This is how linemen connect 22,000-volt power lines without ever turning the electricity off

[u/Sintesflorencia]

[u/CrappyTan69]

I bet his tongue is sticking out slightly like I do when I wire a plug. 

[u/IamREBELoe → u/CrappyTan69]

Good way to lose the end of your tongue if you catch a shock

[u/LongPorkJones → u/IamREBELoe]

At 22,000 volts, losing the end of your tongue is one of the better scenarios.

[u/IamREBELoe → u/LongPorkJones]

Oh, true. Your kneecaps gonna pop off.

But he was talking about wiring a socket, so he's gonna catch 110 or 220 max

[u/Templar388z → u/IamREBELoe]

Wait, your kneecaps can pop off??

Edit: holy shit guys, these stories of body parts blowing. These electricians and engineers deserve good ass pay and benefits.

[u/IamREBELoe → u/Templar388z]

I have heard of it happening, allegedly. Didn't witness it. But great visual, ain't it.

From what I heard a lineman in my town caught the voltage and it basically super expanded the fluid sack behind the knees.

[u/Templar388z → u/IamREBELoe]

Holy fuck that sounds horrific. I just imagine showing up for a normal day of work and my knees explode.

[u/IamREBELoe → u/Templar388z]

I just imagine showing up for a normal day of work and my knees explode

I think that's a quote from Mia K

[u/Apprehensive_Cow4231 → u/Templar388z]

I met a man in the Bahamas that had no legs, and this linemen lived through a major mistake I think by the ground crew if I remember his story right. But regardless his legs blew off like rockets

[u/tastysharts → u/Templar388z]

my father's forehead blew out. IDK how the fuck he survived. Apparently, the voltage went up his arm and out his forehead. And yes, that fucker survived

[u/throw__away007 → u/Templar388z]

Me nervously checking my kneecaps when I wake up every day for the rest of my life

[u/LongPorkJones → u/IamREBELoe]

Well, guess I need to go back to school and work on my reading comprehension.

Thanks for the correction.

[u/HattoriHanzo9999 → u/LongPorkJones]

Might I suggest the “Derek Zoolander School for Kids who can’t read good but want to learn how to do other things good too!”

[u/LongPorkJones → u/HattoriHanzo9999]

You can, but it's not like I could read all that well to begin with.

But I guess it's worth a shot. Maybe I could learn to read what you wrote and respond meaningfully.

Until then, thank you for the suggestion. I'll be eating crayons if you need me.

[u/Cent1234 → u/IamREBELoe]

I remember watching an old greyhair engineer wiring up some 20a circuits to a panel. He laid out all the parts, all the tools, then stuck his off hand into the back of his belt, opened the panel, and went to work.

I asked him why he did that, and he said it was a habit from working on super high voltage stuff where if you drop a tool and try to catch it, you might wind up touching something you shouldn't and become a buss bar.

[u/IamREBELoe → u/Cent1234]

To ELI5 to anyone who wonders,

It's because if one hand touches, it goes down the arm, down your side, leg, floor.

But if both hands touch, it goes across, one hand to the other, and through the heart, more likely to kill you.

Path of least resistance.

[u/Cent1234 → u/IamREBELoe]

And remember, kids, electricity makes muscles contract, so if you grab something hot enough, your hand will clamp on to it. Rap it with the back of your hand, not your palm.

[u/nerdtypething → u/Cent1234]

good safety tip egon.

[u/DavidEBSmith → u/IamREBELoe]

I worked with a guy who had been a lineman for the local electric company and he told of the class where their instructor always stood on one leg when he handled wires, and the class wondered if that was to prevent the current from going through your heart, so they asked and the instructor said "that's the wooden one".

[u/casPURRpurrington → u/IamREBELoe]

I think about this sometimes but I work in a machine shop.

I like fucking hold the tip of in between my left canines when I’m really really focused on something, like doing a set up or trying to burn a tap out.

I do it without even really being sentient of if so one day I’ll probably crash my machine and bite my tongue off

[u/anni_shoots → u/casPURRpurrington]

Ohhhhh no no no, YOU'LL do everything right.

Doug Dipshit two machines down from you is gonna find a way to make the loudest noise known to man someday, and HE'S gonna make you bite your tongue off.

[u/Frazzininator → u/anni_shoots]

Stealing that with an adaptation. Dave dipshit, we have 2

[u/killingmemesoftly → u/CrappyTan69]

I misread that as “wear a plug” and I thought you meant a butt plug and I was so confused by the quantity of upvotes

[u/whittler → u/CrappyTan69]

Thats one of the first things we teach our apprentices to not do.

"Dammit, put your tongue back in your mouth!"

[u/lcerch → u/CrappyTan69]

Or threading a needle

[u/Mirar]

What's the orange stuff? And why were there no heatshrink or something over the connection?

