Re: Power disconected? Here's how to turn it back on.

<Snip>

The handle says it all for me!

Ploink!

"somesmartass" snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com trolled in message

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troll troll troll your boat gently in the dark :-)

You forgot to mention that this procedure should only be used on rainy days...

Very Shocking...

Get it ???

Evan the Maintenance Man

P.S. -- Your 'secret' tricks weren't anywhere close to being correct... This comes from someone who is quite familiar with electrical wiring...

It is easier and safer to obtain a proper stick - one that can be used safely in the rain. See:

By the way, have you checked your calendar?

Now THAT'S funny!

:)

I knew someone would say something stupid and from the brief time I've lurked around this group I was willing to bet it would be you. You have proven you know as little about wiring as you do locksmithing. If that's actually possible. LMAO.

Somesmartass:

First off, I am not the one describing in detail techniques to steal electricity, which is illegal... Your idea that the plastic tamper seals on meter sockets being considered locks is just so stupid its not even funny... Just pathetic... A tamper seal is a one-time thing, a LOCK is reusable...

You don't even know the name for the 'stick' that you describe -- it is called a hot stick... Yes it is used for pulling the disconnect switch on transformers, it is also used for pulling fuses on other types of transformers (pad-mounted) and those small cross connect ties that splice high voltage circuits together on the poles whenever two lines cross each other... It seems that you know less about power supply systems than you let on, like you just found this article somewhere and want to pass it on to others... See I know what these things are and how they work... It is clear that you do not... Those 'green boxes' as you put it are transformers... In neighborhoods that are fed from underground (2,500 intermediate distribution voltage) primary electrical service, each house DOES have its very own transformer...

Second the power company doesn't shut deadbeat people's power off at the transformer, as it would shut off everyone else on that street fed from that transformer as well...

Third if the power company opens your meter socket to shut off your power, they will take the meter out and reseal the box with a filler plate in place instead of the meter, then lock the box with something a bit stronger than a tamper seal -- usually a padlock... I have seen this done several times... The gas company does the same thing... They take the meter and cap off the service pipe... Kind of makes it really hard to steal utilities when they take away a part of the system used to convey it to you...

Without a meter installed in the meter socket there is NO path for the power to flow into your house... The power actually flows through the meter in poly-phase residential electrical service in order to complete a circuit from your service feeder to your main circuit breaker panel...

I like you ethics that you have shown in the last part of your 'technical post' about defeating electric meters... If you get caught stealing (which is theft, and usually a very serious thing) you describe how to explain it away as you having been offered a chance to get your power turned back on by a corrupt utility company employee... Umm, WOW, that sounds so very respectful and honest doesn't it...

Was this technically accurate enough for you, or should I post about the different kind of electrical meters for you too ???

If you are done with your fictional fantasy stories fine, but if not I know more than enough about electricity to out do you...

Evan the Maintenance Man

Dear Mr maintenance man:

Note that I know you are blowing smoke and should probably not waste my time responding to you but for the benefit of those who might be interested in my information I am posting this response to your points, calling them points is somewhat generous but then I am a generous person, usually anyway.

seals on

funny...

reusable...

I clearly explained how to ensure that the tamper seal is reusable. You

obviously missed that.

is

Thats nice. I call it a long pice of PVC pipe with a bolt stuck through

it. But your term is shorter. Thank you for filling me in on correct

terminology.

Just as I described. I suppose you will be getting to the part where my

instructions were inaccurate? So far all you are doing is using your

expert knowledge to confirm that what I posted is dead on.

it is also used for pulling fuses on other types of

splice

each

Operations largely out of the scope of my how to article but thank you

for sharing that.

on to

is

No really? I thought they were purely decorative in nature.

In neighborhoods that are fed from underground (2,500

house

the

from that

Umm but gee oh learned maintenance man I thought you just said each

house had its own transformer? Why would anyone assume I was talking

about disconnecting/reconnecting at any transformer other than the one

for the individual house. Perhaps you are one of those people I

reffered to earlier who shouldn't really be reading this.

