Before I stared lineman school I’d watch these videos while having no idea what he was talking about, but now with the crazy amount of info I’ve learned so far this has become an incredible tool to see how these things are worked on in the field. Thanks so much Aaron I look forward to continue watching to make me a better apprentice!
I’m using him as a resource too. He is incredibly knowledgeable and has tons of experience. Good luck with school, I’m going the ibew route to get an apprenticeship.
@RE ostrander check with the local union hall..I know apprentices that get the difference in their pay and a journeyman lineman pay because of the gi bill...win win..get paid to learn
I’m starting as a ground man in a couple weeks no line school coming from more of the electrician side of things but I’ve always wanted to be in line work like my dad these videos are very informative great tool like you said! Hope line school goes good for you 👍🏻
For a new apprentice only 6month into my apprenticeship these kinds of videos are huge to see how the work is safely done in Canada. No one else makes content like this.
my mom always wanted me to be a lineman but i’ve had 2-3 people go to school for it and they hated it i don’t really wanna go to school to be a lineman and hate it any ideas on how to know if this is for me?
@nate.hanlon bro do what YOU want to do. But I can say for sure that if you do a trade like electrician / lineman or anything specialized in I.T you'll be set for life if you master it. I work in battery power and it's cool to learn a lot of this stuff
@@stayingfitandfocused it’d be cool for sure i love hands on shit but i also don’t wanna work 80 hours a week and be run down by the time im 35-40 lmaoo.
speaking as someone not in the trades, I find these videos to be utterly fascinating and oddly soothing. the way you keep your voice pretty even, and calm, I find to be a good way of conveying the information, and that you translate it so even us poor fools who do other things can understand is very helpful.
Wow this was great! I had no idea that your safety procedures were so involved. The communication with dispatch is like listening to air traffic control! The redundancy of the communication, tagging, and grounding is really far more involved than I ever would have guessed, and obvioisly for good reason.
Excellent three part communication! 👊🏻👊🏻👍🏻👍🏻Switching instructions communicated over 2-way radio so other crews responding can hear what your doing. We remove the source side tap/ remove the door. As well as strap a reflective pole banner at the base of the pole alerting other crews to our presence on the line. Keep up the great work Aaron.
Appreciate the post! The automatic sleeves make life so much easier! 40 years ago we only had compression sleeves. For #4 acsr they were about 24" long and had 2 plugs at the midpoint that you had to pull out before inserting the wire. Anti-ox would squirt out, then you had to crimp 14 BG (5/8 die single groove) crimps each side of center point, with a wooden handle press, rolling the wire/sleeve or the press each crimp or the sleeve would curve or curl! Almost a 2 person job, really difficult in the air!! Not to mention no-ox squirting out and getting on everything! The new shorter compression sleeves, hydraulic presses, double groove BG dies and automatics are a welcomed improvement!
Hey guys stay safe out there. I earthed a single wire earth return took all 3 shots of 19kva, lost both my legs nearly lost an arm. 30% of me is skingrafted after deep tissue burn. It’s grips ya hard, doesn’t let go. The heat is extreme to say the least. The bangs are so loud! When they pass through you like a get hitting the sound barrier. The electricity exited through every part of my body. No one knows or understands how I survived it. I’m talking to my state providers to do speeches to linesmen in there crews.
@@electron2601 complacency is the killer, we work in a dangerous environment and almost never see the danger after years n years you get more relaxed with safety and bang ya dead!
Sooo. Ins this particular video Aaron is grounded the live wire on either side of the break due to the fact that elections still are present in the line prior to rejoining of thy break or am I off earth on this one...
As a distribution design engineer, its so cool seeing what I put on paper coming into fruition. I respect the work you do because just thinking about being near 7200v makes me pee, love the content!
This was one of your better videos from start to finish love the camera also I have always wondered about those sleeves that go on a broken line and now u have explained exactly 💯 how that works great job thanks mike iron river m.i.
Awesome! I really appreciate the feedback Mike! When it comes to larger wire we try and stick to compression sleeves some of them have a separate sleeve particular to the steel core that's contained within the outer aluminum sleeve. Basically the steel sleeve holds the tension and the aluminum the ampacity.
@@Bobsdecline never realized the weight of the lines also think u said 500 pounds add wind etc amazing how u people can keep those lines up and wow u answered me back thanks really learn from your videos we relie so much on electricity thanks too all linemen and linewoman and all the people behind the scenes God bless and stay safe thanks mike
@@michaelgagne1911 you are from Iron River Michigan? Small world. Yours is the first comment on the list. Lol I'm from Florence Wisconsin, but I was living in Crystal Falls a few years ago. Have a great weekend!
Cool videos Bob👍...when grounding we were taught to never leave ground tails in the bucket with urself n always leave secured outside the bucket like on ur bucket hooks ..while installing or removing em...stay safe out there uall👍👍
I teach electrical trades at a high school in Michigan, many of our students go on to be lineman, will show this video to the future prospects as a great example of what a day might look like!! Thanks so much for sharing this I hope your company fully supports you in this effort it is a great way to share you what you do!
Very good instructive video. Always wire brush the conductor and wire brush “ goop” ( no oxide) onto the conductor before putting it into splice. Better, use compression splices!
We call the automatics pickles. I always get a little paranoid when I see more than 1 of those in a span. Had one come apart on us during storm. Luckily no one got hurt. Keep up the good work.👊🏾
Good to see ya T! I just noticed ya had a new vid up too! We had an old batch where a few let go, these ones are much better. Have been using them for about 7 years now, haven't had any fail. Not intended for use on slack span tho
Thanks! I have learned a lot from you and your videos. Quite the job you all have to do. I had no idea the steps were so intricate, but it makes you safe. Thanks for keeping the lights on!
One of the reasons I started this channel actually! To help demonstrate what goes on behind the scenes and better explain why sometimes seemingly simply outages can take so long
Thanks Aaron for the video. Just another day with less then ideal working conditions. I can see that we have more tree trimming funds here in Maryland around primaries and secondary's. Not to mention many more automatic reclosers everywhere. Since I never did linework, never heard about radial feed and loop feeds, Thanks for the info. BTW, I've been watching temps in your area. Too cold for me!