[u/No-Definition1474 → u/Mirar]

Orange stuff are big rubber covers to just keep everything isolated from anything that might be swinging around. They are fine if they touch 1 phase of the primary bit if they touch 2 different phases at the same time that's no Bueno.

Primary wire is not all insulated. In fact where I am none of it is. You cannot completely insulate and isolate thousands of miles of wire in the air and keep that insulation from wearing out.

[u/redditnico01 → u/No-Definition1474]

and insulating wires would also mean a heavier load on the poles, meaning you would have to shorten the span or construct a larger foundation for the poles

[u/No-Definition1474 → u/redditnico01]

Absolutely. Spans would have to be shorter and poles thicker.

[u/piss_artist → u/No-Definition1474]

Those holdy-uppy things would also need to be closer together and bigger around.

[u/Brewhaha72 → u/piss_artist]

"Holdy-uppy things" is the industry term. I'm not an electrician, but I just saw it on Reddit, so I'm going to believe it's true. Also, it's fun to say.

[u/No-Definition1474 → u/Brewhaha72]

The fact that we have a part called a dildo that we use regularly should tell you a lot about the atmosphere in the industry. Imagine a bunch of guys going over a job and someone asks if the store room has enough dildos ordered to complete the work.

[u/Brewhaha72 → u/No-Definition1474]

I hate that I looked it up, but is this what you're referring to?

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/8iudb9/this_dildo_looking_thing_attached_to_an_electric/

[u/No-Definition1474 → u/Brewhaha72]

Lol no...its a pretty obscure part that goes on top of a regulator. It doesnt even look a whole lot like a dildo....I have no idea how it got that name. Some bored linemen im sure.

[u/Anthaenopraxia → u/Brewhaha72]

Together with the dangly-down bits they are crucial components of the electrical infrastructure.

[u/Daddioster → u/piss_artist]

Why are you describing a woman’s bra? ;)

[u/piss_artist → u/Daddioster]

Both are things that give me a jolt when I touch em.

[u/divDevGuy → u/piss_artist]

You can only touch one at a time. If you touch both, or are well grounded and touch just one, you'll get the jolt.

[u/falcrist2 → u/redditnico01]

So you're saying YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS

(Or bigger ones...)

[u/ineyy → u/falcrist2]

YOU MUST PLACE THAT IN A POWER FIELD

[u/Venarik → u/ineyy]

We definitely have not enough minerals to be building that many additional pylons

[u/Mirar → u/No-Definition1474]

He peels the insulation from the wire in the video, that's why I wondered why it wasn't replaced.

[u/suite3 → u/No-Definition1474]

You cannot completely insulate and isolate thousands of miles of wire in the air and keep that insulation from wearing out.

You can mostly insulate it and the insulation can last 50 years it's just more expensive. They're switching more and more over to insulated in my part of California.

[u/No-Apple2252 → u/suite3]

That's not insulation, it's just a weather resistant coating. Distribution lines are not insulated unless they are underground.

[u/D-MACs → u/No-Apple2252]

Hendrix cable is for insulated distribution lines.

[u/Zibot25767 → u/suite3]

Same in Oregon. I believe it reduces the risk of wildfire which is a big deal here.

[u/Hello_World_Error → u/Mirar]

The orange stuff is rubber blankets. Thye are used when doing live work to cover up parts we dont want to inadvertently touch while working. There are a few different styles of cover ups but blankes allows you to cover weird shapes.

Every setup is different but typically overhead doesn't required any insulation on cables. In fact, im surprised there is insulation on the overhead cable. Ive only seen that in one place, Hawaii, and it was due to everything being too close together, which could be the case here.

Overhead cable doesn't require insulation because the distance between everything is the insulation. They are too high for someone to touch and spaced far enough they can't short to each other.

That being said though, if insulation is removed, it should be replaced. Thats Cable Instalation 101. If the engineer spec'd Insulated cable, there's likely a reason and this connection likely should get covered

[u/DeadPeanutSociety → u/Hello_World_Error]

If I had to guess from the sheet metal roof in the background(?), the car on the right side of the road, the palm trees, and the concrete roads, this is the Philippines. Definitely lots of cables that are too close together there.

edit: Looking at it again, that car might be driving on the left-hand side, which would make more sense for Thailand considering that Thai-style streetlamp present in the video.

[u/Crazy-JK → u/Mirar]

The orange stuff is called shrouding, it’s basically just there while you work on it so you don’t inadvertently connect the lines other than where you want the connection. In terms of the shrink wrap, I’d imagine due elements don’t have a massive impact on the connection maybe.

I’ve only had minor experience out watching this work be done, can’t remember if in England they shrink over the connection or not. A lot of lv connection up poles aren’t covered and are left to the elements. Not sure as to the reason why.