OK That wasn't nice.

To give you the clue you are desparately lacking they can shut it off

at the transformer or at the meter or physically disconncet at the

transformer or at the lead in from the main line depending on how

thorough they wish to be. This is why I kindly provided instructions on

how to reconnect at the meter as well.

power,

place

No. This is typically only done when the power is being turned off to

that customer for good, not when being temporarily disconnected for

late payment. Frequently nothing is done at all at the meter. It is

disconected at the switch on the transformer as I said in the first

place. Try to keep up. I know from reading other discussions you have

taken part in it is a challenge for you.

Really? It must be quite interesting to see them get the padlock

through the hole intended for the wire seal.

If you had only read my article you could have hooked it back up when

they left................

off the

they

The piping conveys it to you. The meter only measures how much, a

function only important from the utilities point of view.

power

in

circuit

Which is why I covered removal of insulator tabs from the contacts on

the rear of the meter. Perhaps you missed that? I get the feeling you

miss alot. And in the case of the power company that removed the entire meter I

suppose theres just no way that wires could simply be installed to take

its place. Ummm for example straight from socket to socket on both

legs? No that would never work. The lack of a meter in this case might

well be a benefit since there would be no record of how much power was

even used after the ........well will just call it a do it yourself

reconnect.

'technical

(which

explain it

on by

Obviously I would be remiss if I failed to provide at least a cursory

cover story albeit a damn good one for someone who puts my information

to use. I don't think its illegal to bribe a utility co employee and it

could well make reasonable doubt in court if it came to that with

regard to a theft of service or tampering charge. If you have ethical

problems with this wait till I finish writing how to 'borrow' rental

trucks.' Its relevant to this NG because it includes a section on, you

guessed it, lockpicking. Youll luv it.

Um no it wasn't it was filled with inconsistencies and completely

failed to point out any problems with the application of my

instructions other than the possibility of meter removal which thanks

to you I have now covered even though they usually dont remove it. Its

always good to be thorough though. I have added it to my original

doccument.

know

Nothing fictional about it. I'm still waiting for you to detail what

part of my posting would not work?

and waiting

and waiting

and waiting

Ill be waiting for quite some time I imagine since it works perfectly.

Although I will concede I should have covered the possibility of an

absent meter. I thought that it was obvious that in that case it would

simply be replaced with straight conductors. As to size consult the NEC

since I never claimed to be an electrician but I would guess that 4

gauge copper would be sufficient. Obviously this was lost on you so

someone else may have missed it as well. Thank you for bringing that

up. As for detailing the various types of meters why dont you save that

for an upcoming post of mine on pure meter tampering. Im calling it

"Putting the brakes on high electric bills." Unless I think of a

catchier title. I'm also thinking of writing one on covert credit/debit

card cloning or "carding" as some like to call it. If you have some

technical expertise there feel free to share. I noticed though that

some guy was having trouble with a Ford 10 cut so I will be doing a

short piece on how to crack that better idea from Ford with simple hand

tools almost as fast as it can be started with a key.

BTW Mr Key should be happy, so far as I care about that, since I

refrained, as far as I can remember anyway, from using any profanity.

PS Mr maintenance man please spit out your gum before walking I dont

want you to trip.

I know, that wasnt nice.

I remember back in 78 I was working in a new subdivision around one of those transformers that transfer power to homes where the lines are ran underground. The old boy I was with was here illeaglly I think from Mexico and he couldn't understand English. He was digging a trench and he hit the line going from the transformer to the house I think, 234vac/200amp. He was using a wood shovel and it was dry outside. When his shovel hit the line it went BOOM! real loud. It was a deafening boom. I watched as a bright bolt of light came from the middle of the (wood) shovel and then he flew ten or more feet off the ground and about 25 or 30 feet over a fence into the next yard while his two shoes were in the spot where he left them by the transformer smoking away. He was cooked from the inside out with some burns on the outside but most of it was internal damge not to mention the broken neck from the fall. He was screaming in pain. He died a few weeks later from his wounds. Something to think about before fooling with electricity yourself.

