On Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 12:25:05 PM UTC-4, Frank wrote:
> On 3/15/2023 12:12 PM, Andrew wrote:
> > On 11/03/2023 18:47, Frank wrote:
> >> On 3/11/2023 5:48 AM, Slevin wrote:
> >>> Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >>>> I have a Micromark surge protector. Just a plug (not as in to
> >>>> connect an appliance, it just plugs into a socket to absorb surges,
> >>>> no cable comes out of it). I was interested in the LED on the front
> >>>> which says "protection active", so I opened it to look inside to see
> >>>> how it knew if it had expired. What do I find? An array of
> >>>> varistors as expected, but the only connection to live was through a
> >>>> clumsily soldered on piece of fusewire about 1-2 amps thickness.
> >>>> So.... it blows the fusewire as soon as there's an infinitely tiny
> >>>> surge, so therefore can't absorb much of it anyway? What's the
> >>>> point in that?
> >>>
> >>> Simple. When the light goes out you give Micromark more of your
> >>> money...but I think you knew that.
> >>
> >> Surge protectors are a lot cheaper than appliances like microwave, TV
> >> or computer. I had problems with all before using surge protectors.
> >> Living in a treed area, high tension line would fall onto low tension
> >> line to houses causing the voltage surge.
> >
> > HT lines generally do not cross over LV lines for this reason.
> >
> > All the places where I have seen this happens there is always
> > an additional bare copper earth line above the 3 phases
> > and neutral, and this extra earth is connected to earth
> > at each of the supporting poles.
> >
> > These days the LV stuff is being replaced with twisted bundles
> > of insulated aluminium cable anyway which should minimise the
> > problem.
> I do not know about their wiring here. Service to my street is
> underground but above ground leads to it. In the past I recall wet
> branches falling causing the short between HT and LT.

Why would different voltage power lines be running on the same poles??? By "LT", do you mean phone and cable?

--

Rick C.

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On Wed, 15 Mar 2023 10:14:57 -0700 (PDT), Ricky
<gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 12:25:05?PM UTC-4, Frank wrote:
>> On 3/15/2023 12:12 PM, Andrew wrote:
>> > On 11/03/2023 18:47, Frank wrote:

>> > These days the LV stuff is being replaced with twisted bundles
>> > of insulated aluminium cable anyway which should minimise the
>> > problem.

Sounds like Aerial Bundled Cable (ABC).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_bundled_cable

>> I do not know about their wiring here. Service to my street is
>> underground but above ground leads to it. In the past I recall wet
>> branches falling causing the short between HT and LT.
>
>Why would different voltage power lines be running on the same poles??? By "LT", do you mean phone and cable?

IEC defines Low Voltage as 50 to 1000 Vac. Below 50 V is Extra-low
Voltage (ELV) and above 1000 Vac high voltage.
,

On 2023-03-15 18:14, Ricky wrote:
> On Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 12:25:05 PM UTC-4, Frank wrote:
>> On 3/15/2023 12:12 PM, Andrew wrote:
>>> On 11/03/2023 18:47, Frank wrote:
>>>> On 3/11/2023 5:48 AM, Slevin wrote:
>>>>> Commander Kinsey wrote:
>>>>>> I have a Micromark surge protector. Just a plug (not as in to
>>>>>> connect an appliance, it just plugs into a socket to absorb surges,
>>>>>> no cable comes out of it). I was interested in the LED on the front
>>>>>> which says "protection active", so I opened it to look inside to see
>>>>>> how it knew if it had expired. What do I find? An array of
>>>>>> varistors as expected, but the only connection to live was through a
>>>>>> clumsily soldered on piece of fusewire about 1-2 amps thickness.
>>>>>> So.... it blows the fusewire as soon as there's an infinitely tiny
>>>>>> surge, so therefore can't absorb much of it anyway? What's the
>>>>>> point in that?
>>>>>
>>>>> Simple. When the light goes out you give Micromark more of your
>>>>> money...but I think you knew that.
>>>>
>>>> Surge protectors are a lot cheaper than appliances like microwave, TV
>>>> or computer. I had problems with all before using surge protectors.
>>>> Living in a treed area, high tension line would fall onto low tension
>>>> line to houses causing the voltage surge.
>>>
>>> HT lines generally do not cross over LV lines for this reason.
>>>
>>> All the places where I have seen this happens there is always
>>> an additional bare copper earth line above the 3 phases
>>> and neutral, and this extra earth is connected to earth
>>> at each of the supporting poles.
>>>
>>> These days the LV stuff is being replaced with twisted bundles
>>> of insulated aluminium cable anyway which should minimise the
>>> problem.
>> I do not know about their wiring here. Service to my street is
>> underground but above ground leads to it. In the past I recall wet
>> branches falling causing the short between HT and LT.
>
> Why would different voltage power lines be running on the same poles??? By "LT", do you mean phone and cable?
>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_pole>

See the fifth picture (Typical North American utility pole)

--
Cheers, Carlos.