We had a +20°C a few days ago! Lol... Then -35 with the next night 🤦♂️lol. We've been experimenting with a few different reclosing products for these longer single phase lines. Cheers!
My big brother is a lineman chicago local 9 IBEW I've been doing residential commercial electrical but I want to get into the lineman apprenticeship I've been watching your videos for months. Thank you for your inspiring videos!
40 years with san diego gas & electric and retired in 2020 , sure do miss it ! I love seeing the trouble men at work , good group of men............ Alan Thomas
Love the videos Always Aaron! I'm getting out of the US Navy as a Construction Electrician going to work for my local PUD back home! I'll be doing an awesome program offered for AD Military where I get to work with a company for the last 6 months of my Military time with all pay etc, and the company gets me for free; with the commitment that once everything works out I'll be endentured into my Lineman Apprenticeship as a 2nd step. I'll be a groundsman for those six months, no problem as I'll take it with strides. Gotta restart somewhere. I was a groundsman with a tree trimming around the lines prior to service so falling trees safely, etc I'll have that to also help as a new Lineman. I'm very excited! Finally getting closer! I'll start 09Dec this year! Love your videos, God Bless! Keep it up Brother! Local 125 here.
That snow looks really refreshing. Down here in LA (Lower Alabama) temps are flirting with the century mark (100 degrees F/38 degrees C for y'all) with high humidity.
Was in Huntsville summer of 1978 visiting my sister. July 2nd, and the humidity was so bad that night, it was like coming out of the shower, before taking it. Mosquitoes as big as a B-52.
Quite interesting to see that app uses Australia/NZ colour schemes for the wiring, vs USA/Canada. Neutral in Aus/NZ is black. Active (or hot as you say in US/Canada) is Red. Phase colours are red, white, blue (A, B, C, L1, L2, L3). Always enjoy watching electrical line work from around the world. Thanks for sharing!
1 of the poles in my yard got replaced Friday, pretty impressive how they can do that without interrupting power, shame they had to leave part of the old pole because my fiber lines were on it.. Unfortunately, they didnt fully bury the line and broke a copper strand from the insulation some how, so i have Verizon coming out Monday.
Great video Thank you for what you do. Been looking at getting a job as a lineman but was wondering if you know if there is a age limit or cut off age. Im 47 and in good shape. Thanks again for all you and the crew's do.
Aaron, another great video. I've said it before, I have the utmost respect for our linemen, not so much for the company they work for. Our company got the award for worst customer service for a power company in the US.
I am starting lineman school may 9th I have no idea about anything you are mentioning and talking about but your videos are very intriguing and I cannot wait to start learning more about everything this trade has to offer thank you for the awesome videos! Keep doing your thing brother !
@@Tiegen.Reibin finished school got a decent job with a contractor got my CDL hopefully can get on with a utility company here soon that’s closer to home
Its very nice that you made a video about this, my dad actually just started working for a contracted company connected to oncore, and i have no idea what he does when hes out there, all i know is that he is a pole setter. And i dont wanna say its a coincedence, but id say about 2 weeks ago he and a few other men went out to fix and lay a few new poles. But the thing was the initial poles needed to be pulled because they were damage etc. Well acompaning him was a new guy and he had never been around electrical work or anything related to his new job. ( no names will be named ) but they had a foreman and the new guy was to be directed on what to do by said foreman. This new guy couldnt have been but maybe 20 yrs old man, so his foreman instructed him to get the tools needed and get ready for the job, but the new guy unfortunately didnt understand that he wasnt instructed to start working. He just wanted to start working and see what his new job was about and there's nothing wrong with that. But the electricity was STILL ON, everything he was about to touch was ON. And unfortunately on the day he did touch those wires and fried about 70 percent of his body. I have no further information on whether or not he is still here today, but I pray to the good lord above that he have mercy on his soul, and when my dad came back and told me what had happened, i told him he needs to seriously find a different line of work. But i do understand someone has to do it, but i stress to EVERYONE, whether your shooting guns, welding cuttin wood.. WEAR YOUR PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. It may save your life...
That's very unfortunate 😔 but thank you for sharing. Like you said, regardless of the trade, we have to be safe. I even wear safety glasses now when "whipper snipping" the lawn 🤓
I got a good one for you. I went to turn on the 240v heater/AC unit (13,000 BTU) the other night (the sun heats up the room during the day). When it went on my clock in the bedroom which is plugged into a surge protector with other items reset back to flashing 12:01, giving a minute for me to travel from the living room to the bedroom. Your thoughts. Love you channel.
Thank you for all of your hard work in restoring power in times of severe weather. Going out when it's -30˚F during a blizzard to restore power is truly appreciated. I take a neutral stance of the neutral subject.
New subscriber! I’m a union laborer working mostly in road construction and pipe work, love the videos it’s nice to see how you guys work it’s pretty awesome! Much love from central Massachusetts
Awesome video brother. Very good job explaining procedures and what we do in the field. May I suggest looking into using pole banners. They are a reusable velcro pole wrap, reflective orange high visibility, and has 'MEN WORKING LINE". They are great to have, especially during storms when there are contractors all over the place. I usually carry three of them with me for multiple locations on a job. I simply put my pole banner 6' above ground at the open point, fuse, or switch. Anyone that gets called out to my job can't miss seeing it and they know someone is already there working on the line. The pole banner also has clear pockets for switching tags. Just a suggestion to keep you a little bit safer. Can't tell you how many times I've been dispatched to a job during storms and another crew shows up to the same job because a supervisor sent them there. Stay safe bro. 🙂
I agree! The banners are much easier to see than the tags we use. That's a great tip!Thank you 🤝 Like you said especially for storm work or working outside of our area. Cheers man! 🍻👊
I highly appreciate the videos you do! I fairly recently got out of a pre-apprentice lineman school this past August 2021, and have been tossing out resumes and applications since to get hired as an apprentice. Right now, it's possible that I might be doing underground, in hopes that I can get on with the company's overhead crew. You have no idea of how many things you've refreshed me on, like as you were explaining stuff, my mind immediately takes me back to the lineman school and I immediately start to understand what you're talking about!
