Insulator Hunting!! High Voltage Power Line Hardware Finds
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
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Song name: "Sci Fi", composed and performed by Bensound from www.bensound.com/ .
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Composer: Benjamin Tissot
Previous insulator hunting video: • Insulator Hunting!
Various insulator and power line hardware finds. 12 pieces were liberated from abandonment and soon to be added to my continuously growing collection.
Those 4ft tall insulators must have been expensive for the electrical co. to buy . And they were just trashed like that .
Yeah, insulators are typically deemed garbage after its use. I've had seen cases where contractors will throw away new but used insulators. I'm sure their not worth much a piece, but in bulk for sure....
Where do you hunt for these nice insulators? Nice video by the way 😀👍
Thanks Anthony, hope the vid was worth it!! The insulators were liberated from abandonment that once powered mines that had their own sets of utilities. The best places to find insulators is around older, and industrial sites, cities or locations, preferably where there is abandoned landscapes, be careful and be safe when going to such places.
@@VariacManiac ok cool thank you variac maniac love your videos 😀👍
@@Antno Your vids are awesome too man
@@VariacManiac thank you 😀 by the way I just finished my solar panel system
How do you find those? Did u find a place with old abandoned power lines and the power company just left all of that stuff there?
I used google maps. I discovered abandoned mining sites that once had its own power grid. Since The mines shut down, those lines were decommissioned as well. Pretty crazy to say the least.
@@VariacManiac That's awesome! There are a lot of old ghost towns around here where I live in Oregon. That would be so cool to find some. Thanks :)
I was hoping for some more insulator hunting videos and you answered by posting this?
Well done!!
Looking forward to many more.
How heavy are the 17shed posts? I have some of the 13shed types and they're probably around 90lbs or so.
Your wish is my command, I'll upload more, no guarentees, but I hope to soon!! April-ish
Nice nice. Wanna send some of those my way? ;D
I been waiting for more insulator videos!
I have been too, I'm hoping to do more hunts in April, no guarentees, this stuff is beginning to be taken down and taken, will soon have to climb the various poles if I'm desperate enough. Their all stripped of their cables and are rotting, but we'll see..
tbh if i were you i'd just collect any old or damaged insulators like in the start, just incase if you ever want to sell it (for replacements of someone) or modify it or whatever
Awesome finds man! I wish there'd be more mines and stuff near me which would have this kinda stuff just laying around.
Keep doing your research and perhaps hop on google maps, search for structures with plants growing in and around them, then look for the structures power source, lots of google maps scouring will increase your probabilities!!!!
All the little ones are rated 7,2KV fro our utility but idk about yours.
They came off 7.2kV lines correct. Usually tested to 10kV and will do easy. The 3 post mount clamp top insulators were used at 69kV. Pretty common all of these are, hoped you enjoyed!
Nice! This was a great find!
It very much was!! Glad to see you around, long time no see!!
You might be able to find the insulators with a metal detector since it has metal on them
What's the distribution and subs-transmission voltage where you live? Here in western WA, we've got 12.47 kV distribution and 115 kV for subtrans.
Here in a remote part of Michigan, our town mines calcite and needs 2 140kV transmission lines, from there the town feeds off from 2 12470V 3 phase lines that come from the substation.
Oh interesting. Never heard of 140 kV. When I was in Montana for college, they used 69 kV (same exact looking insulators you've got, mounted upright) and 138 kV.
And nice insulator collection
Intresting finds there, keep up the good work. The music sounds good to 👍. Your powergrid design and voltage ratings seem very different from NZ. Fantastic video as always, Cheers.
There are a lot of voltage ranges we use in America. Most medium voltages run from 4160V, 12470V, 13200V, 13800V, 14,400V, all the way up to 34,500V. Low voltages are usually single phase 120/240V and 277V or 3 phase 208V and 480V. Glad to see that you've enjoyed!
The first comment as the video started 💀
The one @ 8:50 is a Locke.
now i want you to get a pothead.
i got huge insulators and potheads in 2020. and it not over yet.
maybe i got mutch more.
i get a weather head very soon. it sit not far from home. and the power company will sell it to me.
Thanks for commenting on my from insulator kid
If you ever need some old insulators, I work at an old factory with an abandoned switchyard. Lots of great stuff from 1928.
Damn that's cool!
I found the snapped off top of a dead end telegraph pole not too long ago, I got a lot of dead end insulators.
Great find!
insulator forest?!
2:25 my favorite American insulators. Nice video👍
Thank you sir!
That is COOL!
I've never seen that lightning arrester before. Do you think it was for something like a 480v line or a lower voltage distribution line?
