# Changing in the service



## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

Wondering of anyone uses insulated gloves when tapping the street side to the service ? Any safety tips you can share ?


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

We are not supposed to reconnect. 
The POCO wears type 0 I think when they re- tap


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## Voltron (Sep 14, 2012)

I've used hot gloves, leather gloves and done it bare handed many times. They do give You additional confidence, but You want to use the same amount of care with or without gloves.


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## cbledsoe89 (Nov 16, 2015)

as stated by jrannis anything from the poco side is not supposed to be touched by anyone that isnt employed by the poco anything from the meter on is all on us.. i actually know a guy who almost lost his masters due to temping in a service so the lady didnt have to wait on the poco because she relied on her oxygen machines


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## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

cbledsoe89 said:


> as stated by jrannis anything from the poco side is not supposed to be touched by anyone that isnt employed by the poco anything from the load side of meter on is all on us.. i actually know a guy who almost lost his masters due to temping in a service so the lady didnt have to wait on the poco because she relied on her oxygen machines


I don't even see how that would work? Poco doesn't install before the load


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## cbledsoe89 (Nov 16, 2015)

WronGun said:


> I don't even see how that would work? Poco doesn't install before the load


i could have explained that better... anything from the transformer to the connections at your weather head is the poco from the connections on is us.. so its the line side as well inside the meter base just dont mess with anything on their side of the weatherhead connections


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## redblkblu (Mar 3, 2012)

Can't say I haven' done it but it's getting more sketchy these days


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## drewsserviceco (Aug 1, 2014)

Have the rubbers/leathers. I was taught barehanded and feel that making connections at the point of attachment is pretty safe that way. Always glove up in meter enclosure for underground services. Way more danger there. 

I have the 1000v gloves as well as 17Kv for more intense work.

Safety tips: do as much of your prep on the ground before you go up the ladder, ladder safety, leave yourself plenty of free conductor for your drip loop (allows you to shape it better and make connections away from everything else), ladder safety, safety glasses, when your about to make connection strike the ends together to check for arc, oh, and ladder safety.


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## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

drewsserviceco said:


> Have the rubbers/leathers. I was taught barehanded and feel that making connections at the point of attachment is pretty safe that way. Always glove up in meter enclosure for underground services. Way more danger there. I have the 1000v gloves as well as 17Kv for more intense work. Safety tips: do as much of your prep on the ground before you go up the ladder, ladder safety, leave yourself plenty of free conductor for your drip loop (allows you to shape it better and make connections away from everything else), ladder safety, safety glasses, when your about to make connection strike the ends together to check for arc, oh, and ladder safety.


 I have a 16' service too install. I will be building the service on the ground. Pipe, expansion fittings, weatherhead, wire, etc. I will have the wires installed, stripped with clear taps fastened before lifting into place... This has worked well for me before....I just hate making live connections on an extension ladder over 15'.... I get shaky, I just haven't done it enough I guess


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

You get used to it. I still glove up to do it, but only because I dont do it that often. 2 of the utilities I deal with we do the disconnect/reconnect, and the one I deal with most does that and installs the riser.


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## ButcherSlayer (Oct 4, 2013)

Always did bare hand. Best tip is always keep your hands up an away from everything but the wire of course.


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## west shore electric (Sep 30, 2015)

Here in CT you have to be registered with the poco to cut and reconnect when doing service upgrades. I never used gloves because the guys I learned from never did...probably a good idea though


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## jw0445 (Oct 9, 2009)

WronGun said:


> I have a 16' service too install. I will be building the service on the ground. Pipe, expansion fittings, weatherhead, wire, etc. I will have the wires installed, stripped with clear taps fastened before lifting into place... This has worked well for me before....I just hate making live connections on an extension ladder over 15'.... I get shaky, I just haven't done it enough I guess


When I do this I don't use my everyday ladder. I use a 32' heavy duty that's heavy, real heavy. Makes things stable working at that height and that's the only time I use that beast.


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## V-Dough (Jul 22, 2014)

Insulated gloves, Arc flash face shield and FR clothing. And be careful!


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## RGH (Sep 12, 2011)

A really good pair of boots voltage rated if your on the ground are priceless.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Different poco's have different rules about _'others_' intervening , all of which may be conveniently forgotten during a crisis situation when '_every truck is out'_

~CS~


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

Don't "strike" the wires together. Use a wiggy and check for potential before connecting the wires.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

backstay said:


> Don't "strike" the wires together. Use a wiggy and check for potential before connecting the wires.


I drove to 5 wholesale houses yesterday trying to purchase a Knopp wiggy for my boy for his 20th birthday present. He got his letter from 1186 letting him know he is in the selection pool. At all but one I just got blank stares when I asked for a Knopp Wiggy. At Wesco the counterman told me he sold the last one they had the day before....... day late , dollar short.

Amazon here I come


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## V-Dough (Jul 22, 2014)

macmikeman said:


> I drove to 5 wholesale houses yesterday trying to purchase a Knopp wiggy for my boy for his 20th birthday present. He got his letter from 1186 letting him know he is in the selection pool. At all but one I just got blank stares when I asked for a Knopp Wiggy. At Wesco the counterman told me he sold the last one they had the day before....... day late , dollar short.
> 
> Amazon here I come


What's the point of having a meter that only shows voltage and even that in kinda sorta approximated way?


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

V-Dough said:


> What's the point of having a meter that only shows voltage and even that in kinda sorta approximated way?


Low impedance. It won't show ghost voltages.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Don't like to have to go fetch a ladder to see if the light bulb is burnt out when a simple wiggy test at the switch in the off position will tell me, and sometimes it is the switch itself, which the wiggy also tells me. There are so many things a wiggy can do during troubleshooting , that no other 100 dollar voltage tester can match. Maybe the $300 low z ones, but certainly not the inexpensive models. Yeah a built in continuity tester is a nice thing missing, can't argue with that.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I will probably end up getting him a t-25 since those are all over the place.


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