Being a Lineman - Episode 21

[@davepusey]

Shouldn't the telecoms company be responsible for dealing with the coax and fibre?

[@Bobsdecline]

Depends on the situation, but most times they are more then happy letting us look after it. If something is damaged we'll let them know... Or if we simply don't have time. Even broken pole calls, we usually re-attach all of their lines and semd'em the bill. Many companies are not setup this way, but we're a pretty small province and all parties are involved, including unions decided this works best

[@linehandibew6205]

The only time I mess with their stuff is when cutting it down hahahahahahahaha

[@gadgettt935]

As a coax dude employed by a very large cable company - we don't really roll to things unless they are service affecting issues in our distribution plant that would be affecting multiple people. For something like this, a residential technician would be sent out with a 2 hour arrival window, and he would be expected to use a ladder to remove the line. Then another residential tech would be sent out to reinstall the line. The chances of both of those things happening in the same day are very low, unless the customer knew someone and they contacted the right person. I'm fine with the power company doing this stuff and if something gets messed up in the process we will come out to fix it. I would buy the guy lunch if I saw him using a 7/16's to tighten the connector back onto the tap just a little tighter than hand tight. You wouldn't believe how many problems are caused by loose connectors.

[@Bobsdecline]

That's really what it comes down to often times.... Customer service. It's very difficult to coordinate this stuff and no fun for the customer if they have to wait a few days. Like LinehandIBEW said tho... We do way more cutting then attaching

[@linehandibew6205]

@@Bobsdecline I was kidding btw. Only time we cut them down it broken poles aka hit pole or storm damage and they’re across the road.

[@thomasmleahy6218]

They've got fiber?? Dang, way ahead of us.

[@DdosedRS]

Thanks for reconnecting the telecom drops, most times when i roll up on a job where the trees got cut down i find my drop ripped in half because when they drop the tree. At the bare minimum disconnect from the pole before dropping the trees otherwise it will rip our anchors out of the house.

[@ericclothier2543]

Telecom worker here from the US. Love seeing you guys care for the coax and fiber lines! As has been shared many times in the comments, we typically roll up to lines that were just cut free by the power company. I do understand that, in the event of a pole break or tree taking down lines the power company cant really do the repairs we are able to do. But it is nice to see you disconnect/drop/hang/reconnect!!

[@smithy6919]

Around syracuse New York keep up the good work thanks

[@Bobsdecline]

Hey Everyone! I had this video almost ready to upload about a month ago, but didn't bother posting/finishing it. With only a few hours free time last night, I had a change of heart 🤷. Cheers and have a great week all!🍻👊

[@jaredwhite4955]

Watching from Bullhead City, Arizona. I am new to the electric utility space and was hired on as a UAV pilot to inspect our lines. Your channel has been a great resource for learning about this trade and how my fellow linemen spend their days. Keeps sharing your videos! Love Them!

[@andyhill242]

The skillset for being a lineman is very great indeed, one of the requirements being what we call a tree surgeon here in the UK. Not sure what you call it over there but basically it's a person who cuts down and manages trees.

[@Bobsdecline]

The proper term in our parts would be an "Arborist" 👊💪🍻

[@Bobsdecline]

I should add that: while we lineman trim/remove many trees, a qualified arborist would typically have much more knowledge and experience specific to the task.

[@mikel9567]

As someone who used to work in the Telecom field, let me just say I greatly appreciate the effort you guys went to to protect those Coax and Fiber lines. Fiber especially isn't cheap. Power guys here rarely touched our stuff, though they were always nice enough to rehang it on the poles for us. Telecom is a lot more technical than people think and there is quite a bit of engineering involved when working with the plant. I always tried to stay on the good side of the power guys. They could save you a ton of work if they like you, haha. I kind of miss the work though.

[@davekreidenweis3126]

I'm watching from Cincinnati Ohio. I have learned a lot from you thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@lewiscornine7122]

Watching from sebring Florida i love watching your videos my son is a new jersey lineman !

[@toddhenning8304]

Watching from Chicago suburbs, Enjoy watching what your job entails. I will do minor electrical outlets, switches but leave the big stuff to the pros.

[@njdewit]

Thank you for these videos! I'm no electrician nor lineman but I definitely enjoy seeing you at work and explaining whilst doing so.

[@Mediocre1987]

Great work as usual. Here In southern Ontario there is no real cooperation between utilities most of the time. If hydro’s out and our distribution or fibre is in the way… well, it’s coming down and we deal with it afterwards. Seeing what you guys do and how you work together is something to be envious of for sure .

