Hot Stick Lengths and Voltage Ratings for Live Line Work
Hot Stick Lengths and Voltage Ratings for Live Line Work
(OP)
What is typically used to determine the length of hot sticks for live line work? I'm accustomed to seeing hot sticks in excess of 25' being used for voltages as low as 138kV. Some of this is simply due to the height of the transmission lines from ground level.
OSHA 1926.950 shows minimum clearances of 3'-6" for 138kV:
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docu...
While I understand that a hot stick tested per ASTM F711 should not flash over at this distance, I doubt that any live line workers would want to come near this distance to a 138kV energized line.
Is there another rule of thumb that is typically used for approach distances when selecting hot sticks for use in the field?
Thanks
OSHA 1926.950 shows minimum clearances of 3'-6" for 138kV:
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docu...
While I understand that a hot stick tested per ASTM F711 should not flash over at this distance, I doubt that any live line workers would want to come near this distance to a 138kV energized line.
Is there another rule of thumb that is typically used for approach distances when selecting hot sticks for use in the field?
Thanks






RE: Hot Stick Lengths and Voltage Ratings for Live Line Work
RE: Hot Stick Lengths and Voltage Ratings for Live Line Work
RE: Hot Stick Lengths and Voltage Ratings for Live Line Work
The long sticks I used were of one kind of material for their entire length, so if there was in fact an 'insulating section' there it was completely indistinguishable from the rest of the stick. There was also a decal on the sticks with text saying something about them being rated, tested and certified to withstand 100 kV per meter, which theoretically meant we could have used the 25-foot ones on our 500 kV equipment with no problem at all, not that we had any manually operated equipment at that voltage level.
CR