Is copper theft worth a life?
Is copper theft worth a life?
(OP)
As many of you in the electrical industry know, theft of copper wire (and even bus bar) has become a big problem all over as the value of scrap copper has gone up. There are increasing reports of wire theft from equipment in some remote areas, even people stripping wire out of street light circuits in cities and suburbs. The most disturbing outgrowth of this however has been the recent trend of people attempting to steal cable from substations thinking that insulated tools will protect them. We just had that happen at our local substation last week. If this is something that has happened in your area, consider sharing this presentation with local authorities and community awareness programs. This person apparently assumed that cutting the ground cable on a transformer would be "safe".
WARNING! THIS IS VERY GRAPHIC!
http://www .electrica lknowledge .com/image s/HiVoltag eShock.pps
WARNING! THIS IS VERY GRAPHIC!
http://www
JRaef.com
Eng-Tips: Help for your job, not for your homework Read FAQ731-376






RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
My feeling is generally that I wish all thieves were exterminated... We should be able to leave our $2K mountain bike unlocked somewhere and have it be there when we come back.
This is a case of auto-extermination.
But that is pretty harsh..
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
What would be the nature of the hazard of cutting the neutral? Breaking an inductive circuit with current flowing in neutral due to unbalance in a three-phase system?
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RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
JRaef.com
Eng-Tips: Help for your job, not for your homework Read FAQ731-376
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Regarding the link, seems a high price to pay for a few pounds of scrap copper, but right now, I think they would walk right by gold so they could steal copper. A/C condensers are very popular in our area too.
rmw
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
They "forgot" him and the horse he rode in on.
Back to jraef's original post:
Could the capacitive effect of the ungrounded transformer start a persistent arc to ground that may not have been seen by the protective relays?
yours
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
I guess it just converted to SWER distribution each time he cut the neutral. For all I know, he was branching out to hot wires when he got hit. Most of this was lines down through the woods into camphouses, wells for livestock and other remote services.
They have converted a lot of wire to aluminum lately, but there's still a lot of 3? stranded, HARD Copper and ? alloy wire out there. Cannot imagine it would be very popular with recyclers, and it has to be obvious to anyone the stuff has to be stolen. Where else would anyone who is not a utility legitimately come up with that wire?
The aluminum sure is stronger, In the last hurricanes, there were several places where the lines held up trees that would have certainly gone right through the old wire.
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
"Stealing Copper may cost a life"
Gulf Power officials told investigators that they received a 7000 amp surge at substation. They told investigators that the person who received the jolt is cooked. "Deadman a Walking". The investigators say that the suspect's fingers melted his prints into the paint, he was that hot.
There have been 3 reported deaths in the from electrocution in this area this year. The latest thing is stealing large air conditioning units from businesses.
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
JRaef.com
Eng-Tips: Help for your job, not for your homework Read FAQ731-376
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Around here, it's not unusual to see a seedy character riding down the street on a bicycle, loaded with the entire remains of an aluminum carport.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
I wish that I had used high voltage on my bike when we were living in Park Forest Illinois south of Chicago so that it would not have been stolen. Chicago is the most theiving town in the U.S. Maybe not enough to blow an arm off but enough to get the message across like with a cattle fence.
Mike Cole
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Slightly OT (ok, miles and miles OT)
If you have problems with theft in your area you will love this site: www.stickdeath.com
Check out the anti-auto theft animations. If only life imitated art...
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Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
What bothers me most about this sad state of affairs is that some lineman or substation worker who is just trying to do their job and keep the lights on is going to wind up dead as a result of some "meth addict" and his handy work.
Where I work, we had another meeting just yesterday to remind everyone about not touching ANYTHING until a thorough check is made to make sure that it is still connected to the ground grid. This includes the fences and gates at all stations.
I don't know what it is going to take to stop this madness, but whatever that solution may be, I hope it begins soon.
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Don't ask me where the "full time security guard" was during all this. Probably holding a flashlight for them if you ask me, but this all occurred between 4pm on a Friday and 6am on a Monday. Incredible.
RE: Is copper theft worth a life?
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com