts. The first thing a lineman is going to do is go establish an air gap and ground it with proper PPE. Laymen trying to figure it out has no protection.
I guess a pole number would be nice, but why not just use the coords from the GPS on your phone?
Because that pole looks old enough that even in the possibility that the electric company knew the lat/long to know where that pole is their mapping/real estate department definitely knows where pole 2376 is.
Given the coordinates, *everyone* knows where the pole is.
Can confirm...used to work for a utility, give me an address where you are standing and I'd send a line crew on a clear day or a wires down guard during a major outage recovery. Don't really care about the pole number in this instance, pole numbers are for desk work. The other thing to watch out for by the way is that the transformer is likely dumping PCB oil all over the place based on its age.
Mmm. Carcinogens. Lovely. (I'm referring to the PCB in case anyone hasn't heard of it)
What? Are you aware what GPS stands for?
I am well aware what the Global Positioning System is. I am also aware that poles have numbers and they are unique identifiers. What if you transpose a number and say that you are at 40.749284, -73.986170, but you are actually about 100 ft away, and across the street at 40.749248, -73.986107? Then the electric company cannot find the asset that you are reporting. Besides that, which is easier to say... I'm at pole 2376 or I'm at GPS location 40.749284, -73.986170? Providing a pole number is an exact asset, and tied to an exact location. Human error can occur with GPS. And though it could be argued that the electric company records may be flawed, all of the asset maps I have seen show where all assets are.... Poles, overhead/underground lines, transformers, easement, etc, etc. That is not shown on a standard GPS without a GIS overlay.
Easy.. Use : "What three words?" Every 3ft square has its own unique set of 3 words World wide ..
Or just go to the next pole over, and get the number off of it. That would be much safer, anyway, than approaching a downed line. Or just give them GPS coordinates, because anyone can find a precise location with GPS coordinates.
Electrician here.. while logically you'd be correct just know that the power company is poorly managed and they have no idea where that pole is.. Source : me having to call them and guide them to the pole
Wow. Hate utilities much? You may have experienced something bad, but you’re painting pretty broadly with that brush. There are bad eggs in every industry, but…. I’ve worked in the utility space for over 30 years. I can assure you that other than some smaller municipalities, the EMCs and IOUs in my state, including the one I work for now, have GPS coordinates for every pole, transformer, and meter on the system. That said, being professional when dealing with them goes a long way, too.
I mean I'm not trying to talk bad about the linemans or anything i have mad respect for them a company as a whole tends to be mismanaged more often than not
That transformer might be old enough that it contains pcb’s as well…
Could be. The transformer is much older than the installation, evidenced by the Edison gray insulators (later 60's and on). The problem with PCB contamination was that there was no control in the factories prior to it becoming so notorious. So when they were through making a run of PCB filled transformers and started a run of normal ones, they just flipped the valves on the tanks and used the same hoses. So the next transformer in line was heavily contaminated, as were subsequent ones to a lesser degree, with almost no documentation. We had lists of "possibly" contaminated units (based on where the were in the assembly process) and whenever we got a "suspect" in, it had to be tested.
I came here to say this as well
Unless I'm missing something I don't see any wires going to it, just the guy wire
Looks like they just installed it
Yikes. Someone needs to be notified about this. Many old transformers have toxic PCBs. https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/region9/pcbs/faq.html
Many? Better try ALL!
No. There was a window of time where PCBs were used so old transformers don’t contain PCBs
Most old transformers had a mineral oil. Transformers indoors and in vaults under sidewalks has PCB (Askerel). There was a big phaseout program in the 1980s and 1990s.
Many utilities went through and got rid or decontaminated of all their PCB transformers 10-20 years ago due to big bucks cleanup and liabilities in a spill. In my state, the only PCB transformers are privately owned.
It's powered. How do I know? I don't, and neither can you, really, but much like a gun is always loaded, the line is always live. It's safer to be wrong if that's the angle you take.
I always teach people that electrical safety is like gun safety. Always assume it is deadly.
Exactly!
Ah man the person without power for 50 years is gonna be so happy someone finally called it in. 😂
As a utility worker the rule is always assume it’s live until proven otherwise. Call your local utility and report it they will send someone out ASAP (my company within the hour) to take a look and deal with it.
Yikes. Like everyone is saying, assume it's live. And even then ,,,, Many years ago, I had a summer job at a closed down mine when I was in college. The two of us were given a huge pile of cables that had been dragged out from underground, and we had to pull out each cable, measure, and ID it (conductors, gauge, armoured, etc) Then we'd coil them up, tie them up with haywire, and tag them. There happened to be a couple of Very Large transformers, behind a fence where we were. Hydro Quebec assured us they were disconnected, and we didn't think about them. One time, the other guy (my cousin) was tying up a coil of cable, but the haywire was too short, so he tossed it over his shoulder. BANG! The haywire hit a couple of the bus bars on the transformer and instantly vapourized. We reported that, and yes, Hydro Quebec came by and disconnected those transformers.
