Not for the squeamish...
https://www.facebook.com/reel/3980098018942101

 

Not for the squeamish...
https://www.facebook.com/reel/3980098018942101

Looks like AI generated fake.
The arc starts in the wrong place, monkeys with fast reflexes don't respond.

 

Spoiler

 

I was a bit suspicious as anytime a critter gets across the high side of a transformer there is usually quite a bang! And, true, there was almost no reaction from the other Macaques.

 

Certainly it was a fake. Just look at where the arc is sown to start: In the middle of an area with no source of electricity!
THIS is just what I have come to expect from fakebook: faked everything. If you have watched an arc-flash safety video, power arcs don't work that way.

 

Maybe it's just because I am the only house on the transformer, but a few years ago I had a squirrel that worked it's way too close to the transformer and blew the fuse out by the road. The power went out, I walked the 250 ft to the road, and noticed the fuse holder hanging open. After calling the power company I went out to take a another look and found a dead squirrel on the ground under the transformer on the pole next to my house. The squirrel looked perfectly normal other than being dead. The lineman came out, walked the line, and met up with me at the squirrel. I mentioned it seemed weird that there were no signs of arcs and he acted like it was perfectly normal. He went back to the truck, set up, replaced the fuse, and everything was fine.

 

The squirrel must have made a good connection to have drawn enough current to pop the fuse.

 

Or, the dead squirrel just happen to be lying on the ground at that spot and its demise had nothing to do with the power outage.

 

The street I live on is short. My best guess is the upper 3 Phase is maybe 50 KV with a lower 3 Phase of the standard 7 KV. The 7 KV lines feed the two transformers feeding 240 VAC split phase to the residences. The residences on the west end fed by one transformer and those on the east end fed by another transformer. I am on the East end. A few years ago we had a rash of squirrels managing to get across the 7 KV feeding the West transformer. It was really weird in that one a week was getting fried or more like exploded. Yes, they literally exploded as could be seen by their carcasses. Two identical transformers yet for reasons beyond me it was only the west transformer. There came the loud bang, about like a 12 gauge shotgun from the positive disconnect and half the street lost power. Reasons unknown to me it was only the one transformer? This went on for weeks at about one a week. Been several years and it hasn't happened again but my guess is about 10 squirrels exploded.

Or, the dead squirrel just happen to be lying on the ground at that spot and its demise had nothing to do with the power outage.

In my case they definitely were literally exploding. All there was left was pieces and parts.

Ron

 

The squirrel must have made a good connection to have drawn enough current to pop the fuse.

Using some "standard" numbers I found online if I calculated it right my 200 amp service from 7200 volts primary should equal 6.7 amps at the pole. I'm going to guess the fuse is going to be probably 10 amp to allow my main to trip first in the event something catastrophic happens which sounds like it should have caused some form of visible damage. Of course all of this is pure guessing so I could be wrong on every level. The only thing I know for sure is I have a 200 amp main breaker.

According to the power company web site it can be as high as 34,500 volts, but it doesn't break down what voltages for what purposes.

Or, the dead squirrel just happen to be lying on the ground at that spot and its demise had nothing to do with the power outage.

That thought did cross my mind, but with the local wildlife dead animals don't last long. My first thought was something to do with the trees the line is close to.

At any rate it was an interesting morning.

 

If an arc is established a lot more current can flow. An arc has a much lower resistance.

 