As a linesman in the U.K I enjoyed seeing your way of work. We have similarities, the only difference being is you have far better equipment than us. We could only dream of them trucks 💪
I've had a trouble ticket open for over 5 weeks with my own power utility for high voltage. I've been in contact 1 - 2 times a week with customer service with no resolution (and promises of call backs that don't happen). One of my cousins knows someone on the distribution side (but he does commercial power, not residential), but he still has access to substations, etc. Checked voltage there and it's spot on, but there is a transformer bank that feeds my neighborhood (steps down 13.8kv down to either 4.4kv or 7.8kv... can't remember which... my plant is very old), but that bank is configured with a 2.5% boost. He gave me a copy of the plant map that feeds my neighborhood which was pretty cool. Voltage here floats right around 252v, but routinely coasts up to 256v. It's a problem for me being a solar customer - my stuff shuts down if grid voltage goes over 252v, so it disables itself a LOT. Company said they have a 5% +- tolerance so I'm right at the high limit constantly. Question for you... What are the average resolution times for high voltage tickets submitted by residential customers for the utility you work for, if you even get those? I'm here in the US and I know you're our neighbor to the north... just trying to get a potential idea of how much longer I may need to wait.
Oh man that sucks! Our high voltage calls are typically resolved "same day", unless of course it's during a storm. Your definitely running at the high voltage limit. Our acceptable range is 238v - 252v, any calls outside of that range are rectified. It's possible that some "tap" settings or voltage regulators nearby need some fine tuning. It can be tricky at times on Long stretches of line the first few customers may experience some higher voltages compared to the end of the line but if it's a constant issue it may involve some additional equipment on the lines
@@Bobsdecline Thank you for the prompt response. Here, the USA regulation is actually +-10% which is really significant, but my utility does +-5%. Part of my interconnect agreement with the electric company is that my solar equipment is set to disable at the same tolerances, +-5%. I have panels and storage (batteries) here. Got tired of $170 - $180 electric bills during the summer. :) Got the batteries because I lose power here 2 - 4 times a year, anywhere from a few hours to 5 days. The system is pretty sweet. Has a built in ATS (automatic transfer switch that they call an RTS - rapid transfer switch) that allows the batteries and solar panels to function without grid input. It was AWESOME last year when I lost power for 2 1/2 days due to storms. The commercial distribution guy went through all of the hardware between myself and the switching station and he has it narrowed down to that transformer bank with the configured boost. There's 3, big, fat cans on a pole a short walk away (I went and found it). No voltage regulation feeding my neighborhood - something I learned from one of your older videos with the 3, tall, huge cans sitting between two poles. I've seen a set of those on a main road. It was cool to know what those are now, so thank you for that. Any other regulation is done right at the switching station. I'm about a mile away from it. Anyway, guess I get to continue screeching at customer service again next week. Thank you for letting me know what your utility's turn-around typically is.
Ask your state's commission to make an inquiry on your behalf. You will probably hear back from the utility company with a quick resolution and the phone number of a person they would rather you call instead of the public utility commission should you have any problems in the future.
@@williamdegnan4718 Hmmm... didn't even think of this. Sounds a bit like a last resort; I did request a supervisor last time and my trouble status did change, but no fix yet. I will try ringing them again early next week and see if I can get any sort of update as to the fix. If I reach a dead end as I have been, I may try presenting that option. I don't know how fast a government office will be though. But thank you for bubbling up this option! I found the site for my state and it looks pretty easy to submit a complaint. What really frustrates me is that a cousin of mine works in customer service for that utility, and says he absolutely cannot help me due to call center regulations and potential for conflicts of interest, so even if I got lucky and got him on the phone, he'd have to transfer me away. I have a trouble ticket which he says he can't do anything with, nor can his supervisor (they would insist I call in). Customer service is dead to them. 😬
Last month when we had that massive snow storm a FEDEx truck slid into a pole and took out half the town’s power. Two crews showed up in the nastiest weather possible. My mom and sisters made them hot chocolate and I took thermos jugs out to them. Took four loads to get hot chocolate into all of them. They initially politely refused but the boss said it was okay so they drank. Took them 3 hours to get the new pole set and another three getting all the lines hung. Not bad considering the weather and the ground was frozen solid. Love my lineman!
I work for a cable company. Those automatic sleeves you talk about we call pickles lol. I actually hate them. They fail somewhat easily. I've literally repaired 1/2 inch strand and then a few hours later they break. What we normally do is use a preformed straight splice. Power does here as well. I'm assuming it's because of the extreme heat here in Texas. Maybe makes the strand contract I'm not sure. I love it watching your videos Aaron they are amazing and show so much.
Where I come from it’s the other way around. Heat causes thermal expansion. However… it probably has more to do with staying inbetween design parameters. It’s crazy just how many variables should be considered before installing a sleeve. Also, here in Texas, a pickle would be used to splice guy wire or messenger cable generally. Please guys be safe!
Thanks for the shoutout! You have a very helpful and educational channel here and I love that I could be a part of it, even in a small way. Keep up the great work and stay safe out there!
The skill you used with the Load buster and removal of the Cutout was freaking epic at the 13:00 min mark I have a contract for the Toronto Blue jays and The yankees waiting for ya based off ur bat speed!! Though you'd probly prefer to snipe a Goalie from the blue line with that stick being Canadian!!!
Ever work on transmission lines parralleing a railroad? if any wire hits the track rail it can become energized, regardless of energy on the track itself like a 100hz or 91.6hz track circuit or propulsion retun. We had a 60k wire 60hz fall on our lines (100hz 5k) and hut and the surge blew each hut in turn and fried alot of stuff. Huts are grounded and like a farday cage but the ground can feed in. Our system is isolated and has two condutors off of the transformer.
Thanks so much for XMFR Ref APP Downloaded it! Great job 24 year old lineman just purchased 👍 the app! Nice work! Also, added "Bobdecline" 1 person I've ever followed ~£d So*Cal Orange County 🍊
That is some scary stuff 😳! I got stuck to a wall outlet being an idiot in electronics class in high-school. NEVER want to feel that again! (Playing drums on an outlet with two screw drivers, teacher laughed louder than the whole class!)