One less illegal alien... Cool... was there any other point to this article that I missed? LOL

The point was if you mess with electricity be careful. He had a wife and kids. Nice guy. I had no problem with him doing what he was doing. Would you dig a ditch for minimum wage? I dont think so.

Nope... I wouldn't. However, I'd find a person who was here legally to do it. I don't have issues with immigrants. My issue is with those who break the law by simply BEING here. Starting off on the wrong foot.

I wasn't there so I don't know............ but this sounds a bit exagerated. The shovel blade is a decent if not perfect conductor. The human body is by comparison a poor conductor as is a dry wood handle. The natural tendency of electrical current in that case should be to travel through the shovel blade to ground or through the shovel to one of the other conductors, the common or other hot feed take your pick depending on exactly what got cut. Shorting two

120 volt feeds together would create some pretty violent arching but what you describe is more like standing on a stick of ditching dynamite and detonating it.

I spent the better chunk of my life working as a lineman and I can tell you that shovels do explode and a stick with a nail through it is not a decent Hot Stick by any means... your going to die or atleast get severly burned.

Wooden shovels explode becouse no matter how dry they seem, there is always some water in them and the rapid heating of this water causes the shovel to explode.

It takes less then .1 amp (yes there's a decimal point before that 1) to kill a man, think what 200 would do. The effect it the same to your body as it is to the shovel.

One of the worst memories I have is aprentice lineman thinking a wire laying on the ground was dead and grabing the end with his bare hand.

Service disconnects are normally done at the meter face, unless someone is cought hooking themselves backup. Normally more then one address is fed from a transformer and opening the gate (thats the lever there talking about) will disconect service to all those places.

If you hear what sound like a shotgun then your lights go out take a look and see what happend. The gate will probably be smoking and hanging open towards the ground.

Remember: IF IT'S NOT GROUNDED IT'S NOT DEAD... Don't play with fire or you'll get burned.

Leo Boyd Boyd's Lock and Key

No exageration at all. I saw it with my own two eyes, 20/20 back then. The whole experence was etched into my memory. Boom, then a man with no shoes whent up and over a fence to the middle of the yard next door fried like a hot dog in a microwave, from the inside out with his shoes still in the spot where he was digging. Sunny day it was.

.1A = 100mA... The rule is 100mA (across your heart) for 2 seconds = death. That's relational so 50mA x 4 seconds or 200mA for 1 second, etc... Each person is different, of course, but that's the general rule of thumb.

The human body is like 98% saline (salty water)... A human body makes a GREAT conductor assuming the voltage is high enough (somewhere around 40-50V or so unless you have sweaty palms) to break the skin barrier. Just drank a Gatorade? You're an even better conductor than before!

The human body is actually a better conductor than the metallic shovel blade ONCE the skin barrier has been broken... If you've ever been bit by 110VAC, you know the skin barrier is nothing to voltage that high (or higher!)

Electricity always takes the shortest path to ground, however, what happens when that path is saturated already (such as during a short circuit when the current max'es out)? It finds the next path of least resistance... Air if it has to (arcing) or in the case described, the handle of the shovel seeking whatever protons it can get to... All that current superheats the water vapor in the wood and BOOM!

It's more like 70% or so by weight. I don't have the exact number handy. Suffice it to say it is not 98%.

The real danger of working with electrical current is frequently overstated and exagerated. People are killed by electricity when they do STUPID or careless things, things such as grabbing a hold of a downed power line or any conductor assuming it's dead for example. Or digging in the vicinity of underground lines without finding out exactly where they are and at least using a fiberglass handled tool. Of course you know what they say about assumptions in general.