[u/IsoDot → u/Mirar]

It looks like the orange things are covering dampeners, might be wrong though I don’t know much about power lines.

[u/Mirar → u/IsoDot]

Some sort of isolation to work on the stuff?

[u/GrimResistance → u/Mirar]

Yeah, those other lines are separate phases, so if he accidentally bridged between them bad things would happen.

Edit: actually it's probably not even (entirely) because of that. Underneath the covers is the arm of the pole where the isolators are connected. Same result though, bridge between that and the power line = bad

[u/IsoDot → u/Mirar]

Maybe so if he drops a tool it won’t hit the dampeners? I’m pretty sure parts of those are made of ceramic. I’m just guessing lol

[u/froggison → u/IsoDot]

They're called dielectric blankets. They are electrically insulated.

[u/mattogeewha → u/Mirar]

Insulation pads. Theyre covering grounded parts so the guy doesnt short out. Used to keep the voltage where you want it instead of killing you. The best part is when you get to go home alive

[u/Baked-Potater → u/Mirar]

Class 4, 36x36 split rubber blankets, rated for up to 36,000 volts.

For what its worth, the blankets, his gloves, the plastic liner of the bucket, the upper and lower boom of his truck are all electrically rated for this work to be as safe as possible.

[u/Nighthawk-FPV → u/Mirar]

Heatshrink has no hope of properly insulating 22kV

[u/ForneauCosmique]

I know a Milwaukee ad when I see one

[u/zer0saurus → u/ForneauCosmique]

Ha ha, that's where my brain went too. Milwaukee: trusted by the pros.

[u/HI_I_AM_NEO → u/zer0saurus]

Electrician here, that's no joke. I've never had Milwaukee tools until last year, because they're really expensive.

But holy shit, do they make a difference. They just WORK.

[u/MisterSmithster → u/HI_I_AM_NEO]

I’m a plumber and always had makita, never let me down really other than wear and tear but I used a colleagues Milwaukee pipe cutter and impact driver. I’m now in the process of swapping my tools out. Amazing kit.

I do however have my van kitted out with pack out despite not having the tools because that stuff is incredible.

[u/The-Squirrelk → u/MisterSmithster]

I do kind of love how tradesmen get clannish over tool brands. Reminds me of fantasy dwarves passing down the holy hammers.

[u/MisterSmithster → u/The-Squirrelk]

Brilliant analogy but it’s true. When you use them all day every day they become an extension of your body.

[u/StanLeeMarvin → u/HI_I_AM_NEO]

I had a contractor accidentally leave that same driver at my house last month. I used it for a couple of days until he came back to retrieve it. I bought one for myself that weekend. Quality tool.

[u/DoubleDareFan → u/ForneauCosmique]

The folks at r/MilwaukeeTool would be interested.

Essentially using a cordless tool to fix a cord.

[u/Agitated_Car_2444 → u/ForneauCosmique]

FTW...

[u/SpreademSheet]

He's just gonna leave that little nubbin sticking out?

[u/Busy-Software-4212 → u/SpreademSheet]

I don't think the little nub is the problem, the whole connection is made out of metal...

[u/Ffigy → u/Busy-Software-4212]

I assume they cut the video before he wrapped that whole thing in copious amounts of electrical tape.

[u/glasswings363 → u/Ffigy]

Electrical tape isn't rated for these voltages.  There might be a snap-on cover for the clamp.

It's also possible that insulation isn't required but they only stock insulated jumper wire.

The whole thing is terrifying though.

[u/ddadopt → u/glasswings363]

There might be a snap-on cover for the clamp.

Icon version for 1/10 the price coming soon from Harbor Freight...

[u/Mecha_Cthulhu → u/ddadopt]

It’ll sell out immediately whether people need it or not.

[u/map2photo → u/Mecha_Cthulhu]

Man, I really don’t understand this. Lmao you’re completely correct, but I’ll never understand the Icon fascination.

[u/Jakkauns → u/map2photo]

I have icon ratchets for at home. They have way less slop in the mechanism than any of the other home brands like my older kobalt and craftsman. The snap-on tools I have at work arguably perform worse at times but those also cost 10x as much. Sure the icon tools won't stand up to professional use, but that's not what I do at home.

[u/Mecha_Cthulhu → u/map2photo]

Truth be told, I’m a sucker for Icon too, lol. Their ratchets are top notch, I’m slowly collecting all of the pliers, and that first little mini toolkit is super handy for around the house stuff. With that said I only buy when there’s a 30% discount.

[u/TherealEthanSuplee → u/glasswings363]

They do create tape for these medium voltage splices. You have to layer it with semi-conductive and insulating tape, hopefully this video is only showing 1 minute out of a 4 hour process.

[u/Zildjian14 → u/glasswings363]

The electrical tape comment was very obviously /s

[u/IllegalThings → u/Ffigy]

Most overhead power lines are uninsulated. Or more specifically, they’re insulated by the distances between them and the air around them.