I work in telecommunications so we don’t go as high nor do we even work on the same components, but I love these videos. Makes me want to take the jump over to Energy…😂
Hey man, love learning from your videos. I have few questions/ video ideas that I'm interested to see. I'm curious about the political side of your job. Do you have a direct boss or multiple direct bosses?? Does he have to watch you work a number of times per month to make sure you're being safe? Are there post quality inspections done on your work? Is there company safety guy who will pull up on you unannounced? What does your boss do? Is he an engineer or a former lineman? Who do you call at 3am when you need backup, your boss? Dispatch? Etc? Do you ever have to discuss plans with your engineering team or get approval for your management team to do things that may our of the ordinary? What happens when your boss is on vacation? Who controls your route? Just dispatch or does your boss move orders around? What about his boss and your company rank structure? Do you know the CEO and ever interface with him? Do you have train people? Do you have to attend meeting with your team or is it really just you on your team? What else is the cb radio used for and what policies are concerning the radio? Are there any obscure company policies that people wouldn't expect like no smoking ever or you must wear long sleeves at all times? You could do an entire video on some of the company policies that the layman wouldn't expect you to have. Obviously you can't give intimate details like names or specific processes. But this would be an easy and interesting video(s) you could do from your cab or dining room table and i would appreciate the info. Thanks!
So I got what might be kind of a dumb question. Last week we had a snow storm come into the area. The snow was extremely wet and icy and it brought down a ton of trees and branches. We responded for plowing and I was sent out with a partner to start clearing some of the trees that were blocking our roads. In our travels, we noticed a tree that was smoking. We stopped and checked it out and determined that the snow had caused the branches to sag enough to wear they were in contact with the primary which was now burning the tree. We made contact with the homeowner to advise them since it was right in their front yard. They told us fire had already responded and looked at it and told them not to worry about it. However, the tree was still burning from the electricity. So my question is, was this tree energized and if so could the ground have become energized due to the snow? Should we have kept people away? Seems to me if an ice and snow covered tree is actively smoking where a power line is touching it, then that line is probably energized, at least thats what common sense tells me. Am I wrong? Loved this video, would like to see more like it.
yes, the ground will be energized, and the voltage does go down with distance... but who really know how far is safe. When you don't know it's best to maintain at least one pole span away. BTW, the danger here is there's enough power in the ground to give you a voltage difference every few feet, which means the space between your steps (say 3 feet apart) can have lethal voltage, and that can travel up one leg and down another as you walk. If the power stays on long enough the tree will be compromised and pieces will fall. The flip side is the draw is too much and and the power goes out, but the tree will keep smoldering.
First time seeing this, I hope more do. You guys do an awesome job restoring power. If more saw what you guys go through they would understand that it's a process and safety is definately the main concern.
I'm a communication lineman and want to become a power lineman. In AZ, they require a class A CDL and passing a test. Does it make more sense to get past the test first, then get the CDL?
Is there a possibility of corrosion using the sleeves? are there dissimilar metals grabbing the ACSR? Always been a fan of Straight wraps tho I am in Telecom with Steel strand
There's always the possibility, but they are pretty resistant to corrosion in normal circumstances. While I can't remember the exact make-up, The metals aren't as different as using aluminium to copper. I'll have to check into that! The wedges inside might be brass... We don't often find these sleeves corroded and when we do it's very close to salt air where the steel core of the entire span it's already suffering
Before I stared lineman school I’d watch these videos while having no idea what he was talking about, but now with the crazy amount of info I’ve learned so far this has become an incredible tool to see how these things are worked on in the field. Thanks so much Aaron I look forward to continue watching to make me a better apprentice!
I’m using him as a resource too. He is incredibly knowledgeable and has tons of experience. Good luck with school, I’m going the ibew route to get an apprenticeship.
@RE ostrander save your money!!!!!!!!...
@RE ostrander check with the local union hall..I know apprentices that get the difference in their pay and a journeyman lineman pay because of the gi bill...win win..get paid to learn
I’m starting as a ground man in a couple weeks no line school coming from more of the electrician side of things but I’ve always wanted to be in line work like my dad these videos are very informative great tool like you said! Hope line school goes good for you 👍🏻
@@chrisdietrich5444 it’s not that easy. There are wait lists with thousands of people waiting to get called for an opportunity.
For a new apprentice only 6month into my apprenticeship these kinds of videos are huge to see how the work is safely done in Canada. No one else makes content like this.
How’s it goin
Wishing you safe travels, may god protect you.
my mom always wanted me to be a lineman but i’ve had 2-3 people go to school for it and they hated it i don’t really wanna go to school to be a lineman and hate it any ideas on how to know if this is for me?
@nate.hanlon bro do what YOU want to do. But I can say for sure that if you do a trade like electrician / lineman or anything specialized in I.T you'll be set for life if you master it.
I work in battery power and it's cool to learn a lot of this stuff
@@stayingfitandfocused it’d be cool for sure i love hands on shit but i also don’t wanna work 80 hours a week and be run down by the time im 35-40 lmaoo.
True professional. You know your craft well. Impressive to say the least!
it’s wild to find a lineman channel, my dads been doing it for almost 25 years and he despises youtubers 😂 you kick ass dude!
Same
speaking as someone not in the trades, I find these videos to be utterly fascinating and oddly soothing. the way you keep your voice pretty even, and calm, I find to be a good way of conveying the information, and that you translate it so even us poor fools who do other things can understand is very helpful.
Wow this was great! I had no idea that your safety procedures were so involved. The communication with dispatch is like listening to air traffic control! The redundancy of the communication, tagging, and grounding is really far more involved than I ever would have guessed, and obvioisly for good reason.
Excellent three part communication! 👊🏻👊🏻👍🏻👍🏻Switching instructions communicated over 2-way radio so other crews responding can hear what your doing.
We remove the source side tap/ remove the door. As well as strap a reflective pole banner at the base of the pole alerting other crews to our presence on the line.
Keep up the great work Aaron.
Thanks John! Great hearing from you, I hope as is well! 👊👊
@@Bobsdecline you are an awesome lineman
@@BobsdeclineHey I was wondering, do you refer to those short 20 or 22 (I forgot) inch arms as "twiggy arms"?
