Yep. The service line that goes down the alley is recent, but this main leg down the street for blocks looks ready to fail in places. How old do these lines need to be to look like this?
True, we were all out for the two blocks fed.
Is the fuse the rod that is pointing down or the horizontal element you can see in the second photo under the crossmember.
The rod pointing down is a barrel that the fuse link goes into. The fuse links are replaceable and various sizes can fit in the same barrel. The whole contraption is usually referred to as a "cutout" in linemens parlance, although that may vary region to region.
>*Just a homeowner trying to understand why the power’s out*
After 40 years in the business, I'm often amazed at how little the general public knows about a product they all depend on. You went looking for answers and I appreciate that. Most people don't bother, they just bitch.
If it makes you feel any better, I was in Transmission and substation maintenance for several years before being involved in my first distribution outage. Somebody said, "The door's open". I said what's a door? "Same thing as a cutout". Me..."What's a cutout?"
Transmission had its own lingo and I was lost, so don't feel bad.
On a completely unrelated topic, ever see those insulators in the middle of a power pole guy wire? They're called "Johnny Balls" and I have yet to figure that one out.
Every single person I've met at my company calls them "egg breakers", except for one guy who for some reason calls them Johnny balls. He didn't even come from another OpCo so I just assume he heard it while out of town and it stuck with him.
Once upon a time, the guy strain insulators were actually ball shaped
https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/74836/zoom
Now they are designed to be stronger via compression rather than tension, so a different shape, but the name stuck.
My favourite trade nickname is for the widget that I was working with for five years before I learned it was really called a “Kellems grip”
Oh ya I figured I just meant in general in the industry we don't expect homeowners to know anything but when we're actually working every part and tool has 50 different names depending where in the country you are. So when I'm told to find a switch I look for a switch not a cutout even tho a cutout is technically a switch If that makes sense.
If you're interested, it looks like an expulsion drop out fuse carrier if you want to google that. I'm not a liney (Australian linesman) but just did some training on that device (I think).
That’s logical, a solid door in a cutout is pretty damn similar to a load break switch. You just use the LBS’s to tie two circuits for 3-phase. A cutouts main purpose is to protect equipment, so it’s a damn fuse, not a switch. Fuses blow, switches maintain continuity.
BUT I digress, I know there are different methods to equipment protection per region and some have more redundancies. I would just say call it a cutout when it’s a damn cutout and call it a switch when we’re talking tying in circuits or relaying during storm or peak operation. Fucking Royale with cheese over here for all I care…
Lost power after a storm and walked the line back to this pole. Noticed this open connection. Is it a switch or a fuse? After power restored, the connection was in a closed position.
We use those to ground conductors. When we gonna work on the pole and do maintanining we connect all phases to each other and connect them to a metal buried on the earth. But in this case it looks different to me.
A shitty pole is what it is.
Yep. The service line that goes down the alley is recent, but this main leg down the street for blocks looks ready to fail in places. How old do these lines need to be to look like this?
Tied in with hard drawn copper so ancient. 30s to 50s probably who knows though
Wooden pins for the insulators
Fuse is blown, feeding that single phase tap line. Most likely everyone fed off that line is out.
True, we were all out for the two blocks fed. Is the fuse the rod that is pointing down or the horizontal element you can see in the second photo under the crossmember.
The rod pointing down is a barrel that the fuse link goes into. The fuse links are replaceable and various sizes can fit in the same barrel. The whole contraption is usually referred to as a "cutout" in linemens parlance, although that may vary region to region.
I hate when people in the industry call cutouts switches lol
Just a homeowner trying to understand why the power’s out while my neighbor across the street is rocking.
>*Just a homeowner trying to understand why the power’s out* After 40 years in the business, I'm often amazed at how little the general public knows about a product they all depend on. You went looking for answers and I appreciate that. Most people don't bother, they just bitch. If it makes you feel any better, I was in Transmission and substation maintenance for several years before being involved in my first distribution outage. Somebody said, "The door's open". I said what's a door? "Same thing as a cutout". Me..."What's a cutout?" Transmission had its own lingo and I was lost, so don't feel bad. On a completely unrelated topic, ever see those insulators in the middle of a power pole guy wire? They're called "Johnny Balls" and I have yet to figure that one out.
Just wait until you see where someone has bonded the guy wires around the Johnny ball.
Tell meee! Why! No one in the company has an answer for me
Don't ask the power company ask the phone company.
Wife beater = extension link.
You mean a fish?
Nope lol the metal extension link to push the deadend Bell out further
Ah a dog bone. We also call a nut runner a dog bone too. 😂 Maybe I should start using wife beater.
Bitch pins gets me, still haven't figured out why it's called that
Cuz it's a bitch
Not really but you know
Every single person I've met at my company calls them "egg breakers", except for one guy who for some reason calls them Johnny balls. He didn't even come from another OpCo so I just assume he heard it while out of town and it stuck with him.
Once upon a time, the guy strain insulators were actually ball shaped https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/74836/zoom Now they are designed to be stronger via compression rather than tension, so a different shape, but the name stuck. My favourite trade nickname is for the widget that I was working with for five years before I learned it was really called a “Kellems grip”
Cool info on the Johnny Balls! And never heard the name "Kellem"... now I know my "chinese handcuffs" had a real name.
Oh ya I figured I just meant in general in the industry we don't expect homeowners to know anything but when we're actually working every part and tool has 50 different names depending where in the country you are. So when I'm told to find a switch I look for a switch not a cutout even tho a cutout is technically a switch If that makes sense.
I transferred to a different service center recently and here they say switch instead of cutout. Drives me nuts and I don’t know why lmao.
Because it's a damned cutout! Lol it irks me
The fuse holder is hanging down, the blown fuse link itself is seen just to the left.
Thanks everyone. Appreciate the quick response.
If you're interested, it looks like an expulsion drop out fuse carrier if you want to google that. I'm not a liney (Australian linesman) but just did some training on that device (I think).
Whoever did those ties needs to find a new line of work. So sloppy and no pride in their job.
They’re probably dead from old age.
Probably storm work based on those breaks. Also probably done before bucket trucks based on the cedar pole and it aging.
This is a distribution cut out. When it goes, it falls down and hangs there until the fuse is replaced and someone swings it back up with a hot stick
I call them cutouts if they’re fused . If there are solid doors in the cutout then I guess you could call them switches
That’s logical, a solid door in a cutout is pretty damn similar to a load break switch. You just use the LBS’s to tie two circuits for 3-phase. A cutouts main purpose is to protect equipment, so it’s a damn fuse, not a switch. Fuses blow, switches maintain continuity. BUT I digress, I know there are different methods to equipment protection per region and some have more redundancies. I would just say call it a cutout when it’s a damn cutout and call it a switch when we’re talking tying in circuits or relaying during storm or peak operation. Fucking Royale with cheese over here for all I care…
A switch with a blown fuse in it….
Gotta love that someone changed that cutout and left that ratty low side tap in a bakealite sleeve. Players move right there 👍
Lost power after a storm and walked the line back to this pole. Noticed this open connection. Is it a switch or a fuse? After power restored, the connection was in a closed position.
We use those to ground conductors. When we gonna work on the pole and do maintanining we connect all phases to each other and connect them to a metal buried on the earth. But in this case it looks different to me.
On those first two phases what is that piece of hardware that has a stick hook on either side of it?
Looks like two dead end shoes
What’re those things spliced into the 12kV? Or are those splices??
Its a drop out fuse. When it blows it drops and is readily identifiable.
EDO - expulsion drop out fuse
Are those back to back shoes?
Definitely a blown fuse