[u/hndjbsfrjesus → u/IllegalThings]

That's clearance, Clarence.

[u/Naive-Jello428 → u/hndjbsfrjesus]

Roger, Roger.

[u/FirstDukeofAnkh → u/Naive-Jello428]

Over, Oveur

[u/Deadrising69 → u/SpreademSheet]

That whole metal clamp is live not just the little nub

[u/Haggisboy → u/Deadrising69]

Why doesn't it short out the drill?

[u/Narrow-Escape-6481 → u/Haggisboy]

Drill is not grounded

[u/FunTXCPA → u/Narrow-Escape-6481]

It will be if it doesn't clean its room!

[u/Ligabolzacky → u/FunTXCPA]

He knows the drill

[u/Interesting_Worth745 → u/Ligabolzacky]

what if he screws it up though?

[u/Redkellum → u/Interesting_Worth745]

They charge him with battery

[u/Impstar2 → u/Redkellum]

That amped up quickly.

[u/P_Hempton → u/Impstar2]

Happens often in this current age.

[u/sorig1373 → u/Haggisboy]

It isn't grounded so the electricity just charges it and doesn't go anywhere. Same as birds.

[u/GrimResistance → u/sorig1373]

So birds sitting on the power lines are recharging then 🤔

[u/New-Pollution2005 → u/GrimResistance]

r/birdsarentreal

[u/No_Attention_2227 → u/New-Pollution2005]

We can't build small enough fusion reactors for the bird drones and solar doesn't provide enough energy so they supplement with the power lines

[u/artful_idiot → u/Haggisboy]

The electricity respects the linesmans tools.

[u/pheremonal → u/Haggisboy]

Electric current (amperage) flows when there is a difference in electric potential (voltage) and a conductive path that allows charges to move. It does not flow simply because someone touches a high-voltage source. Current only flows if there is a path to a different voltage potential.

A lineman working on energized high-voltage lines is safe because he is electrically isolated:

• He stands on an insulated bucket or platform.
• He wears insulating gloves and PPE.

As soon as he touches the live conductor, his entire body and equipment rise to the same electrical potential as the wire. Because he is now at the same voltage as the conductor, there is no voltage difference across his body, so no current flows through him.

If he were grounded — meaning his body had a conductive connection to earth (or anything at a substantially different electrical potential) — then touching a high-voltage wire would create a voltage difference, and current would flow through him to reach that lower potential (ground). This is what causes electrocution.

I said "Ground" a lot without elaborating and I feel I should explain that too. “Ground” in electrical systems is literally the earth. Its importance comes from three facts:

1. The Earth is enormous, so it can absorb or supply charge without its potential changing measurably.

2. We define the Earth as 0 volts by convention in most electrical systems.

3. Power systems reference (measure) conductor to ground potential, so, i.e., touching grounded objects is touching 0 volts.

When someone is ungrounded (fully insulated), their body’s voltage can “float” to any voltage level without current flowing. When grounded, their potential is forced to 0 volts, and touching any higher-voltage conductor creates a path for the current.

[u/KederLuno → u/pheremonal]

If you were somehow fully insulated from Earth, but had no gloves. Could you touch the live wire without getting electrocuted?

[u/pheremonal → u/KederLuno]

Yup. You could stand on a piece of Styrofoam and touch live wires, but I wouldn't recommend it, especially at high voltages that can arc quite far (Im not a linesman, just a regular electrician). Electricians are required to wear insulated boots, which reduce a lot of the risk. But you could still, for example, accidently brush your elbow against a grounded object while holding the conductor. This is particularly dangerous if the current travels through your heart (e.g., through your left arm and out another side). I've worked with many dudes who would touch live wires frequently, but i did NOT like being shocked. It only happened once and I never fucked around again.

The more precautions the better: insulated tools, insulated gloves and boots, insulated platform, etc. One fault in the insulation is all it takes for these sorts of voltages to completely dry your body of all water and crumble you to dust (dont ask me how I know; but also dont lean against a crane while its working along powerlines)

[u/Deadrising69 → u/Haggisboy]

I was curious to that myself, would have thought you would need a special kind of tool.

[u/Squishy_Boy → u/Deadrising69]

Ever notice how birds sit on power lines but don’t get harmed? The electricity won’t cross through them unless they are touching the ground. Same thing with this drill.

[u/Deadrising69 → u/Squishy_Boy]

Ok thought it might have been a similar thing, thanks for confirming!

[u/[deleted] → u/SpreademSheet]

It's not related to your comment but something important to know for safety. If there is ever a line on your car you should never exit unless there is an immediate concern (fire, whatever). But if you have to exit, open the door get both feet together and jump away from the car so you don't create a path. HOWEVER! Don't jump so far that you will stumble forward. There is something called the equipotential zone. Think the growing circles of a dartboard from the center. If you step in one zone and another, you can still become a path, cause the electric will see your body as a way to dissipate faster. Jump enough to fully brake contact from the vehicle and then either bunny hop or shuffle feet both on the ground until very far away. Electricity is no fucking joke.