Appreciate the post! The automatic sleeves make life so much easier! 40 years ago we only had compression sleeves. For #4 acsr they were about 24" long and had 2 plugs at the midpoint that you had to pull out before inserting the wire. Anti-ox would squirt out, then you had to crimp 14 BG (5/8 die single groove) crimps each side of center point, with a wooden handle press, rolling the wire/sleeve or the press each crimp or the sleeve would curve or curl! Almost a 2 person job, really difficult in the air!! Not to mention no-ox squirting out and getting on everything! The new shorter compression sleeves, hydraulic presses, double groove BG dies and automatics are a welcomed improvement!
As someone in a trades Job I absolutely envy the communication and professionalism.
That was a brilliant move touching the wire, and wrapping it at the base of the gate!!
Hey guys stay safe out there. I earthed a single wire earth return took all 3 shots of 19kva, lost both my legs nearly lost an arm. 30% of me is skingrafted after deep tissue burn.
It’s grips ya hard, doesn’t let go. The heat is extreme to say the least. The bangs are so loud! When they pass through you like a get hitting the sound barrier. The electricity exited through every part of my body. No one knows or understands how I survived it. I’m talking to my state providers to do speeches to linesmen in there crews.
Wow!
@@electron2601 complacency is the killer, we work in a dangerous environment and almost never see the danger after years n years you get more relaxed with safety and bang ya dead!
Sooo. Ins this particular video Aaron is grounded the live wire on either side of the break due to the fact that elections still are present in the line prior to rejoining of thy break or am I off earth on this one...
I have applied For a lines person apprenticeship in the UK. Currently halfway through the application process and I am excited!
As a distribution design engineer, its so cool seeing what I put on paper coming into fruition. I respect the work you do because just thinking about being near 7200v makes me pee, love the content!
This was one of your better videos from start to finish love the camera also I have always wondered about those sleeves that go on a broken line and now u have explained exactly 💯 how that works great job thanks mike iron river m.i.
Awesome! I really appreciate the feedback Mike! When it comes to larger wire we try and stick to compression sleeves some of them have a separate sleeve particular to the steel core that's contained within the outer aluminum sleeve.
Basically the steel sleeve holds the tension and the aluminum the ampacity.
@@Bobsdecline never realized the weight of the lines also think u said 500 pounds add wind etc amazing how u people can keep those lines up and wow u answered me back thanks really learn from your videos we relie so much on electricity thanks too all linemen and linewoman and all the people behind the scenes God bless and stay safe thanks mike
@@michaelgagne1911 you are from Iron River Michigan? Small world. Yours is the first comment on the list. Lol I'm from Florence Wisconsin, but I was living in Crystal Falls a few years ago. Have a great weekend!
Cool videos Bob👍...when grounding we were taught to never leave ground tails in the bucket with urself n always leave secured outside the bucket like on ur bucket hooks ..while installing or removing em...stay safe out there uall👍👍
As a spectator, I really appreciate your explanations of what you are doing. Stay safe.
Compelling watching makes us realise what a good job you guys do. Watching from the UK. Thank you.
I teach electrical trades at a high school in Michigan, many of our students go on to be lineman, will show this video to the future prospects as a great example of what a day might look like!! Thanks so much for sharing this I hope your company fully supports you in this effort it is a great way to share you what you do!
🤝 Thank you very much for taking the time to comment/share that! Means a lot 👊👊
Cheers!
Very good instructive video. Always wire brush the conductor and wire brush “ goop” ( no oxide) onto the conductor before putting it into splice. Better, use compression splices!
We call the automatics pickles. I always get a little paranoid when I see more than 1 of those in a span. Had one come apart on us during storm. Luckily no one got hurt. Keep up the good work.👊🏾
Good to see ya T! I just noticed ya had a new vid up too! We had an old batch where a few let go, these ones are much better. Have been using them for about 7 years now, haven't had any fail. Not intended for use on slack span tho
🔌
Thanks! I have learned a lot from you and your videos. Quite the job you all have to do. I had no idea the steps were so intricate, but it makes you safe. Thanks for keeping the lights on!
One of the reasons I started this channel actually! To help demonstrate what goes on behind the scenes and better explain why sometimes seemingly simply outages can take so long
Thanks Aaron for the video. Just another day with less then ideal working conditions. I can see that we have more tree trimming funds here in Maryland around primaries and secondary's. Not to mention many more automatic reclosers everywhere. Since I never did linework, never heard about radial feed and loop feeds, Thanks for the info. BTW, I've been watching temps in your area. Too cold for me!
We had a +20°C a few days ago! Lol... Then -35 with the next night 🤦♂️lol.
We've been experimenting with a few different reclosing products for these longer single phase lines.
Cheers!
My big brother is a lineman chicago local 9 IBEW I've been doing residential commercial electrical but I want to get into the lineman apprenticeship I've been watching your videos for months. Thank you for your inspiring videos!
40 years with san diego gas & electric and retired in 2020 , sure do miss it ! I love seeing the trouble men at work , good group of men............ Alan Thomas
Wow that's a very respectful career 🙌 Cheers Alan! Thanks for stopping by!
I’m testing for apprenticeship in a week. Green as grass so I’ve been studying hard and trying to take as much in as I can. Love the videos
Love the videos Always Aaron! I'm getting out of the US Navy as a Construction Electrician going to work for my local PUD back home! I'll be doing an awesome program offered for AD Military where I get to work with a company for the last 6 months of my Military time with all pay etc, and the company gets me for free; with the commitment that once everything works out I'll be endentured into my Lineman Apprenticeship as a 2nd step. I'll be a groundsman for those six months, no problem as I'll take it with strides. Gotta restart somewhere. I was a groundsman with a tree trimming around the lines prior to service so falling trees safely, etc I'll have that to also help as a new Lineman. I'm very excited! Finally getting closer! I'll start 09Dec this year! Love your videos, God Bless! Keep it up Brother! Local 125 here.
CO-OP not PUD. Lol I always get those mixed as we have both.
I’m doing skill bridge to for aep coast guard guy here internship starts April 8th excited
That snow looks really refreshing. Down here in LA (Lower Alabama) temps are flirting with the century mark (100 degrees F/38 degrees C for y'all) with high humidity.
