Re: steam power

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>

> 
> << Lookout for strokes coming back down the spray...
>     Firemen working near energized HV lines use explicit grounds
>     on the nozzles to reduce risks.
> 
>     best
>     dwp
>   >>
> 
> Hi Dave P, all,
> 
> I don't mean to start an argument, but I have been a firefighter as my "real"
> profession for the past 12+ years here in my hometown (Memphis), and I've
> never heard of "grounding" a nozzle to reduce the risk of electrocution, when
> fighting a fire near energized electrical equipment. 
 
> >>*It's a safety issue and people are using this technique with coils... -
> Terry<<

Comment:

	Don't know about the fire fighters, who have enough safety problems
without worrying about electrocution, but Southern California Edison
(and presumably all other utilities) routinely wash off the insulators
on HV transmission lines; I've often seen it done and have been told
(electric power transmission class in grad school) it's done with the
line hot.  Nozzle and nozzle holder are on top of a cherry picker
mounted on a truck. and brought up to perhaps from the insulators.  In
at least once case the insulators being washed were on the 220 kV HV
line which, as far as I know, was the only source of power for the area
I was in, which would tend to verify that the lines were not disabled. 
Someone here must have better knowledge as to what is really done.

Ed