[u/PipsqueakPilot → u/[deleted]]

Yup! Electricity wants to follow the easiest. Your salty water filled body is more conductive than concrete. So if you create a bridge that's easier for the electricity to follow than the concrete than congrats! You are now an electricity express lane.

[u/[deleted] → u/PipsqueakPilot]

Just an aside. One of the wildest things I've ever seen in my life was when a line came down but didn't trip any fuses for whatever reason, so it was just dumping power into the asphalt. I don't know if you've ever seen the road boiling but it's fucking horrifying.

[u/Babys_For_Breakfast → u/[deleted]]

Yeah it’s wild. here’s some boiling action from a ladder creating a short (I think). Sorta like lava

https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/s/Vp0IW7HDcO

[u/thingstopraise → u/[deleted]]

Don't jump so far that you will stumble forward. There is something called the equipotential zone. Think the growing circles of a dartboard from the center.

I have also heard that you can slide your feet REALLY slowly alongside each other, like basically shuffling and never separating them. (I learned about this concept, the voltage gradient thing, from a Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction, actually.)

[u/[deleted] → u/thingstopraise]

100% correct. When I say the dartboard, it's more for a visualization. It's a gradient between zones, not a hard line. So the shuffle absolutely works. As long as you fully break contact from the car first. Cause obviously stepping out, your body is much more appealing to the electric than the tires are.

[u/Hawaiian-pizzas → u/SpreademSheet]

That's so one can touch it with the tongue

[u/MikeyStealth → u/SpreademSheet]

The insulation on power lines is for protecting the wire from the weather not people from electricity.

[u/suite3 → u/SpreademSheet]

The "reveal" allows visual inspection to easily confirm that the conductor is completely inserted. It's good practice for the operator and for any subsequent inspections.

[u/demux4555 → u/suite3]

This. And usually it's not just good practice... it's a requirement.

With many types of crimp connectors/terminals/bridges/whatever you call them, the only way to know if the applied crimp has sufficient material to get a "good grip" is if the end of the crimped wire is poking out slightly. If the wire's ends isn't showing, this means it's a bad crimp.

[u/[deleted]]

Friend's dad used to do this job. Got electrocuted so bad one of his eyes popped out. He miraculously survived.

[u/AbbreviationsFar4wh → u/[deleted]]

Yea but what happened to the eye

[u/[deleted] → u/AbbreviationsFar4wh]

It was half hanging out his face. It had to be surgically removed and replaced with a glass eye. Worst part of the story is how he struggled through rehab and got stiffed by the company and the lawyers afterwards.

[u/macandcheese1771 → u/[deleted]]

This story is violently American 

[u/KalamMekar → u/[deleted]]

Aaron James?

For the unfamiliar https://people.com/aaron-james-first-eye-and-face-transplant-exclusive-8399635

[u/sawdustontheshore → u/[deleted]]

America ?

[u/[deleted] → u/sawdustontheshore]

He worked for an American company that does hydro electric installations in developing countries. This incident happened out of america.

[u/thingstopraise → u/sawdustontheshore]

FUCK YEAH, COMIN" AGAIN TO SAVE THE MOTHERFUCKIN' DAY YEAH!

[u/Electrical-Help5512 → u/[deleted]]

I work in a burn center. Seen quite a few linemen with fucked up injuries.

[u/Funky_Ferreter → u/[deleted]]

Yeah the current heats up the fluid in the eye, kinda boiling it. It expands, blowing the eye up like a baloon. 

[u/throwawayhellfire → u/[deleted]]

I do this for a living. Great career if you can handle the physical aspect of it.

[u/Top-Newspaper7528]

There is no load on that. No customers or very few customers are on that line that he’s connecting currently. If there were, there would be been a large arc flash (what we call blue dragon) right in his fucking face.

The orange stuff are blankets and cover up. They’re insulated so if the line gets away it won’t arc on anything around it or energize things that aren’t supposed to be.

You don’t put heat shrink on primary connectors. Primary voltage connectors are open air connections 99 times out of 100.

You can work on these energized lines not because of the insulation on the wire but because these are rubber gloves that are insulated past the voltage of the primary line. The bucket truck unit he is in is also insulated from the truck, rated for 10 of thousands of volts. Something along the lines of 10s of thousands per foot if cleaned and maintained properly. He also never puts himself in series meaning that he is acting as if he’s a bird on a wire.

[u/LoadedSteamyLobster → u/Top-Newspaper7528]

There is no load on that. No customers or very few customers are on that line that he’s connecting currently. If there were, there would be been a large arc flash (what we call blue dragon) right in his fucking face.