Was in Huntsville summer of 1978 visiting my sister. July 2nd, and the humidity was so bad that night, it was like coming out of the shower, before taking it. Mosquitoes as big as a B-52.
What a fantastic video! He dropped that door in and I can't even see that high up! Kudos to the Young Man with the Transformer App!
The training app is FANTASTIC! Thats super work Trent!
Quite interesting to see that app uses Australia/NZ colour schemes for the wiring, vs USA/Canada. Neutral in Aus/NZ is black. Active (or hot as you say in US/Canada) is Red. Phase colours are red, white, blue (A, B, C, L1, L2, L3).
Always enjoy watching electrical line work from around the world. Thanks for sharing!
Great video as always Aaron. 2 lengths on the load bust. I like it!!! Never seen a guy burnt with 2 lengths of stick!!!
i really like that he says the instructions and yall repeat them back…more companies should use this practice
1 of the poles in my yard got replaced Friday, pretty impressive how they can do that without interrupting power, shame they had to leave part of the old pole because my fiber lines were on it.. Unfortunately, they didnt fully bury the line and broke a copper strand from the insulation some how, so i have Verizon coming out Monday.
Great video Thank you for what you do. Been looking at getting a job as a lineman but was wondering if you know if there is a age limit or cut off age. Im 47 and in good shape. Thanks again for all you and the crew's do.
Aaron, another great video. I've said it before, I have the utmost respect for our linemen, not so much for the company they work for. Our company got the award for worst customer service for a power company in the US.
I like your video's and they make it perfectly clear how dangerous a linemans job can be...
I am starting lineman school may 9th I have no idea about anything you are mentioning and talking about but your videos are very intriguing and I cannot wait to start learning more about everything this trade has to offer thank you for the awesome videos! Keep doing your thing brother !
hey man how’s the schooling going? i’m starting soon enough
@@Tiegen.Reibin im heading to school in July man. Have no clue what he's talking about but stoked to learn
@@Tiegen.Reibin finished school got a decent job with a contractor got my CDL hopefully can get on with a utility company here soon that’s closer to home
@@alexnalley9942 do you have Facebook? Considering lineman and would love to ask you some questions.
@@alexnalley9942it’s been a year! Any update on your journey? Hope all is well
Wise beyond your years! Great videos.👍👍😁
I'm currently in Line School, I love your videos!
Its very nice that you made a video about this, my dad actually just started working for a contracted company connected to oncore, and i have no idea what he does when hes out there, all i know is that he is a pole setter. And i dont wanna say its a coincedence, but id say about 2 weeks ago he and a few other men went out to fix and lay a few new poles. But the thing was the initial poles needed to be pulled because they were damage etc. Well acompaning him was a new guy and he had never been around electrical work or anything related to his new job. ( no names will be named ) but they had a foreman and the new guy was to be directed on what to do by said foreman. This new guy couldnt have been but maybe 20 yrs old man, so his foreman instructed him to get the tools needed and get ready for the job, but the new guy unfortunately didnt understand that he wasnt instructed to start working. He just wanted to start working and see what his new job was about and there's nothing wrong with that. But the electricity was STILL ON, everything he was about to touch was ON. And unfortunately on the day he did touch those wires and fried about 70 percent of his body. I have no further information on whether or not he is still here today, but I pray to the good lord above that he have mercy on his soul, and when my dad came back and told me what had happened, i told him he needs to seriously find a different line of work. But i do understand someone has to do it, but i stress to EVERYONE, whether your shooting guns, welding cuttin wood.. WEAR YOUR PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. It may save your life...
That's very unfortunate 😔 but thank you for sharing. Like you said, regardless of the trade, we have to be safe. I even wear safety glasses now when "whipper snipping" the lawn 🤓
It's amazing what you done with such a long stick. I could never do that. Good that I'm an engineer, not a lineman ^^
I got a good one for you. I went to turn on the 240v heater/AC unit (13,000 BTU) the other night (the sun heats up the room during the day). When it went on my clock in the bedroom which is plugged into a surge protector with other items reset back to flashing 12:01, giving a minute for me to travel from the living room to the bedroom. Your thoughts.
Love you channel.
Long live the mullet! Props to your company for allowing you to make these videos!
Thank you for all of your hard work in restoring power in times of severe weather. Going out when it's -30˚F during a blizzard to restore power is truly appreciated. I take a neutral stance of the neutral subject.
Thanks for another great video.
Lineman from NY sending love 💪🏾💯
New subscriber! I’m a union laborer working mostly in road construction and pipe work, love the videos it’s nice to see how you guys work it’s pretty awesome! Much love from central Massachusetts
Great episode. Love all the first person footage of what you do.
Awesome video brother. Very good job explaining procedures and what we do in the field. May I suggest looking into using pole banners. They are a reusable velcro pole wrap, reflective orange high visibility, and has 'MEN WORKING LINE". They are great to have, especially during storms when there are contractors all over the place. I usually carry three of them with me for multiple locations on a job. I simply put my pole banner 6' above ground at the open point, fuse, or switch. Anyone that gets called out to my job can't miss seeing it and they know someone is already there working on the line. The pole banner also has clear pockets for switching tags. Just a suggestion to keep you a little bit safer. Can't tell you how many times I've been dispatched to a job during storms and another crew shows up to the same job because a supervisor sent them there.
Stay safe bro. 🙂
I agree! The banners are much easier to see than the tags we use. That's a great tip!Thank you 🤝 Like you said especially for storm work or working outside of our area.
Cheers man! 🍻👊
I highly appreciate the videos you do! I fairly recently got out of a pre-apprentice lineman school this past August 2021, and have been tossing out resumes and applications since to get hired as an apprentice. Right now, it's possible that I might be doing underground, in hopes that I can get on with the company's overhead crew. You have no idea of how many things you've refreshed me on, like as you were explaining stuff, my mind immediately takes me back to the lineman school and I immediately start to understand what you're talking about!
I'm gonna try calling my old lady the "Load Buster".... Pray for my safety boys! I'll probably be on the couch for the next week if anyone needs me. 😆
Lol
Very fascinating. Greatly enjoyed it
First time seeing your videos, you did really well and covered everything in great detail. Stay safe out there and keep doing exactly what your doing.