Near the end of the video, I show the plaque on it and it read 3.7kV normal running voltage and 4.5kV rated max, pretty cool and it as an altitude rating as well, probably because voltage can jump easier at a higher altitude.
@@VariacManiac I didn't see the altitude rating, That's interesting! But I saw the voltage rating, but I've never seen that voltage range used, so I was wondering if maby it was used for low voltage distribution lines like 240v or 480v? But it's still way higher voltage rating than that, idk.
Nsaw1DoingStuff : maybe it was used on 2.3kV circuits :-)
@@ElectroXa It was an old 3 phase (In the ballpark of 2400V) system, for what will remain a mystery to me, but it was for mining at one point in the past..
I meant thanks for commenting on my video from insulator kid
You're welcome man!!
Nice, the 6 tier post should be rated for 35kv, they use those down here on all the new lines (most are 20kv). Never saw an Arrestor like that but I’ve got a glass one made by line materials co. I’ve got a few of those huge porcelain posts in a yard that I might be able to get, expect their brown not white! Soon I’ll post some more vids on what I’ve gotten since down here they’ve been doing a lot of re-conductoring.
Nice man, there's a lot more insulators to go for, this was only a weeks worth of hunting. You should go and get those post insulators.
@@futurelineman0524 Hey! I've been there, cool little mining town! My dad lives just a few miles from.
Here Idaho power NEVER leaves any insulators behind, they just take them and throw them away, there are some places that might have insulators
but there far away and there's no cellphone coverage there.
And how often do you find insulators?
Not very often. This video is almost a long time compilation. The way I target insulators is by looking on google maps for abandoned stuff, I research history in industrial locations. pretty hard to find. Usually no power company leaves anything behind, makes them look bad. These went to old mines that existed until the 80's and 90's, after they were defunct, the power systems were the least of their concerns.
@@VariacManiac Ya, I've been collecting insulators ever since I was 9 but I've only found a few insulators other than at stores.
There is a mine that was abandoned in the 50s and it has insulators around but I haven't explored it very much, It's where I got the old fused switch box that I use for my 12v stuff.
@@NSaw1 Nsaw1DoingStuff I travel a lot, that may be the case with me. You could possibly track down line workers if they are willing to give you stuff, unfortunately that has not worked too well with me.
@@VariacManiac A few years ago I got some insulators from some line workers near where I live.
I also travel a lot, I've been to all the lower 48 states but I only found 2 insulators, but I have been traveling since before I started collecting insulators, I travel with my parents and were uselessly hauling something and don't go far of the path like the freeways.
Where do you even find these? They’re laying around like Easter eggs. Never see anything like that here in Oregon.
The best places to find these are around very old industrial places with factories, railroads, etc. Especially if there's a lot of industrial history. These were found where there used to be mines that are now decommissioned and demolished. Their electrical lines that run through deep swamps and cow fields would have been too expensive to take down and are now abandoned. All the cabling was taken down though because of the value copper and aluminum holds.
Variac Maniac, Okay, thanks for the tip.
@@samschannel531 You're welcome man, hope that helps.
I will be going insulator hunting soon and I will post another video
If you're able to, you should record it. You don't have to if you don't want to.
I probably will record it
Hello there! I thought I'd finally comment on your page! I've been following you for about 2 years and I have absolutely marveled at your creativity and badass contraptions. There are not very many anomalies like yourself out there. I myself am in several ways are sort of like you (I had my own lab for 4 years and built several things from a paralleled mot stack to a homemade 5kW 12000 volt power transformer). I'm also around your age too. I do have a question for you (sorry about the mammoth length of this comment): how did you source those ballast transformers for the current regulated power supply? This is something I've been wanting to make for a while but haven't got to. I do realize that it probably cost a lot of money (currently trying to get a job in IT to provide some funny money for this EXPENSIVE hobby!), and I wondered if you simply took mots and did any extra rewinding on them to put out the appropriate power. Doing some research, I found that buying actual ballast transformers capable of taking mains current from a variac or wall was immensely expensive. Do you have any websites or providers that you use for these parts? I haven't been getting any luck or maybe I'm not looking hard enough. I wish we were closer; I live several states over unfortunately. Thanks!
