fibreglass steps and ladders

[Duncan P]

do these work?, can you touch live and not get a shock (if not touching neutral or earth or anything conducting to them). Also can you touch live with insulated rubber soled shoes or standing on a rubber mat.

Obviously these are just additive safety measures but do they work?

 

[bernardgreen]

do these work?, can you touch live and not get a shock (if not touching neutral or earth or anything conducting to them). Also can you touch live with insulated rubber soled shoes or standing on a rubber mat.

Obviously these are just additive safety measures but do they work?

To get an electric shock there has to be an entry and an exit point. One to live and the other to neutral or earth.

That is why birds can perch on 11,000 volt over head wires.

 

[RF Lighting]

Not certain, but as far as I am aware fibreglass steps wil not prevent you getting an electric shock, but will reduce the severity of it, when compared with aluminium steps.

Kind of like you can still get a shock stood on a dry wooden floor in rubber soled boots, but this is not as severe as it would be stood on a concrete floor in bare feet.

Its all to do with increasing the resistance between the live cable and earth, to reduce current flow through your body.

 

[breezer]

I think you will find you are missing the point.

If you work on a railway station you have to have fibreglass ladders.
this is so that you do not get a shock if you are stupid enough to get them near the overhead lines.

since thhis has come out people are going silly for them ebven thogh in most places they are not required.

it has been known for "fishermen" to be killed because they hold their fishing rods verticaly on a station platform, get too close and...........

 

[RF Lighting]

We used to have to use wooden laddes / steps back in t'day when I used to work on train staitions. Orange hi vis stuff too.

 

[breezer]

We used to have to use wooden laddes / steps back in t'day when I used to work on train staitions. Orange hi vis stuff too.

exactly

 

[DESL]

Non conducting ladders are required in BT exchanges and on most council and government contracts.

 

[breezer]

they didnt used to be.

and it wouldnt surprise me if in a BT place you had to have a barrier and cones round it, and a few flashing lights

 

[Belle427]

they are becoming the norm in most places now,a hospital i worked at recently wont even let you use step ladders,it all mini tower scaffolding

 

[ricicle]

they are becoming the norm in most places now,a hospital i worked at recently wont even let you use step ladders,it all mini tower scaffolding

Or get your IPAF license

 

[IJWS15]

All due to recent changes in regs covering use of ladders.

It is one thing to go in to change one light bulb - it is entirely different if you are working on it all day and it is that the new regulations are supposed to prevent.

Never mind the cones in BT premises - you are unlikely to be allowed to use a ladder now - we have non-conducting stagings.

 

[FredFlintstone]

That is why birds can perch on 11,000 volt over head wires.

How do people get killed falling onto overhead rail power cables then? Is it that they connect two together (through their body) thus meaning a current passes through them?

Just interested that's all.

 

[ELZ4742]

rails are on the ground (earth) overheads are in the air, (no earth)

 

[ricicle]

To get an electric shock there has to be an entry and an exit point. One to live and the other to neutral or earth.

That is why birds can perch on 11,000 volt over head wires.

Don't you remember the old one though about the birds have 2 legs in contact with the conductor so are in fact creating a parallel path with the part of the conductor between their 2 legs, but as their body resistance is so much higher than the line very little current will flow through their body.
So in theory they do have a current flow through them but it will be very, very small.Same would apply if a human hung from a line with 2 hands!!

 

[sm1thson]

How do people get killed falling onto overhead rail power cables then? Is it that they connect two together (through their body) thus meaning a current passes through them?

i am guessing its because if they land where there is a support for the cable they will tend to touch both the cable and the support (which is grounded) thus bridging the insulating thing in-between. also to fall onto something that high they must of been on something even higher so thats quite a fall!

as for fibreglass ladders -no good for the neon screwdriver fans!