# Load break termination tools



## pjg (Nov 11, 2008)

They do make the job alot easier. Any damage to the insulation will likely cause a premature failure. They are a little pricey, but worth it. If you know a lineman you might be able to borrow a set. read the instructions ahead of the job (if able),keep everything CLEAN, measure and re-measure,have some link free rags, take your time. Spike/Ground as necessary.


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## guest (Feb 21, 2009)

IMHO, this is not something to be taken lightly. A poorly made termination can and most likely will fail, and fail violently. Can you afford the liability for any damage or downtime if one of your terminations fails? This is the end result of a failed loadbreak termination: 









Our POCO's crews have to go through some intense training and have to practice making up terminations before they are turned loose on the system. 

Now, if you have time and can be trained by the cable and/or termination manufacturers AND get the proper tools then the risk becomes minimal. 

Have you inquired with some companies in your area who specialize in MV/HV terminations? Depending on the number of terminations involved (and any future need) it may actually be cheaper to hire this job out to the guys who have done them and have all the right tools.


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## pjg (Nov 11, 2008)

a few more items that might help

1. after terminating and before energizing, the cable should be high potential tested as per manufacturers spec. to avoid the problems mxslick has mentioned.

2. get a piece of cable to practice stripping.

3. contact a rep for the termination manufacture for a class ,most will do it for free for using their products.


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## Zog (Apr 15, 2009)

pjg said:


> a few more items that might help
> 
> 1. after terminating and before energizing, the cable should be high potential tested as per manufacturers spec. to avoid the problems mxslick has mentioned.
> .


Hipot is a destructive test and will only reveal gross installation errors, 90% of all problems with the termination and/or cable will not be discovered by a hipot test. IEEE, ANSI, ICEA, and NETA standards all agree on this. 

VLF, Tand Delta, or PD test should be performed.


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## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

Does your customer know that you have never done this before?


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## MWayne (Nov 8, 2010)

sparky970 said:


> Does your customer know that you have never done this before?


It's my boss's idea to do this in house. Years ago we had a guy that did this in house until he botched one up and it failed the test. And then there was barely enough cable to reterm it. Since then we hired it out. 

Maybe in my first post I should have started a poll; Special tools or what's already in the toolbox?


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Short answer: Buy the tools. Once you get comfortable with the mechanics of the terminations, and understand how and why you're doing everything you're doing, then you can start taking shortcuts. But until then, the tools are designed to limit the likelihood of messing something up.

This is especially true if you aren't getting third-party training or supervision.

How are you guys testing these?


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## MWayne (Nov 8, 2010)

The same outfit that would be doing the terms will be testing, I don't know how much we'll be saving!


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## Flex277 (Jun 2, 2014)

mxslick said:


> IMHO, this is not something to be taken lightly. A poorly made termination can and most likely will fail, and fail violently. Can you afford the liability for any damage or downtime if one of your terminations fails? This is the end result of a failed loadbreak termination:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Why are all the burns on the secondary side and on the outside, just curious


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## don_resqcapt19 (Jul 18, 2010)

MWayne said:


> The same outfit that would be doing the terms will be testing, I don't know how much we'll be saving!


On jobs where the specs require the testing, that would not normally be permitted...the specs almost always call for an independent 3rd party to do the testing.


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## Flex277 (Jun 2, 2014)

MWayne said:


> I'm going to be terminating some load break similar to these:
> 
> http://youtu.be/ly6j68vG_TE
> 
> ...




This my termination kit, have terminated all sorts of cable and those special stripping tools are a crock. Utilities like them because then there guys aren't using knives, which is a huge safety hazard in their eyes. A little technique goes along way. Just make sure you have a reputable agency to test them properly.


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