Power Line Update

Well, the 811 just left, actually I didn't know that he was even coming today! He went from box to box and marked all the way in between. He said that where the line goes through the field it is about 2'2 - 2'6 and in one short spot, it is 1'10, I told him that my plow will NEVER go below 6 inches because that is our clay layer, and he said to just plow right over it!

Told me a story of another local farmer with the same problem, his line 8 inches in the ground, and he plowed a 6 inch pass right over it and hasn't had any problems!

Contrary to what some of you said, he could care less about telling me how deep it was, and actually showed me how the machine found it! He also gave me a bunch of those little red flags, and we marked the line. He said just plow right over the line, but make sure you keep it marked just so you know where it is.

I said thanks, and away he went! PROBLEM SOLVED!! Bryce




Hmmmm, guess I won't be needing my rubber band after all... Wonder what else I could do with it...

google the song "rubber band man".

I hope he is right about that depth ! If not I hope he is then liable for the repairs.

i dunno bryce, if it were me, i'd put a narrow grass strip over the line and not farm it. i'd hate to hook it with a plow and tear up the line.

Me too Glennster. I'm in construction and I've seen the locating guys make mistakes.

So what happens in a few years when someone else decides to run a V-ripper or sub-soiler in this field to break the plow hardpan up? Risk vs Reward....

time to adjust your thinking; listen to those on here concerning previous post! from your description in previous post concerning the route and distance of buried line and in conjunction with today's post of from box to box, you are probably not dealing with secondary voltage of 120/240 volts, you are dealing with primary voltage of 7200 volts. an easy way to determine; is there a transformer, typically pad mount, placed at your home that serve your house? if yes then you have 7.2 kv on the buried line. in alabama, min. depth is 48 inches. anything less requires covered in concrete and the top of the concrete painted red and then back filled. i know, i know; but they marked it and told me don't help much deep fried. if at depth they stated it sounds like good green space to me.

In my opinion, only a fool would plow
the field right above a power line...

I worked in road construction all of my life. I've seen a lot of wrong locates. 1' 10" is shallow for a primary line, so hopefully it's secondary. We got into one that was said to be 12,500 volts, and it made a shotgun sound like a cap pistol by comparison. Remember - the locator only gave you a depth opinion at the spots where he stopped and pushed the button. What's the depth in between the spots? Nobody knows. It could have had a dirt clump rolled under it when they trenched it in and be a foot higher in some isolated spot. I agree with Glennster. Good luck to you - don't get hurt!!

We were setting a pad-mount transformer one time for a Tyson"s processing plant, called twice for locates. Had it marked twice. On the day, we even went inside the plant, and double-checked with plant engineer to make sure THEY didn"t have anything, phone, electrtic, gas in the way. No, no, they assured us. [See where this is going?] We walked out of the front door, gave the digger truck the circle-overhead-hand-spin, and he put "er in the gruond and pulled up 900 pair main telecommunications cable, and shut down the Industrial Park. Locates were off by 14".

... off by 14 feet.

I was pulling a 7 shank dmi ripper with a case I h steiger 535 20 inches deep in the same field that had been riped for 20 years cut right through 1 leg of the 7200 primary did not even know it till we tried to start the pivot irrigator power co worked 3 days to fix it thay said it was 4 feet deep when it was put in and place that had eroded away if I would of got 2 legs at the same time I probably would be dead

If that were me, I'd have made a sketch, an as built if you will, with or made reference points where dimensions and locations of depth are shown, can be taken from, so that I could re-establish the location any time, know whats what, and where. I'd have tried to get the locator to at least sign it acknowledging he agrees with the findings in the field and that it is safe to plow 8" deep. I can tell you that its not that difficult to have a plow nose dive in, especially a single bottom, depending on what you have and how its set up, the tractor and all the rest, we know its supposed to sort of glide and draft control should compensate, but....... I'd have eyes in the back of my head when crossing over that line. Just saying, "best laid plans of mice and men" "murphy's law" and all the rest.

If that's a primary line, of voltage listed below, you contact or hook onto that, the results may not please you to say the least. I'd want that in writing that it was ok to perform specific tillage, ie; using a moldboard plow in that field. Even with it in writing, that won't save you if there is a problem and it contacts that plow share. The perimeter locations of that line at each end of the field should be clearly marked. You establish this as an ag field, however so small, that line should be clearly marked at all times so anyone else would know about it. Some one at some other time goes in there with deeper tillage tools, or want to rip it, or use something other than a moldboard plow, its a trap.

2" working distance from 7200 volts,(well we don't know what the other farmer has) I hope that was a concrete encased electrical duct bank. Just conduit alone would seemingly be unsafe, I would not want to be that close to any primary line if that was the case with that kind of voltage.

Realize this, you have heard the worst case scenario, been told and been warned about consequences, by those who responded previously, do as you wish, and I can't speak for others but can only assume they mean well, don't want you to get hurt, injured or worse.

With age comes wisdom, it can be hard to relay that to someone your age, and have it sink in, but, live long enough, you'll realize that gradually over time, then become one of us, like me, LOL ! pontificating over something like you posted about ie; electrical distribution lines in fields you want to plant LOL ! We've all been there at least, so there's good reason for warning someone with something like this, and its done in good faith, in a friendly manner hopefully LOL !

