electric blocking gadget

[THL4KEL]

Maybe you're better off working with a rinse bar around electric lines so you don't get the mist pencils/fans give off?

 

[ched999uk]

I can’t help but feel that as long as you aren’t touching the cables with your pole or spraying too much water anywhere near them then apart from some very obvious dangerous old cables you should be fine.
Again this is just my opinion and everybody should of course work as safely as they feel they have to.

The 'safe' distance from 33Kv power lines is at least 3 meters! You don't have to touch the cables, as the 33Kv will 'jump' the gap to your pole which is effectively earth! Once you start misting the air then 3m might not be enough!

I believe that the electricity companies have to have the uninsulated lines a minimum of 5.3meters above ground level. So assuming people are less than 2.3 meters (7ft 6") it should be fine.

 

[spruce]

Interesting read. Certainly not practical for us to get the power turned off for every window that is within their specified distance though is it?
I work mainly rural so would be getting the power turned off on a lot of jobs.
I was also thinking back to when I used to paint rendered houses. And also how many I see on a day to day basis where the power lines that attach to the house are painted in as well.
If we listen to all the HSE advice etc then it would be difficult to work at all. You would certainly be missing lots of windows.
I’ve worked with the poles for 19 years now and never been zapped. Maybe I’ve been lucky?
I can’t help but feel that as long as you aren’t touching the cables with your pole or spraying too much water anywhere near them then apart from some very obvious dangerous old cables you should be fine.
Again this is just my opinion and everybody should of course work as safely as they feel they have to.

Of course, this H&S advisor is mainly centred around maintenance around power lines, such as the trimming and felling of trees etc. But there is a lot of valuable information that applies to us as window cleaners as well. TBH I didn't even know this existed.

I would really like to read the results of the H&S investigation regarding this accident. All they have said is that no one is to blame and people must be careful when working around power lines. There must be more to their report.

 

[sleepyfolk]

I recently bought a new slx and I'm sure they have changed the message on the bottom section. I thought they used to specify a max voltage. Now it says something like do not use near electric cables or in thunder storms.

If all pole sections where insulated it might make things a little safer but some might think that they are then safe touching electrical cables plus I don't think even Gardiners bottom sections were ever rated to 33kV?

I’m sure you’re right - I recall Gardiner used to mention 5000v which wouldn’t have helped anyway but I can’t see any mention of numbers on their site now, I think I saw mention that these lines were the main 3 phase distribution lines and not the usual 240v single phase line that’s hanging off the side of a house we see so often - not that we shouldn’t be careful with those as well!

I used to be a marine engineer dealing with 3 phase shore cables you couldn’t get your hands around but tbh I think it makes me more blasé than it does cautious sometimes!

 

[spruce]

I’m sure you’re right - I recall Gardiner used to mention 5000v which wouldn’t have helped anyway but I can’t see any mention of numbers on their site now, I think I saw mention that these lines were the main 3 phase distribution lines and not the usual 240v single phase line that’s hanging off the side of a house we see so often - not that we shouldn’t be careful with those as well!

I used to be a marine engineer dealing with 3 phase shore cables you couldn’t get your hands around but tbh I think it makes me more blasé than it does cautious sometimes!

There was a cable thief who found his way into a sub station near the old ICI chemical works at Wilton a few years back. An electric current jumped across from a connector through his body to earth. They found his charred remains when they came to attend to a fault this caused. That was an expensive bit of cable he had his eye on.

 

[sleepyfolk]

There was a cable thief who found his way into a sub station near the old ICI chemical works at Wilton a few years back. An electric current jumped across from a connector through his body to earth. They found his charred remains when they came to attend to a fault this caused. That was an expensive bit of cable he had his eye on.

Yeah in training we got to see some horrendous pictures of injuries - one chap that decided to have a piss on the quayside (drunk and in the dark) ended up peeing on a live 3 phase shore cable with broken insulation - never peed or had *** again! Split the old fella in half and burnt all his abdomen up!

 

[Pjj]

It's actually called shrouding. You used to be able to request it for up to 12 months. What I don't get is why, if it's such a danger and the trouble they go to wrap the power lines in plastic, they don't just leave it in place on certain properties.

Or insulate it permanently to make it safer would be a more sensible option surely they have a duty of care to the home owner and any other legitimate worker on the property

 

[Pjj]

The 'safe' distance from 33Kv power lines is at least 3 meters! You don't have to touch the cables, as the 33Kv will 'jump' the gap to your pole which is effectively earth! Once you start misting the air then 3m might not be enough!

I believe that the electricity companies have to have the uninsulated lines a minimum of 5.3meters above ground level. So assuming people are less than 2.3 meters (7ft 6") it should be fine.

We aren’t allowed to deal with gorse fires under power cables regardless of the height as smoke is a conductor and it can earth to the ground from any height have only ever seen it do that a couple of times but it’s a frightening sight.

 

[Iron Giant]

Or insulate it permanently to make it safer would be a more sensible option surely they have a duty of care to the home owner and any other legitimate worker on the property

Yes, that would be the best option, they could do it on the every house that requested shrouding for work on their home, we had to request it twice on our house because they took it down before they should have.

It's around 1 metre from our bathroom on our house, so I have to navigate around when cleaning the windows.

 

[ched999uk]

It's around 1 metre from our bathroom on our house, so I have to navigate around when cleaning the windows.

That's the bit I don't get. They have to suspend cables 5.3m above ground but they can be within 1m of a potentially opening window for a bathroom that will probably have a high concentration of water vapour kicking about.

Surely if 3m is the minimum safe distance they should be at least insulating the final 3m to everyone's house?

 

[Iron Giant]

That's the bit I don't get. They have to suspend cables 5.3m above ground but they can be within 1m of a potentially opening window for a bathroom that will probably have a high concentration of water vapour kicking about.

Surely if 3m is the minimum safe distance they should be at least insulating the final 3m to everyone's house?

Who knows, but on our side of the street ours and the 3 neighbours are exactly the same, probably less than a metre to be honest.

 

[Gadgetfox]

Even if every section was insulated you could still get a shock if water has run down the sections and the pole is wet or very damp

Very good point!

 

[ks789]

Anyone who has concerns at their own property, might be worth contacting the relevant company responsible. That way we could maybe find out more? I can certainly see this happening again. Shouldnt be cables/lines open to this risk anywhere thats open to the public. What about kids with fishing rods or kites? We have those huge national grid pylons near me, they spread out from sizewell power station. Sometimes freaks me out just walking under them, hearing the untold millions of volts fizzing away. I think I even recall people whose homes were too close to these, it caused cancers and severe headaches to the occupants, wouldnt surprise me.