Yo, glad to hear it man! The way I use my ballasts is with their outputs in parallel. I use contactors to provide power to individual ballasts. Every contactor is connected in parallel on the input side. Each contactor has it's own ballast. Each contactor has its own power button. The more buttons you press, the more ballasts you add to the circuit essentially adding power. Every ballast output is connected to a terminal bar that sends power to the output. Neutral is of course directly connected to the output socket. Hope that makes sense. You can use MOT's, but it's risky. I do use 2 parallel sets of 4 MOTs with their primaries in series as a current limiter. Total of 8 MOTs. Outputs shorted of course. Limits to 30A at 240V. That means Each stack of 4 MOTs will only see 15A at 240V. This is just to reduce the heating. I found my ballasts from dumpster dives. Yes, I do believe ballasts can be expensive. You might be able to get some from utility company bins, but it's not guaranteed. I have no other sites besides eBay. I might be buying an arc welder (big) to current limit up to 90A 240V. You can use a welder transformer as a current limiter. There are always alternatives. I personally try to avoid resistive current limiting. That's just me I guess. Hope this helps. :)
Your saying I would have to buy or find (unlikely) ballasts specific to what wattage output I would want and then label the buttons appropropriately. You didn't modify the winding ratio yourself on the mots? Assuming I just have mots I am guessing it's easier to just add the primaries and then parallel both. If that is the case, I'll probably build one that has 5 output levels with mots at either 120/240, ranging from 20%-100% (bypass) duty cycle. This is assuming I'll be able to locate parts and fund this project. I'll let you know if I can ever get to it. P.S.: one time I built a double paralleled mot stack with 6uf of resonance and brought it outside. Don't do it when it's windy; the arc blew forward (away from me) an extra foot.
@@gronkkcellah3083 That's exactly how I got my ballasts. Search junk yards, dumpsters, or you might have to buy them. There were no modification to the MOTs, I just paralleled 2 groups of 4 in series, works great for a couple minutes, but they still get warm just not as fast.
I noticed it was some time since I last spoke. You know, life and COVID really affected me to the point I had financial trouble funding this project. Eventually, I had to put it on the back burner for my career (I'm a web security analyst). Now, assuming you still have it, can you provide a rough schematic of your initial ballast PSU? I can take it through email. I'm now at a place where I can dust off my old electronics and open my book on power engineering again.
I'm back. Remember me? I got a job as an Industrial Electrician. Not quite in the powerline industry, but close enough. Loving the finds. You didn't grab those mini suspensions though. Those are really valuable over here (Australia). We had them back in the early days for high voltage. I mean real early days. I found 3 broken ones from 1943 in the middle of nowhere. That's not the earliest they go though. Some date back to the 1800s. I will digress. Those large white insulators are 69Kv horizontal station post insulators. We use 66Kv instead but they look the same size. Insulators are designed to have a slightly higher voltage/current rating in case of overloads etc. For a 10Kv pin insulator, there should be at least a +1Kv tolerance. If it is rated at 10Kv, it will be rated at a maximum of 11Kv. The 69Kv insulators will have a maximum rating that is higher than 69Kv. They shouldn't be used above the minimum rating though. It's always good to overcompensate these things. They don't need to be too big, but it's better than them being too small.
I do remember you, long time no see. That's great that you have that kind of job. I'm currently working on my associates degree in Utility Technology. It's been very busy. Don't worry, I'll be going back to get the suspensions including much, much more. Those are horizontal line posts, station posts are more for buswork etc. Glad to see you are still around. :)
@@VariacManiac Yeah sorry, horizontal line post insulators. Can't believe I said station posts. It's because I just got 12 66Kv Resin Station post insulators for free. I got them mixed up. What do you do in that degree?
@@SadBoyIJ You're alright, they all have differences as you know. Nice man, I'll be getting more stuff as well as their changing out old 138kV transmission lines. The degree is in applied science, but my main courses are in Utility Technology. Which means I will be a certified lineman in a year or so. I can't wait to be honest
@@SadBoyIJ I need to work on my Commercial Drivers License to be able to drive the bucket trucks. Do you have a facebook?
@@VariacManiac I do. I will email it
Grand Truck Simulator
Not a simulator, hope you liked it! :)
how much felony theft?? I hope you stay out of trouble.
Where's the theft coming into play? None of this is occupied and left to decay.
These are from lines that have not had electricity since the 80s, thanks for your concern though.
@@VariacManiac if you are certain I am happy for you. I may or may not have gotten into some trouble many years ago for a situation similar to this...
@@ubuntupokemoninc Oh, well from my research, these lines used to be owned by a mining company some years back and after their mines shut down, they were demolished. The grids going to them weren't as it appears. All the abandoned substations there used to be were hit by scrappers for the copper and what not. No one seems to care about the poles running through the woods. I thought to myself to venture for the insulators which after use have little to no value. So my dad and I went and picked up what there was left for insulators :)
@@ubuntupokemoninc I hope everything is going well for you after your trouble.
Wow awesome vidéo im like it
I'm glad you liked it Erik. I hope to do more videos like this in the near future:)
@@VariacManiac yes and im have one hidden vidéo im not take the insulator is damage and the last year im found in dump site some insulator im hidden