Originally Posted By: Richlacal
!Of Course I Know What Voltage is in the Line,Don't You?


Actually other than the line to my house from the pole the answer is no I don't know and unless you work for the local power company (or maybe EMS) you probably won't know either.

From the pole to my old house (most houses in the US actually) was 220VAC with some really high current limit (like way way north of 200 Amps). If that one comes down (or if several in your neighborhood come down) tension tends to pull it back to the pole and getting boxed/trapped is unlikely (and yes sometimes luck just plain runs out).

I am pretty sure my old neighborhood had 440ish VAC lines feeding the on the pole transformers (old neighborhood) but I think the underground line feeding my current neighborhood is around 600V but I don't know for certain in either case.

Most of the above ground lines around here are either local distribution (something around 600VAC) or transmission lines (more than 1 KVAC, usually over 100KVA). Getting these two lines mixed up is a sure way to cook yourself even if you equipped and prepared to deal with the lower voltage.

-Eric
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You are never beaten until you admit it. - - General George S. Patton