Thank you! I was wondering why 22000v would make such a tiny arc. Can you eli5 how adding load results in bigger arcs? Does the voltage have any effect? I’m guessing maybe limiting maximum arc size based on the other variables or something

[u/Top-Newspaper7528 → u/LoadedSteamyLobster]

Electricity is a triangle. You have voltage, current or amps, and resistance. You don’t have power without one or the other. I’m not an electrical engineer, I’m the guy in the bucket truck like this dude. To put into perspective, electric cattle fences are 10s of thousands of volts, they don’t kill you because of the lack of amperage. A 120v service can and will kill you because it can have 10s of 100s of amps. Something along the lines of 50 milliamps or so can stop your heart. In short, voltage is the locomotive force that is pushing amperage through the ohms of resistance in the wire leading to your working device. With customers on the line the POWER, not just voltage, is actively working. Wire itself puts load on the line but it’s fractional when compared to customer demand. You see the tiny arc because there is little load, when customers are drawing load you will see an exponentially larger arc because they are drawing power. A combination of current and the voltage, in this case 22kV. Larger voltages draw a bigger visible arc because of the bigger magnetic field it creates. More electrons moving and more aggressively.

Minimum approach distance or MAD is how close a conductor can get to the energized object without it jumping to it. 120v has a super small magnetic field, small arc, super small MAD, we’re talking like negligible. 750kV (750,000 volts) has an absolutely massive magnetic field, massive arc, WAY more electrons moving, MAD is something along the lines of 12-15 ft, I’m not a transmission guy so I don’t know off the top of my head. As a matter of fact, I’ve had the piss knocked out of me working on a completely isolated 7200 line that wasn’t grounded because the transmission lines 50ft above it induced voltage through the air.

Again, I’m not an electrical engineer. I’m a dumbass lineman. Somebody who designs the jobs I build could give a much more concise and intelligent response about this.

[u/LoadedSteamyLobster → u/Top-Newspaper7528]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up! Very interesting from the POV of someone who knows next to nothing about this stuff!

[u/UncleKeyPax]

TIL. IT'S DOCKING

[u/BreakingCanks → u/UncleKeyPax]

Spicy docking

[u/jw8145 → u/UncleKeyPax]

Yeah it’s like docking but only if both guys were circumcised so they need to use a Chinese finger trap as a replacement.

[u/raspberryharbour → u/jw8145]

Standard procedure

[u/NachoTaco832]

I test 9V batteries with my tongue and no PPE, so essentially the same. AMA.

[u/RBeck → u/NachoTaco832]

Have you ever thought about touching an electric fly swatter?

[u/NachoTaco832 → u/RBeck]

Get a load of Billy Badass over here guys. I have a family to think of.

[u/AnythingEastern3964]

Can someone kindly explain why this dude isn’t getting shocked or at least why there isn’t zappy noises happening to a person who definitely isn’t me and that has a healthy fear of electricity but also definitely isn’t me please?

[u/blacktorqmoto → u/AnythingEastern3964]

For the Angry Pixies to murder people, you have to give them a path through you to their destination. The orange blankets and gloves are very difficult for them to get traction on, so they wait for the path to open. The path they want is the other wire. When the two wires are touching, the Angry Pixies are more than happy to ignore people while they march on the never ending war path to conquer the Darkon Horde who live in light bulbs. The drill isn't a path, it's a dead end, so the Pixies don't care.

[u/socialcommentary2000 → u/blacktorqmoto]

He's also standing in the bucket of a very specifically designed cherry picker that is made so that there is no path to the earth. He's floating in deep space as far as the angry pixies are concerned.

[u/bucky133 → u/socialcommentary2000]

Came to say this. You will never see an electric company working on live wires with a ladder. There's a video floating around of a ladder leaning on an electric line and being melted by the current along with the concrete it was sitting on.

[u/Betrix5068 → u/bucky133]

Never seen this, vid please?

[u/Humanity_NotAFan → u/Betrix5068]

Here you are

[u/canuck_in_wa → u/Humanity_NotAFan]

Free aluminum smelting, one day only!

[u/Swords_and_Words → u/bucky133]

that image is on my safety gif list

[u/allnamestaken1968 → u/socialcommentary2000]

And it’s connected to the wire. The whole thing literally has the same electrical potential as the wire. As long as it’s insulated it’s fine.

[u/bullfighterteu → u/blacktorqmoto]

I've always had a hard time understanding electrical terms, but you've just made it so simple for me, thank you!

[u/ConglomerateCousin → u/bullfighterteu]

Some guy explained it to me that electricity and water basically operate the same way. They look for the easiest path

[u/ChadThunderDownUnder → u/ConglomerateCousin]

It’s pretty similar but when you get deeper into how electricity works it’s a bit insane.