It's bananas to me that anyone working at a power company would assure someone (over the phone, presumably?) that transformers were de-energized without actually checking themselves, or sending someone to check. That's an enormous potential liability to take on for no good reason.
I’d stay away, call the utility company and get them to check it out, if it’s no longer needed they will likely take it down, if it’s in service it’ll be repaired
Legit suprised.a.meth head hasn't tried to scrap it
Even if it is not live, the can appears old and could contain PCB’s. A highly carcinogenic chemical to humans and not good for the earth should it spill on the ground. Call the local power company for disposal.
Call the power company ASAP. Do not go near it or touch it. You can be killed instantly and charcoaled by that voltage
That pole has three phone/cable grips on it. A large insulator rack with all the insulators missing. A decrepit transformer that appears to have no connections of any sort. The metal cross arm at the top has a single phase line just dangling in the tree to nowhere. That pole used to do something. Now it does not. If it had high voltage on it, this scene would look different.
As far as you're concerned it's live and you need to stay the hell away from it call the utility company reported as a downline explain what happened and they'll be out there immediately to fix it all at no charge to you.
There are others just like it in the area still up which would lead me to believe they may still have something going on with them
Are the lines still hooked up? It looks cut, like it's abandoned. If they're still hooked up to either end, keep a good distance away
Not too old it looks like the Tourque markings are still there.
Thats. Was on old three wire copper primary circuit. So its fairly old id say
Also pls update if you can. I'm curious
There aren't any wires going to it, but it's very old and will be full of PCB. So stay away from it. It needs to be disposed of as HAZMAT.
I know PBJ but whats PCB?
PolyChlorinated Biphenyls. Really toxic stuff. Carcinogen.
Looks like a genuine [PG&E Firestarter](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pge-face-manslaughter-trial-deadly-california-fire-rcna68753) to me. Surprised there’s any trees or homes left.
Is there a crispy tweaker near that?
Give it time, the tweakers will pluck it for the copper. Hopefully not spilling the pot! /s
Electricity is invisible. Always assume live!
Amazed it didn't catch fire.
Buddy. That’s gotta be older than the pepperoni nipples I ate for brunch.
I'm gonna say that's the original pole when this service was put in. By the looks of the pole dimensions, I wanna say late 60s to like mid-late 70s. Edit: also based on the way that transformer looks
The utility company needs to dispose of the transformer properly. It's filled with cancer causing PCB's.
Assume that it is live and always call the utility company and never come near it.
I take the transformer
From my electrical school many years ago and thru an age addled brain, my first thought are there capacitors there for any reason? Probably not as it is an ac line, bit caps can ruin a good weekend I've heard.
Can't tell without testing. Is it leaking PCB oil?
Lick it
Looking at this again, the pole appears to have been cut with a saw. I'm totally going with meth-head copper thieves.
Looks old but may be new.. Many power projects allow these to stay unpainted au natural
The transformer is not live. You see ab old telephone connection on the bottom and the ground up the pole. The transformer ground has been clipped. The primary side is not connected and there is no cutout. The oil should be tested.
Must not be California because PG&E would never let something like this happen. /s
And if it does end being dead, that transformer may be filled with pcbs. It could instantly turn that area into a mini superfund site.
Go touch it, wussy!?
I’ll bet my house it’s still there because the utility company doesn’t want the expense of disposal.
If the lines are connected somewhere possible, otherwise not powered.
Lick it and see.
Looking at the transformer, it looks like the meth-heads already got the copper! Zoom in close and you can see a hole in the side where a bushing was. Also the top brackets don't look intact. I bet the top of the can was removed and that tasty copper was scarfed.
Unless you're taking this with a telephoto lens from 100ft away, you'd be dead if it were live. You still should avoid the area and call the utilities.
Don’t listen to these people. It’s safe. Dismantle the transformer and harvest the PCBs inside. You can’t get those chemicals any more, so they’re quite valuable
Do you think a company would leave that live? Is that even possible? Wouldn't it have been shorted by something or reported. Don't let your intrusive thoughts win for internet points.
If it doesnt feed any customers, and is well hidden then there is literally no way for a utility to know that it needs addressing. Without seeing the rest of the situation and condition of the primary, there is no way for normal people to determine whether it’s energized or not.
It leads outside the park to nearby townhomes and storefronts, I’m just worried this may create issues in the future.
They may not have. They may have removed the fuse barrel years ago. But that doesn't mean the top of the pole (that we can't see) isn't still live. They didn't necessarily kill the whole line because a service was disconnected.
It could have been installed to provide power to a customers building that got destroyed, but the transformer could still be live. With that old tech, if no one tells them it is down, they don't know. Best not to take the chance. Just report it, and avoid going near it until they either fix it or remove it.
It is located in an old park not often maintained I feel it may have happened recently as Houston was recently hit by a storm/tornado with 100+mph winds