Sensible H&S Advice from the Experts

[SatS]

I could not see a serious thread about passing on hard earned knowledge to newbies like me , I hope this is the right place.
I am pollarding around 200m of hedge and in one section there is a wooden electricity pole, I think it's 11KV at the very worst. I suspect around 6m high. I am pollarding at around 1m.
Normally once a decade! the electricity company comes and trims when the blackouts get too much.The hedge is almost touching the wires.
Should I not go anywhere near and call the power company? or carry on and make sure my boom is no higher than 3m?
Whats the sensible and safe approach ?

 

[Stock]

Call the electricity company.......................................................................................

 

[SatS]

Call the electricity company.......................................................................................

thanks @Stock - I will do this.

 

[Vinpetrol]

Call the electricity company.......................................................................................

Absolutely . Call them and they will cut it back

 

[groundworker]

You're supposed to stay something like 5ft away to avoid arcing, depends on voltage. As above call them for advice

 

[Monkeybusiness]

The electricity company has a duty of care to keep 3rd parties safe from their network. Call them and they should either cut it for free or turn the power off whilst you cut it.

 

[Brendan]

As said call them but also

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/downloads/1834/look-out-look-up-split.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjB9u3rnbaLAxUeV0EAHYF6AkAQFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3KTuaO13ys9Y35uZGt7qx6

 

[SatS]

this is the bit I will stay clear off
thanks for the advice guys
I may have just been stupid enough to think i was too far away to worry
i’m glad i asked

 

[Monkeybusiness]

this is the bit I will stay clear off
thanks for the advice guys
I may have just been stupid enough to think i was too far away to worry
i’m glad i asked

That’s single phase LV (ie 240v) with open (non-insulated) conductors - if the two wires touch you’ll get fireworks and the conductors will probably melt and fall to the ground. The current in them is massive - depending upon where you are in the country the network operators normally maintain a minimum of a 1m clearance around those (including anything above the insulator in the stay-wire).

 

[JD450A]

So as mentioned 1 phase LV, top will be live, lower is generally neutral. Don't take that for granted.

I'd ring whoever the ESB owner is.... They will either come cut it for you or will likely be more than happy to put sheathing on the wires temporarily for you to do the work yourself.

I'm surprised it's not been replaced with ABC (Ariel bunch conductor) which is fully insulated for this reason.

 

[Fms1]

All I say is stay away and let them deal with it, I lost a good mate at 28yrs old “just helping the man who owned his bit of yard” cutting the conifer hedge a bit, dead within seconds…..
water you get wet
gas smells
electricty it’s normally to late……….. that’s my motto

 

[Canal Navvy]

You can't assume anything about electricity supplies even with good system identification skills. Ariel Bundled Cables cannot be assumed to be safely insulated. As the system evolves cable order can become confused, there are places where 11kv is below the 240v and apparently there are some examples of 11kv ABC

 

[Monkeybusiness]

You can't assume anything about electricity supplies even with good system identification skills. Ariel Bundled Cables cannot be assumed to be safely insulated. As the system evolves cable order can become confused, there are places where 11kv is below the 240v and apparently there are some examples of 11kv ABC

Yeah, it’s common in Scandinavia and you also see it in the Alps a fair bit. ABC was designed to be installed through forests where snow might bring down trees across it in places inaccessible until everything thawed out (in the Spring!). The cable is designed to pull through the rollers on the poles so slack in the system allows some spans to be dragged to the floor without compromising conductivity if necessary.
None of this is particularly relevant in the UK - it shouldn’t ever be treated as insulated as the outer sheath is prone to damage (it can even be attacked by rodents). When we used to do a lot of tree cutting for SPEN and WPD we had to treat it as live and it had the same safety zones as open conductors.

 

[V8Druid]

That’s single phase LV (ie 240v) with open (non-insulated) conductors - if the two wires touch you’ll get fireworks and the conductors will probably melt and fall to the ground. The current in them is massive - depending upon where you are in the country the network operators normally maintain a minimum of a 1m clearance around those (including anything above the insulator in the stay-wire).

agreed - that is a 240v drop feeder into the deck ... there must be a transformer downstream of that (next pole possibly) with a contactor/isolator/trip ... still not to be treated without respect, but deffo not 11,000v - either get it sheathed or them to cut as required
have both at the end of our drive and they're cleared regularly by SSE crews (or whatever they're calling themselves currently?)
Triple 11kv lines, tranny on the pole, carrying them - steps down to 240v off two 11kvs, to supply us on a dropper into the ground and other two properties here on an overhead ABC
I am always VERY careful tramping the 'Drema under the three 11kvs over our drive way


pole and tranny getting changed out in June '16, together with the 240v open lines to the other two properties getting swapped to an ABC run