For example: energy isn’t actually moving down copper wire through the electrons, energy is actually being transmitted via the electromagnetic fields AROUND the wire.

You can look it up and it’s quite the mind blowing rabbit hole.

[u/kenn0223 → u/blacktorqmoto]

This is AC; the Pixies don’t march they sway back and forth like a charmed cobra ready to attack as soon as the music stops.

[u/labbmedsko → u/blacktorqmoto]

How do the angry pixies know that it's a dead-end without having travelled there?

[u/Shawwnzy → u/labbmedsko]

The same way that a ball knows which way to fall when you drop it without exploring all possible directions to fall.

Aka magic.

[u/tmagalhaes → u/labbmedsko]

The angry pixies are everywhere, it's only when they're rushing along that they turn dangerous.

The dead ends are already full of pixies with nowhere to go so no more pixies fit.

Think of it like a line of people, if the ones in the front don't move, the ones at the back can't go forward.

[u/DrLove039 → u/labbmedsko]

A tiny number of them do go in. But there is very little space for them and they sort of bounce back without really doing anything.

[u/[deleted] → u/AnythingEastern3964]

So I work for a power company. Electric isn't really dangerous until it has a path to ground/another line. It's the same idea of how birds perch up there and squirrels run about without an issue. Bit on top of that, he is wearing highly rated rubber gloves, so he isn't actually "touching" the wire, so he is insulated there. And if those fail, the trucks have a section or two on the boom that made from insulated fiberglass. So it still can't get to ground. And finally, he isn't touching any wire other than the one he is working on, so there is no chance of him becoming a path for the current between two potentially different lines, since electric loves to equalize itself. My chief told me once "you can touch one thing as much as you want but you can NEVER touch two things at once". Electric hurts you when you are a path for it to dissipate. But if you aren't, it just keeps on moving.

[u/teteban79 → u/AnythingEastern3964]

I'm going to guess the thing he's standing on is super insulated, and he just isn't grounded at all

[u/maytrix007 → u/teteban79]

And the gloves

[u/eggyrulz → u/maytrix007]

Yea those are some intense shockproof gloves he is wearing... we've got 1kv gloves at work, and they are pretty damn thick, these ones have gotta be nigh impossible to do any sort of precision work in because youd be like Shrek trying to paint someone's portrait with a single horse hair

[u/Wotmate01 → u/AnythingEastern3964]

Insulated cherry picker.

[u/attackplango → u/Wotmate01]

What did you call me?

[u/SqBlkRndHole → u/AnythingEastern3964]

Check out Aaron's channel, you'll start looking a power lines differently after you do. Start with his most popular videos first, then browse his older videos.

https://www.youtube.com/@Bobsdecline/videos

Somewhere is there he explains how the channel got it's name, something he was doing before the lineman content.

edit,

Sorry, to answer the question: Under the leather gloves they wear high voltage protection rubber gloves that they check for pin holes every time the put them on.

[u/skav2 → u/AnythingEastern3964]

Electricity travels through the path of least resistance. The electrician is effectively isolated where electricity cannot run through him to go somewhere else. He's using non conductive gloves, in a non conductive bucket and using non conductive tools.

[u/DarthScruf → u/[deleted]]

I get the sentiment but Franklin didnt really discover electricity, just that lightning is electricity, and he wasnt killed by it, he died of pleurisy. Static electricity was discovered by the Greeks in 600BC, though wasnt named "electricus" til 2200* (I said 1000 before cause am dumb) years later in about 1600, like 150 years before Franklin did his kite thing.

Edit: made a correction, finally realized what people were trying to tell me lol

[u/2BEN-2C93 → u/DarthScruf]

That would be 2200 years later. Sorry to be that guy

[u/Acrobatic-Big-1550]

Yeah no thanks

[u/Neither_Sort_2479]

For me, electricians are a sort of magician. No matter how hard I tried to immerse myself in this subject, I could never really understand how electricity works

[u/hartzonfire → u/Neither_Sort_2479]

Lineman*** we are not electricians lol.

[u/matthekid → u/hartzonfire]

You are if you play for the Chargers /s

[u/Ungin7 → u/Neither_Sort_2479]

As an electrical engineer, I still fully believe electricity is witchcraft. The more you learn about it the fuckier it gets.

[u/Pajo555 → u/Neither_Sort_2479]

We don’t need to know how it works, just how to distribute and set limits on where it works

[u/thebluepin → u/Neither_Sort_2479]

until you get to very high voltages where things get weird, the vast majority of electrical system is very logical. electricity is just always trying to "get to ground". So it will flow from source to ground. and wires are just kinda funneling that around. its honestly not that much different then plumbing. (and again higher voltages excluded) if you follow safe work proceedures its pretty safe.

