[ This post has 11 photos. ]
SATURDAY 21 January
Friday came and went with no additional work being done, and no indication of when another crew would be on site, but sometime in the morning, a different DTE crew showed up, again with multiple trucks of various kinds. Working from a bucket truck, they opened the disconnect switch, disconnecting power from our house. The whole-house generator quickly came online and took over providing power to the house.
Bucket trucks positioned for the aerial work. The bucket on the left has an insulated pole that was used to operate the disconnect switches (old and new).
Their first task was to disconnect the conductors from the existing transformer primary to the two distribution lines. The bucket was then used to support each line (in turn) as it was disconnected from the existing insulated stand-off and then lifted up and attached to new insulated standoff on the new/higher crossbar. This increased the height of the lines over our center driveway and over the road to the west where it cuts through the SW corner of our property. Indeed, getting these lines raised was one of the reasons the existing pole was being replaced. The other reason was its age and condition.
The second bucket getting ready to go up.
Two buckets, each securing on one of the distribution lines to the new cross-bar. The line on the left is the “hot” (notice the disconnect switch). The line on the right is the neutral. Besides being connected to one of the primary taps on the transformer, the neutral is bonded to the bare copper ground wire that was installed the full length of the new pole and establishes a local earth reference for the voltage.
Disconnecting the old transformer.
One of the bucket trucks was positioned to disconnect the house underground service conductors from the existing transformer secondary taps and then dis-mount the existing transformer while the other one, which included a hoist, was used to support and lower the old transformer as it was removed from the old pole.
The old transformer on the ground.
The old pole was then “topped” a few feet above the AT&T and Comcast cables. The new 50 KVA transformer was then hoisted up and hung on the new pole. The rack was already installed just below it, but I’m not sure when that happened. The rack is a large vertical assembly with three (3) insulated standoffs.
The new transformer being hoisted into position. Note that the new transformer is pre-wired with both primary and secondary conductors. Note also that the old pole has been “topped” to make more room for the buckets to get into position.
Both buckets work together to get the new transformer on the previously installed mounting bolts.
The primary taps of the transformer were connected to the neutral conductor and the disconnect switch for the distribution lines and the wires from the secondary taps were secured to the rack. The ground conductor was also attached to the distribution neutral and the secondary center-tap on the transformer. The existing service conductors for the house were then temporarily routed to the rack and connected to the secondary transformer conductors. The disconnect switch was closed, and power was restored to our house.
The bucket that was used to hoist the new transformer up was also in the best position to attach the wires from the secondary taps to the insulated stand-offs of the rack. The rack has three stand-offs, one for the neutral conductor and one for each of the two hot (240 V) legs.
In this photo, the existing house underground service conductors (USC) have been temporarily spliced to the new transformer secondary conductors at the rack.
In this photo it is a bit clearer that the house underground service conductors are still attached to the old pole. The Comcast/broadband (upper) and AT&T (lower) cables are also still attached to the old pole.
The crew is done for the day and pulling out. Our house is now running off of the new 50 KVA transformer. I checked inside and the voltage seemed to be a volt or so higher, and less subject to dropping when loads were energized. (We have uninterruptable power supplies throughout the house to protect sensitive electronics. The units we use have a digital voltage display, so I can keep a close eye on what’s happening vis-à-vis electrical power. We also have a DTE EnergyBridge device, which monitors and reports our electrical energy usage in real time, via our smart meter, but also gives us access to historical data.)
Significant progress was made today towards having upgraded power to the house and, eventually, to the barn. I e-mailed the planning consultant and included a couple of photos.
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