We had squirrels blow the fuse a couple of times and it was way louder than a 12ga going off and no dead squirrel remains found. After that, they installed a Squirrel Guard on the XFMR and it hasn't reoccurred. It didn't start happening until after they put through a 3-phase high line. Never happened with the old single phase high line. Had the same XFMR so they didn't change the high line voltage. We live in a Federally Registered Historical Area so the road right of way is only 60' with trees arching over the road so there are plenty of squirrels. Most of the big trees are Live Oaks and they had one heck of a job snaking the roadway and high line through the trees. What we do have are monthly outages due to tree limbs on the high wire every we have heavy thunderstorms with high winds as a front moves through. I have grown quite fond of the pyroelectric light shows from the arcing and am very familiar with the sound of high voltage 60Hz buzzing away in front of the house when it happens until it blows the main line fuses up the road. The "Little Old Ladies" scream bloody murder any time they even look at their trees and even louder when they cut on one and I've had a few conversations with the Asplundh and county road crews myself. And, of course, Helene pushed a tree down at our gate and broke off our XFMR with its main line pole for the high line so it took several days for outside emergency line crews to put in a new pole and re-cable the high line and was an outage for the next 7 miles of homes. I did get a 22 KVA XFMR to replace the 15KVA feeding out 200A panel (it was all they had on the truck at the time) and there are the remains of the puddle of askarel still on the roadway from where the old XFMR ruptured when it hit the roadway. Which is why my wife demanded a whole house generator and which project is nearing completion. 26 kWh Generac propane fed with 500 gal. (actually 400) tank. Still waiting on tank delivery and installation and tying in the feed line to the house to the XFER switch.

 

My sympathy on the generac. They do require more service than others and at least in the past there were no local service locations, meaning that any service parts had to be ordered and shipped by slow-boat.
I have a "Portable" 5500 watt triple fuel generator and discovered that propane is an expensive fuel. Gasoline is the cheapest but least convenient fuel. I have been planning the route for a natural gas line from the meter in front to the generator in back, but it will mean a lot of trenching, so the project has not started yet. The 25 pound propane tank runs it about five hours at full load, so does four gallons of gasoline at less than half the cost.

 

No natural gas out here. Even though the Generac constantly runs at its designated speed the load on the 26kW alternator will not be at full load and should consume ~1.5 gph which for 400 gal. of propane is ~11 days. So, for typical non blown away hurricane, which hasn't hit since 1896, the outage is ~5 days to get the trees off the lines. Plus, the weekly 15-minute maintenance test runs and our typical 5 hours a month tree limb outage that will be a yearly top off needed. Propane storage is far superior to gasolene or deisel (which I would prefer). Storage would call for "marine" non-ethanol gas and even without all the road taxes it is still more expensive than propane and not as stable in storage. The engine is not the Generac engine but a 2-cylinder Kohler which I have found to be very reliable. Also, the Genrac has the ability to automatically notify maintenance guys via internet phone connection that service is required. They are also scheduled for regular maintenance to filters, plugs, oil, and such. Being here on the hurricane prone coast there are quite a few Generac maintenance guys and I get almost immediate response from them when needed. Generac installed ~10k, 500 gal. filled propane tank installed ~100' from Generac ~2k. Satisfied Wife, Priceless!

 

Or, the dead squirrel just happen to be lying on the ground at that spot and its demise had nothing to do with the power outage.

I've had squirrels and birds blow fuses. One time a woodpecker was zapped and was hanging upside down for a few days right next to the fuse. Once it fell it looked fairly intact.

 

My sympathy on the generac. They do require more service than others and at least in the past there were no local service locations, meaning that any service parts had to be ordered and shipped by slow-boat.
I have a "Portable" 5500 watt triple fuel generator and discovered that propane is an expensive fuel. Gasoline is the cheapest but least convenient fuel. I have been planning the route for a natural gas line from the meter in front to the generator in back, but it will mean a lot of trenching, so the project has not started yet. The 25 pound propane tank runs it about five hours at full load, so does four gallons of gasoline at less than half the cost.

I have no clue where you are but my Generac requires no more maintenance than any similar unit. Parts? No problem at all and here I sit in the Cleveland, Ohio suburbs. All parts are readily available. I started with a 4.0 KW (5.0 KW Surge) Coleman power Mate which I still have (gasoline powered) followed by a 13 KW Generac which served well for 11 years and currently have a 16 KW Generac over the last 4years. The latter two units run on Natural Gas which I have. Never had a problem with any Generac and they require no more service or maintenance than similar units. I like the idea of more than enough power along with auto transfer. Can you show me where a Generac requires more service?

Ron

 

I had something here, but found out I missed some valuable information