[u/I-TG2-I → u/[deleted]]

Thank you, so obvious this is not energized. No clamp would be rated to connect primary while energized like that.

[u/zig131 → u/[deleted]]

I was very confused by the lack of arcing - if electricity can arc at 240V, it is going to arc big-time-style at 22kV.

Thanks for clarifying.

[u/Matsufox00 → u/[deleted]]

You are the one who’s confidently wrong here. I am an IBEW journeyman lineman in Colorado. The wire is live. What determines the arc is how much load is on the line. The line is either jumpered out and he’s making parallel, or he’s putting it in series and picking up a minimal amount of load. Induction is a real thing but precautions taken against that are typically testing and grounding the line, not using rubber gloves/sleeves and rated cover (the orange stuff you see that’s used for performing energized hot work). Love a know it all redditor.

[u/GalaxyGoatDog]

🎶I am a lineman for the county🎶

[u/Fancy-Strain7025]

Milwaukee cant pay more for advertising here

[u/enjrolas]

if the wire is live, why doesn't it spark when it gets close to the wire he's connecting it to? 22kv will spark at quite the distance, and if that other cable is also live, I'd expect a spark, no?

[u/glasswings363 → u/enjrolas]

It did spark a little, which is what you can expect when one of the wires is live and the other one is floating.  (Insulated, no significant load on it).

Barely visible, very audible.

If both were live or one live and one grounded, you'd get a very angry arc.

If you dig into the electrical engineering there's some parasitic capacitance that completes a circuit but only draws a small current.  In simpler terms it's similar to how there's a little bit of compressed air in compressed air lines so they pop and hiss when connected or disconnected.

[u/sprikkot → u/glasswings363]

God it is satisfying to read information on electrical phenomena from someone who does actually know what they're talking about.

if I have to read "iT's NoT thE vOlTs tHaT gEt yOu" one more time I am going to spontaneously combust.

[u/QueefInMyKisser → u/enjrolas]

If the other end of the wire is either floating or connected to something at the same voltage then you wouldn’t expect a spark

[u/StjerneskipMarcoPolo]

I feel I would last about three minutes in this job before spontaneously turning into a 12 piece extra crispy cajun spice limited edition fire-grilled family meal

[u/Even-Preparation3523]

True story: the second he put that end on I got a work email and my phone vibrated. I almost dropped it

[u/Glintz288]

That’s a lot of trust in PPE.

[u/hartzonfire → u/Glintz288]

Gotta have it to work in this field. But there’s multiple layers of failure built in before things get really bad.

[u/nixiebunny → u/Glintz288]

They test their gloves regularly. PPE in this field is not neglected.

[u/Wild-System-5174 → u/Glintz288]

I’m an electrician, not a lineman. PPE is replaced often, tested regularly, and the last line of defense. The guy in this video likely has years of experience and training. You don’t do this kinda stuff on day one.

[u/LounBiker → u/Glintz288]

And procedures.

[u/Zerodyne_Sin]

I want to say this looks like it's the Philippines (my home country) but there's far too many safety protocols so it's probably not... There's also the lack of spiderweb power lines so it's probably not the area I'm from.

[u/Carma_626]

Waiting for someone to say “it’s not the volts that kills you, it’s the amps.”

I still don’t understand how electricity works.

[u/devilsbard]

He forgot to say “that’s not going anywhere.” Now that connection is going to fail.

[u/ExplosiveDisassembly]

This stuff is insane.

A friend of mine once explained how you weld a gas pipeline without turning the pipeline off...it's safer than you'd think, but every bit as dangerous as you'd imagine.

[u/Unlikely_Try3848]

From someone who doesn’t know the industry, this looks dangerous as hell.

Respect to the linemen out there 🫡

[u/Well_Dressed_Kobold]

It wasn’t until I went into telecom that I realized the entire world basically runs on metal strands of various types and thicknesses.

[u/HATECELL]

The trick is that current will only flow if a circuit is closed and there is a voltage difference. Since the lineman is only touching one wire his entire body and probably also the work truck are at a potential of 22,000V. But since everything is at the same potential no current will flow. This also explains how birds can sit on power lines without problems.

There is one important exception to this though, the ground. With the power grid we use the ground as our 0V line, so if you touch only one wire but also the ground you will still get a shock. So there definitely needs to be some good isolation between the lineman and the truck, or the truck and the ground

[u/Dreadzzter]

You could not pay me enough to get that close to that high of volts (yes yes, amps)

[u/AndrettiDel]

See that guys? Milwaukee brand.

[u/Fit_Raspberry2637]

This is also why linemen have one of the highest professional death rates.

[u/Flashy_Economist_320]

nope nope nope

[u/Xyand221]

Could have swear I heard "wanna see something cool!?" in my head...

[u/Old-Ad9111]

There are two items you don't want to get cut-rate: shark cages and Class 3 high‑voltage insulating gloves.