Regardless, good luck with this endeavor and be safe with what you do, we can't afford to lose any young tractor enthusiast's, implement and equipment collectors LOL !!!!!! have to keep that scrap man at bay you know.... LOL !!

the rubber band man, song ? by which artist? bill

I tangled with a 7400 volt line once.Spent 3 weeks in a burn unit. I wouldn't get close to that line with anything bigger than a harrow.

Why would it not be down at least 4'?

Let's go back to your original post re wheat. Is this the less than 1 acre plat, you are going to raise 20 bushels of wheat on? Cut with a scythe? Pound on some rocks?
Are you really considering risking your life for maybe 100 dollars worth of wheat?
Let's also review WHY you are plowing it. Why not burn it off, or burn it down chemically, and then drill in you seed? Who advised you to plow in the first place. Send HIM out there on the tractor. Could you use a garden tiller?
This is a Mother Earth project gone way amuck. A conjured up project for you to play farmer with your plow. Are your parents involved in this fiasco?
You proved you could write and compose very well. Now lets see your logical thinking skills?
That would include updating your will.

My nephew's neighbor hit a primary line with an auger. When my nephew heard the explosion and the power went out, he went out to investigate. He heard screaming and saw the guy laying on the ground smoldering.

I know a guy that hit a primary line with a crawler loader. He was very lucky he wasn't hurt, but it cut/blew the bottom off his bucket. Think of the power it would take to do that to a loader bucket in a fraction of a second.

Gordo forget it I have been trying to nix this project since he first mentioned it. Did advise him that would be more return on the labor to just disk it and sow the wheat no need to plow but he wants to plow. Must be a hard worker I all I can say.

Bryce,

I am going to reiterate what the others said. A 7200 V line is very dangerous and WILL kill you if you get into it.

I would NEVER plan to take an implement within a few inches of it.

I have also never heard of one being buried 8" down, they are usually a minimum of 4' because they are so dangerous.

(quoted from post at 00:10:34 04/04/14) Bryce,

I am going to reiterate what the others said. A 7200 V line is very dangerous and WILL kill you if you get into it.

I would NEVER plan to take an implement within a few inches of it.

I have also never heard of one being buried 8" down, they are usually a minimum of 4' because they are so dangerous.

Click to expand...

They are supposed to be 4' deep but for a variety of reasons they can be shallower. Some places around here it's only 12-16" to bedrock. Dirt can fall into a trench before the wire is put in, erosion, grading, etc, etc.

1 foot 10 inches,,,,,,,you are going to do what you want ,,, but remember when you plow and it rains and moves some dirt or washes, that line is going to be on top before you know it. good luck what ever you decide.

I would see if the power could be turned off the first time I plowed. Once the dirt is plowed once or twice have it checked again. Here in Colo they should be 24"+ and a gas line has to be 18"+. Locating is FREE. I hit a power line once and didn't even know it until Wife was waving at me, and I saw the end of the wire. It kicked a breaker at the neighbors. Line was 100' out in a hay field.

I doubt they will not turn off a 7200 volt line just for you to plow. They will come mark it and tell you to stay away.

Come on guys. I checked back on his posts and sounds like it is a low voltage line. Not the same as a 7200 volt line. I have hit 240 volt lines with a backhoe and we both are still here.

240 would be secondary, could pull fuses in the transformer. It would still create quite an effect if you plowed into it.

You sure on the 16", they even put the secondaries in 3-4' here.

Well, thanks for the positive remarks boys!

I would LOVE to be able to just disc it, but it is a meadow that hasn't been touched in 20+ years, so a disc isn't going to do $hit. TO add to the problem, I have a 7 foot Oliver Disc that only weighs about 500 lb's, if one of YOU would like to bring over a 200 horse tractor and a chisel plow, I am sure it would do a fine job, but I am 15 with a patched together collection of 40's and 50's equipment, and I am going to do my damnedest do get the job done the best i can with what I have got!

I'll take a bit of criticism any day of the week, but I think that just wasn't all that nice...

Bryce

Here are a few more facts:

We are the last ones on the line, and we are the ONLY ones that have the line buried from the poles to the house.

It is one of the big lines, 7200, goes direct from the transformer to the one of those large green boxes behind the house.

The plot will ONLY be plowed this spring, then seeded, then plow this fall and orchard grass is going to be put in, so it isn't going to be plowed every year and open to erosion.

I think that so far it is still so so, and I am NOT SURE what I am going to do, it is right in the middle of what is already a small spot, so space is pretty tight. I think in the long run I probably will just avoid it, but right now I am NOT SURE!!

Hope I didn't make anybody panic, and please don't feel like I am ignoring your cautious words, I am pay CLOSE attention!

Bryce

It was my idea to plow it, and it is my Project, not a f%^&*(@ "fiasco". I personally thought that is was a good idea for me to get some experience "playing farmer" before I depended on it for a living.

For the second part, I think that my "logical thinking skills" are up to par, I can take care of my self. I might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but I am going to make a lot of light during my life time, and thats what counts.

Thanks... Bryce

Is the transformer on the pole?

If so that transforms it to 240 from 7200.

It is still a real BAD idea to bury it that shallow. I would spend a few more bucks and put it down deeper.

Yes, I guess it is!

Your right, dad just said that it "should be" a 240 line.

Around here it isn't uncommon to actually SEE the under ground lines, laying on top of the ground! I was truly surprised that ours were buried that deep! The guy that marked them told me that he had guessed that because they were 24 years old, they would probably only be 3-8 inches, but it seems they have stayed where they belong!

Bryce