Do what you want, but please don't advise others to do something that is unsafe. Telephone and cable TV are not the same as power. Unless you are in the business (and properly trained) you may not be able to distinguish which you are dealing with. It is really not worth the risk.Originally Posted by XTrekker
Around here, and presumably most places as there are standards, cable is on the bottom and telephone mixed with it. Power is several feet above that. Cable installers can use a ladder because they are typically not going through any power. They also often lean the ladder on the cable to position their work. There is no life threatening power present in those cables. Power folks work up from there because everything they deal with is potentially lethal.
Both use bucket trucks when they can but both find themselves in places where they cannot get a truck in. The difference is that the cable worker can generally depend on getting at cables with a 40 ft standard ladder. Electrical workers cannot. Different problems and different skill sets. One cannot assume that what works for one will work for the other.
YMMV
HYOH
Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)
Umm..So now I am advising unskilled people to use a ladder to work on power lines? Way to twist that around...Thanks for the advise. I'll be sure not to tell people who have no business being on a pole to be sure not to use a ladder, next time... I was just saying that if I was an electrical worker and I was working on a backyard pole that was low enough, that I would prefer to use a fiberglass ladder rather than climbing the pole. I agree that in some cases, climbing the pole is the only option. I am not an electrical worker and I don't know their rules, I am just stating my opinion on a ladder vs climbing. And it shouldn't matter what I say anyway, any power company electrical worker is not going to take advice from some stranger on a forum anyway. All others have no business being up there anyway.
Last edited by XTrekker; 05-24-2013 at 09:51. Reason: Grammar correction
Geez, people, dude just wanted to hang from the pole. Let it rest.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
Sorry to bag on engineers. As a whole, and not at the company that I work for they are probably competent in their jobs. Just not so much apparently here.
I am not an electrical worker. I work for a "small" telecommunications company in the Midwest. Short name, changed several times in the last few years.
And contrary to what one person said. We never climb with climbers when there are steps present.
Also, we don't engage the safety strap until we are at the proper level to perform work. I was not trained in the "hitchhike" method for climbing. Some were though.
Tim
Hopefully post #2 is better. :-)
In my town folks attach basketball goals and such to telephone poles and nobody says a word.
I also work for a telecommunications company and recently went through a six-month course on working on telephone poles. Climbing them was not part of the training - we either used a ladder or a bucket truck.
That ground wire would concern the heck out of me when hanging a hammock from it.
Didn't read all the posts because its super late and I'm working in three hours, so forgive me if its been said. Don't hang from power poles, don't drill, nail or in anyway mess with them. If anything ever happens the owner of the pole can and will come after you, because one tiny little screw hole broke it!! IMHO
Carpe noctem!!
If you ever have the pleasure of meeting a lineman you will understand, you really can't keep them from climbing the pole. I work with a gentleman who is well into his 70 and climbed until he was 60 when his doctor made the company make him stop. Line-work is a passion for these guys. They live and breath the job for the most part.
Yosemite Sam: Are you trying to make me look a fool?
Bugs: You don't need me to make you look like a fool.
Yosemite Sam: Yer deerrrnnn right I don't!
Former AT&T guy here.
For us it varies from area to area, what "local practices" are in place with regards to pole climbing. In my region, you MUST use an extension ladder on telephone poles -- no gaffs. That being said, I learned how to use them and could if need be. I actually found it to be fun.
You're absolutely correct about the passion linemen have. My instructor was absolutely hard core -- 71 years old and climbed the practice poles like a bear. It was quite awesome. Of course, he learned a different method and not with the bucksqueezes we were to use, but still. He knew his stuff and absolutely no one in my class questioned his methods. He was just an awesome guy -- the guy you'd love to buy a beer just to hear his stories. Made me feel good about humanity, really. An era of people who had a strong work ethic, despite being unionized. I discovered that's all out the window nowadays.
To add to the conversation, we were "instructed" to remove whatever obstructions were in our way as nothing was supposed to be attached to the poles. Posters, nails, etc. That being said, it was ultimately our discretion. I've come across a few poles with things attached that I knew belonged to someone, but I left it alone. Live and let live, ya know? If I encountered someone's hammock tied and I had to move it, and I was able to find who did it in a reasonable amount of time, I'd ask him to remove it. If not, I'd do my best to remove it without destroying it (no cutting! That's just being a jerk).
Last edited by OpelBlitz; 05-29-2013 at 23:48.
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