Yesterday at work, power went out for the facility. We have approximately 1400 people working here, and when power goes out, it can be a very big deal for several of our production lines.
A few deal with vats of molten aluminum, some have giant ovens for baking ceramic materials to be used in other products, etc...
This was discovered...
Yes, those are flash burn marks inside one of the main power switching stations. The voltages coming through this box are MUCH MUCH higher than your home..
One of the arc marks on a section, with the burn marks all around it..
This is the OUTSIDE of the panel that caught the flash. It scorched through the panel and burned the paint.
The culprit.... You know he didn't feel a thing.
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12:17 PM
PFF
System Bot
jaskispyder Member
Posts: 21510 From: Northern MI Registered: Jun 2002
Had a critter short out one of the 15KV trunk lines down the street here, the explosion was heard inside the building, took power down for a while. Raccoon shorted one of our 440V crane buses, found pieces in surprising places, more later after a few days of hot Texas weather.
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01:13 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40712 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Yeah, usually around here we have a substation go out for the town.... a squirrel is the problem... poof! whoops!
Squirrels are a huge problem. We call them "pole rats".
Most of the time when you hear a kaboom and the lights go out, it's because a squirrel has taken an unfortunate step from an energized conductor, to the (grounded) top of a transformer. (The kaboom is the transformer fuse blowing.) Just messes up their whole day.
Snakes and birds cause us some trouble too, but nothing like squirrels. (Just another reason to hate squirrels.)
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01:42 PM
Xanth Member
Posts: 6886 From: Massachusetts Registered: May 2006
Squirrels are a huge problem. We call them "pole rats".
Most of the time when you hear a kaboom and the lights go out, it's because a squirrel has taken an unfortunate step from an energized conductor, to the (grounded) top of a transformer. (The kaboom is the transformer fuse blowing.) Just messes up their whole day.
Snakes and birds cause us some trouble too, but nothing like squirrels. (Just another reason to hate squirrels.)
I wondered why the equipment is built in such a manner that a squirrel can take us down. Is it just old design or is there some need for it to be that open?
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01:49 PM
87antuzzi Member
Posts: 11151 From: Surrounded by corn. Registered: Feb 2009
I wondered why the equipment is built in such a manner that a squirrel can take us down. Is it just old design or is there some need for it to be that open?
Keep it simple and easy to work on. Im also surprised there is rodent left to take a pic of. 3 phase is not pretty when it messes up somethings day (BOOM).
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02:11 PM
spark1 Member
Posts: 11159 From: Benton County, OR Registered: Dec 2002
Squirrels are a huge problem. We call them "pole rats".
Most of the time when you hear a kaboom and the lights go out, it's because a squirrel has taken an unfortunate step from an energized conductor, to the (grounded) top of a transformer. (The kaboom is the transformer fuse blowing.) Just messes up their whole day.
Snakes and birds cause us some trouble too, but nothing like squirrels. (Just another reason to hate squirrels.)
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09:22 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40712 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
I wondered why the equipment is built in such a manner that a squirrel can take us down. Is it just old design or is there some need for it to be that open?
Probably a cost/complexity vs liability issue, although I'm not a designer so I don't really know.
Things could probably be made squirrel resistent (NEVER squirrel proof) but at what cost?
Aside from that, "dumb" animals are quite resourceful. An animal that is determined enough will find a way to off himself in a spectacular manner, in spite of our best efforts.
