Exploding Transformers (hurricane damage)

Posted by wkearney99 on September 25, 2005, 2:38 pm

> Well, the electric company spent the next two weeks replacing

transformers.

> Or they lied to the newspapers about what they were doing; I can't say
> which.

Or they just gave a 'simple answer' to the media. Better to just say
something people can grasp instead of something they'll misinterpret.
Telling them it's just a matter of manually resetting a breaker or replacing
a fuse might encourage some jackass to start climbing up poles to do it
himself and present a whole other rats nest of hassles.

In an ice storm you're screwed more by the weight on the wires pulling them
down or loose from their connections. That sort of problem wouldn't be
saved, really, by turning off the power. Think of it another way, if the
power was off and the lines failed, when power was turned back on they'd
still end up tripping or blowing something up. Better to have the dead
spots already detected by letting them blow out rather than have to hunt
them down one-by-one as you return power.

Fundamentally, unless the communities work to bury the lines properly
there's not much worth doing. The balancing act of long-term reliability vs
short-term trenching costs and disruptions always seems the end up the
latter. People are too stupid to recognize the long-term benefits. As long
as power doesn't go out 'too often' they only whine about it but do nothing
to get it solved.

Posted by on September 25, 2005, 10:00 pm

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 14:38:42 -0400, "wkearney99"

>Fundamentally, unless the communities work to bury the lines properly
>there's not much worth doing. The balancing act of long-term reliability vs
>short-term trenching costs and disruptions always seems the end up the
>latter. People are too stupid to recognize the long-term benefits.

Burying wires is not a panacea, particularly if flooding is an issue.
Undergrouind services are also a lot harder to troublershoot and fix
when they do fail.

Posted by Duane Bozarth on September 25, 2005, 9:20 pm

gfretwell@aol.com wrote:

>
> On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 14:38:42 -0400, "wkearney99"
>

> >Fundamentally, unless the communities work to bury the lines properly
> >there's not much worth doing. The balancing act of long-term reliability vs
> >short-term trenching costs and disruptions always seems the end up the
> >latter. People are too stupid to recognize the long-term benefits.

>
> Burying wires is not a panacea, particularly if flooding is an issue.
> Undergrouind services are also a lot harder to troublershoot and fix
> when they do fail.

Well, actually it does eliminate a sizable fraction of the
weather-related outage causes pretty effectively. It isn't practical
for really large lines nor for some areas for other reasons such as too
much stuff already buried or too much infrastructure in the way that
requires excessive initial cost, though...

Transmission cables can be traced pretty well w/ TDR, etc., for break
location and so on and it's not that much worse to dig than it is to
work up on a pole in freezing rain or high wind. Overall, I'd estimate
it's about a wash...

Posted by on September 25, 2005, 10:52 pm

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:20:24 -0500, Duane Bozarth

>Well, actually it does eliminate a sizable fraction of the
>weather-related outage causes pretty effectively. It isn't practical
>for really large lines nor for some areas for other reasons such as too
>much stuff already buried or too much infrastructure in the way that
>requires excessive initial cost, though...
>Transmission cables can be traced pretty well w/ TDR, etc., for break
>location and so on and it's not that much worse to dig than it is to
>work up on a pole in freezing rain or high wind. Overall, I'd estimate
>it's about a wash...

If your worst fear is trees or ice I agree, when it is 6 feet of salt
water you really want those wires up on a pole.

It is also a lot easier to work in a bucket truck than to dig in a
crowded right of way. You don't accomplish much if you fix the power
line and take out a phone fiber.

Posted by Duane Bozarth on September 25, 2005, 10:42 pm

gfretwell@aol.com wrote:

>
> On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:20:24 -0500, Duane Bozarth
>

> >Well, actually it does eliminate a sizable fraction of the
> >weather-related outage causes pretty effectively. It isn't practical
> >for really large lines nor for some areas for other reasons such as too
> >much stuff already buried or too much infrastructure in the way that
> >requires excessive initial cost, though...
> >Transmission cables can be traced pretty well w/ TDR, etc., for break
> >location and so on and it's not that much worse to dig than it is to
> >work up on a pole in freezing rain or high wind. Overall, I'd estimate
> >it's about a wash...

>
> If your worst fear is trees or ice I agree, when it is 6 feet of salt
> water you really want those wires up on a pole.
>
> It is also a lot easier to work in a bucket truck than to dig in a
> crowded right of way. You don't accomplish much if you fix the power
> line and take out a phone fiber.

But the six foot of salt water w/ storm surge takes the poles down
anyway...

Page 3 of 5 < 1 2 3 > last >>

Similar Threads	Posted
Hurricane Damage to your Roof . . . ?	July 17, 2006, 8:33 pm
Water damage during Hurricane	September 5, 2008, 6:27 pm
Southern Hurricane survivors scramble for bullet proof housing, stop high costs of damage!	December 14, 2005, 8:22 pm
Exploding floor	March 9, 2008, 1:36 pm
Exploding Children Alert	December 23, 2006, 11:05 am
Exploding Broiler Element	February 5, 2007, 5:21 am
Video - exploding water heater	September 25, 2005, 10:50 am
Exploding floor/ expansion joint	October 6, 2007, 2:47 pm
Low voltage lighting transformers	April 10, 2007, 9:56 am
Re: What are these power pole transformers for?	May 23, 2008, 5:43 pm

Exploding Transformers (hurricane damage) - Page 3