I also really like that the change was captured on the tail board (we call them Pre Job Briefs PJB) and it was communicated to everyone.
Thanks Bruce! Appreciate the comments, and you guys be safe too! 👊🤝
I'm going to be starting lineman school soon, I'm subscribing to learn more about this field. Thanks for the info 👍
Did you start? Stay? What is your status?
You must have world class depth perception to install that door like you did. Stay safe and warm up there!
Command and response hall, very important in all aspects of the job! (When he was talking to dispatch)
Great vid! I also took notice of your finger discipline when holding the come along grip. Can tell you're a military man lol. Stay safe out there!
That's an interesting observation! I didn't even notice until you mentioned it! 👊🍻
Trent is a Genius !! Why didn’t I ever think of making a transformer app to practice banks omg I’m blown away lol
As a linesman in the U.K I enjoyed seeing your way of work. We have similarities, the only difference being is you have far better equipment than us. We could only dream of them trucks 💪
as an apprentice lineman this is an amazing channel to just stumble on
How difficult is the apprenticeship?
I've had a trouble ticket open for over 5 weeks with my own power utility for high voltage. I've been in contact 1 - 2 times a week with customer service with no resolution (and promises of call backs that don't happen). One of my cousins knows someone on the distribution side (but he does commercial power, not residential), but he still has access to substations, etc. Checked voltage there and it's spot on, but there is a transformer bank that feeds my neighborhood (steps down 13.8kv down to either 4.4kv or 7.8kv... can't remember which... my plant is very old), but that bank is configured with a 2.5% boost. He gave me a copy of the plant map that feeds my neighborhood which was pretty cool. Voltage here floats right around 252v, but routinely coasts up to 256v. It's a problem for me being a solar customer - my stuff shuts down if grid voltage goes over 252v, so it disables itself a LOT. Company said they have a 5% +- tolerance so I'm right at the high limit constantly.
Question for you... What are the average resolution times for high voltage tickets submitted by residential customers for the utility you work for, if you even get those? I'm here in the US and I know you're our neighbor to the north... just trying to get a potential idea of how much longer I may need to wait.
Oh man that sucks! Our high voltage calls are typically resolved "same day", unless of course it's during a storm. Your definitely running at the high voltage limit. Our acceptable range is 238v - 252v, any calls outside of that range are rectified.
It's possible that some "tap" settings or voltage regulators nearby need some fine tuning. It can be tricky at times on Long stretches of line the first few customers may experience some higher voltages compared to the end of the line but if it's a constant issue it may involve some additional equipment on the lines
@@Bobsdecline Thank you for the prompt response. Here, the USA regulation is actually +-10% which is really significant, but my utility does +-5%. Part of my interconnect agreement with the electric company is that my solar equipment is set to disable at the same tolerances, +-5%. I have panels and storage (batteries) here. Got tired of $170 - $180 electric bills during the summer. :) Got the batteries because I lose power here 2 - 4 times a year, anywhere from a few hours to 5 days. The system is pretty sweet. Has a built in ATS (automatic transfer switch that they call an RTS - rapid transfer switch) that allows the batteries and solar panels to function without grid input. It was AWESOME last year when I lost power for 2 1/2 days due to storms.
The commercial distribution guy went through all of the hardware between myself and the switching station and he has it narrowed down to that transformer bank with the configured boost. There's 3, big, fat cans on a pole a short walk away (I went and found it). No voltage regulation feeding my neighborhood - something I learned from one of your older videos with the 3, tall, huge cans sitting between two poles. I've seen a set of those on a main road. It was cool to know what those are now, so thank you for that. Any other regulation is done right at the switching station. I'm about a mile away from it.
Anyway, guess I get to continue screeching at customer service again next week. Thank you for letting me know what your utility's turn-around typically is.
Ask your state's commission to make an inquiry on your behalf. You will probably hear back from the utility company with a quick resolution and the phone number of a person they would rather you call instead of the public utility commission should you have any problems in the future.
@@williamdegnan4718 Hmmm... didn't even think of this. Sounds a bit like a last resort; I did request a supervisor last time and my trouble status did change, but no fix yet. I will try ringing them again early next week and see if I can get any sort of update as to the fix. If I reach a dead end as I have been, I may try presenting that option. I don't know how fast a government office will be though. But thank you for bubbling up this option! I found the site for my state and it looks pretty easy to submit a complaint.
What really frustrates me is that a cousin of mine works in customer service for that utility, and says he absolutely cannot help me due to call center regulations and potential for conflicts of interest, so even if I got lucky and got him on the phone, he'd have to transfer me away. I have a trouble ticket which he says he can't do anything with, nor can his supervisor (they would insist I call in). Customer service is dead to them. 😬
@@russael001 2.5 day outage, guessing Texas. I'm in an Oncor area, but luckily my power in the last 24 hours ranged from 120/119.2 to 124.5/124.3.
Last month when we had that massive snow storm a FEDEx truck slid into a pole and took out half the town’s power. Two crews showed up in the nastiest weather possible. My mom and sisters made them hot chocolate and I took thermos jugs out to them. Took four loads to get hot chocolate into all of them. They initially politely refused but the boss said it was okay so they drank. Took them 3 hours to get the new pole set and another three getting all the lines hung. Not bad considering the weather and the ground was frozen solid. Love my lineman!
bet they got paid real well too😉💯
Thank you. Nice app. Purchased.
Great video 👊🏼From Clearwater, Florida🇺🇸💯
Excelente
I love these linemen type videos 🥰🥰
God bless Man U did a fantastic job recording this💪🏼
I work for a cable company. Those automatic sleeves you talk about we call pickles lol. I actually hate them. They fail somewhat easily. I've literally repaired 1/2 inch strand and then a few hours later they break. What we normally do is use a preformed straight splice. Power does here as well. I'm assuming it's because of the extreme heat here in Texas. Maybe makes the strand contract I'm not sure. I love it watching your videos Aaron they are amazing and show so much.
Where I come from it’s the other way around. Heat causes thermal expansion. However… it probably has more to do with staying inbetween design parameters. It’s crazy just how many variables should be considered before installing a sleeve.
Also, here in Texas, a pickle would be used to splice guy wire or messenger cable generally.
Please guys be safe!
the amount of trust, the company puts in you
How do you inspect the lines without going in the bucket do you use drones or helicopters?
Thanks for the shoutout! You have a very helpful and educational channel here and I love that I could be a part of it, even in a small way. Keep up the great work and stay safe out there!
The skill you used with the Load buster and removal of the Cutout was freaking epic at the 13:00 min mark I have a contract for the Toronto Blue jays and The yankees waiting for ya based off ur bat speed!! Though you'd probly prefer to snipe a Goalie from the blue line with that stick being Canadian!!!
Hah! Just left the rink with my son too. Young fella got a short handed goal tonight🚀
@@Bobsdecline go little rock star. .. a short handed can be a game changer. Paul Coffey would agree!
Ever work on transmission lines parralleing a railroad? if any wire hits the track rail it can become energized, regardless of energy on the track itself like a 100hz or 91.6hz track circuit or propulsion retun. We had a 60k wire 60hz fall on our lines (100hz 5k) and hut and the surge blew each hut in turn and fried alot of stuff. Huts are grounded and like a farday cage but the ground can feed in. Our system is isolated and has two condutors off of the transformer.
That load Buster is very safe to unlocking the cutout.🙂
Thanks so much for XMFR Ref APP Downloaded it! Great job 24 year old lineman just purchased 👍 the app! Nice work! Also, added "Bobdecline" 1 person I've ever followed ~£d So*Cal Orange County 🍊
Must be pretty good amperage to use a solid blade. Those telescopic stick certainly can save a climb on back lot switches!!
I’m going into this field for work and I don’t know any about it so hopefully I can get a basic knowledge of it from these videos
That is some scary stuff 😳! I got stuck to a wall outlet being an idiot in electronics class in high-school. NEVER want to feel that again! (Playing drums on an outlet with two screw drivers, teacher laughed louder than the whole class!)
Such a cool video I love the pov working shots
I work in telecommunications so we don’t go as high nor do we even work on the same components, but I love these videos. Makes me want to take the jump over to Energy…😂
Hey man, love learning from your videos. I have few questions/ video ideas that I'm interested to see.
I'm curious about the political side of your job. Do you have a direct boss or multiple direct bosses?? Does he have to watch you work a number of times per month to make sure you're being safe? Are there post quality inspections done on your work? Is there company safety guy who will pull up on you unannounced? What does your boss do? Is he an engineer or a former lineman? Who do you call at 3am when you need backup, your boss? Dispatch? Etc? Do you ever have to discuss plans with your engineering team or get approval for your management team to do things that may our of the ordinary? What happens when your boss is on vacation? Who controls your route? Just dispatch or does your boss move orders around? What about his boss and your company rank structure? Do you know the CEO and ever interface with him? Do you have train people? Do you have to attend meeting with your team or is it really just you on your team? What else is the cb radio used for and what policies are concerning the radio? Are there any obscure company policies that people wouldn't expect like no smoking ever or you must wear long sleeves at all times? You could do an entire video on some of the company policies that the layman wouldn't expect you to have.
Obviously you can't give intimate details like names or specific processes. But this would be an easy and interesting video(s) you could do from your cab or dining room table and i would appreciate the info.
Thanks!
Question, i recently quit for constantly being threatened with termination...have you ever quit? Or just deal with all the trade madness?
Very good idol..I'm also a lineman I'm work here in phillipines
Always enjoy your videos Aaron. Stay safe and healthy. 🤛
I'm looking into getting into being a lineman. In the future is there opportunities to move up in the company?
So I got what might be kind of a dumb question. Last week we had a snow storm come into the area. The snow was extremely wet and icy and it brought down a ton of trees and branches. We responded for plowing and I was sent out with a partner to start clearing some of the trees that were blocking our roads. In our travels, we noticed a tree that was smoking. We stopped and checked it out and determined that the snow had caused the branches to sag enough to wear they were in contact with the primary which was now burning the tree. We made contact with the homeowner to advise them since it was right in their front yard. They told us fire had already responded and looked at it and told them not to worry about it. However, the tree was still burning from the electricity. So my question is, was this tree energized and if so could the ground have become energized due to the snow? Should we have kept people away? Seems to me if an ice and snow covered tree is actively smoking where a power line is touching it, then that line is probably energized, at least thats what common sense tells me. Am I wrong? Loved this video, would like to see more like it.
yes, the ground will be energized, and the voltage does go down with distance... but who really know how far is safe. When you don't know it's best to maintain at least one pole span away. BTW, the danger here is there's enough power in the ground to give you a voltage difference every few feet, which means the space between your steps (say 3 feet apart) can have lethal voltage, and that can travel up one leg and down another as you walk. If the power stays on long enough the tree will be compromised and pieces will fall. The flip side is the draw is too much and and the power goes out, but the tree will keep smoldering.
First time seeing this, I hope more do. You guys do an awesome job restoring power. If more saw what you guys go through they would understand that it's a process and safety is definately the main concern.
1:45 that is incredibly scary. Thank goodness it was a dead neutral.
Ha! Found a Geo cash doing tree work for oncor/txu here in Texas
Much respect to you sir!
I'm a communication lineman and want to become a power lineman. In AZ, they require a class A CDL and passing a test. Does it make more sense to get past the test first, then get the CDL?
Get the cdl just in case you can’t pass the lineman test
Hi I'm Michael from Indianola Iowa
I like watching your show
Curious watching these after all the crap going on in houston with our grid being crapped right now due to the tropical storm
New to the channel. Great videos, content and information 👍🏽
Wow, three way comms seems over kill for single phase. But to each their own, nothing wrong with being safe.
Is there a possibility of corrosion using the sleeves? are there dissimilar metals grabbing the ACSR? Always been a fan of Straight wraps tho I am in Telecom with Steel strand
There's always the possibility, but they are pretty resistant to corrosion in normal circumstances.
While I can't remember the exact make-up, The metals aren't as different as using aluminium to copper. I'll have to check into that!
The wedges inside might be brass...
We don't often find these sleeves corroded and when we do it's very close to salt air where the steel core of the entire span it's already suffering
Excellent safety procedures 👍
Fascinating.
Good job Aaron.
I journey out in a few months, have that same app as well