[@deathraylabs_nature]

so much respect for what you guys do. thanks!

[@HeathKentucky]

Heck of a job brother I love your channel and attitude doing this job I honestly thank lineman in general are not appropriated until they are needed. Stay safe out there and thank you for keeping families warm/cool and comfortable. From Kentucky! Throw some more shorts out there and you'll hit that 50k goal quick

[@Bobsdecline]

Really appreciate the message Heath! Cheers!

[@thelwq]

Watching from Czech Republic. It is interesting to see totaly different approach to grid operation and maintenance. Here we do have all the cables layed in the ground, as it is required by law anyway for new instaĺations and reconstructions. But we do not have fiber optics or cable grids here, just poor phone line. And regarding power distribution - low voltage distribution to customers is made as 230V lines from central 630kVA transformer fed by 22 or 35kV line. One 22/35kV line can carry as much as 3-4MW and thus serve like 4k customers.

[@joemichalek8879]

really enjoy your videos Retired JL from Northeast PA

[@murrayshaw8766]

Watching from Panama while on escape from British Columbia. Great videaos

[@robinmyman]

Interesting. 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@robertchauvin486]

Awesome work,watching down here in south Louisiana

[@alasdairmunro1953]

Good video! Interesting that you disconnect and re-connect comms. That’s real customer service! Here in the UK, you’d have to wait three weeks to get it re-connected if it was taken out in an emergency. Watching from Saxilby, near Lincoln, UK.

[@cedricpomerleau5586]

I don’t know how it works in the UK, but in Canada if service is interrupted for more than 24 hours (or something like that), they have to deduct that time from your bill. Each time I’ve contacted about some kind of issues, they were in the pole in a matter of hours.

[@Mayhemkiller200]

Depends on your service, my last company was also an ISP and our lines came with a default of a 1 week repair SLA and BT charged us about an extra £1 a month to upgrade to a 4 hour SLA (we resold it to customers at £1.50)

[@Mayhemkiller200]

@@cedricpomerleau5586All depends on the SLA you have with your supplier, as I said in my other comment we had customers with a 4 hour SLA so if it was out for me then 4 hours we submitted a claim with the line provider and refunded the customer

[@unwired1281]

Already subbed so can’t increase the total. Keep them coming. Local 1 retired. 👊

[@Bobsdecline]

👊👊 Appreciate it!

[@jetg2111]

Nice job 👍 beautiful countryside... Greetings from Berlin, Germany

[@Bobsdecline]

Greetings Berlin!

[@bjgarbacz1]

Watching from Roc NY USA

[@djfrank59]

Watching from the states in New Jersey.

[@dodgetech02]

I am not in this field but find myself looking at different pole switches and transformers now thanks to your videos.

[@timmak1914]

Watching from Northwest Indiana. It must be joy at work for an open company. The utility I worked for for 35 years was paranoid about cameras and pictures and to shoot a video on company property probably would have got you a couple of days off!

[@Steven-vo8tk]

Great job!

[@stanleyroberts2461]

Sioux City Iowa. Love your video's

[@alan.macrae]

Nice to see that your company has a relationship with the other utilities that allows you to minimize the inconvenience to your customers by handling the coax and fiber cables. That would cause a major s--t storm down here. Nice video, Aaron. 👊

[@Mediocre1987]

I wish it was the same in the gta… we usually get called out to find our cables on the ground because they were “in the way”

[@longviewstud26]

Excellent video

[@Bobsdecline]

Thanks timbo!

[@jamesverburg5478]

Watching from Vermont

[@therealromster]

All the way down in Australia, I've learned so much about your infrastructure it's totally different to AU/NZ and UK setups.

[@John-ru5ud]

In Connecticut we have managed to split the work between a large number of entities. The power company can work on only its line. The poles are the responsibility of the legacy phone company. To cut a tree requires a licensed arborist. Only the phone company can work on the phone line; only the cable company can work on the cable. In short - job protection at its worst!

[@ke6gwf]

I am shaking my head that you can get fiber to the house in middle of nowhere Canada (no offense, I am jealous! Lol), but most of the US, including in cities, not only can't get Fiber, but can't even get decent decent internet period. Great job, fun video, nice that you can handle the Comms stuff for situations like this, and sorry, I am already subscribed! Lol

[@cedricpomerleau5586]

Nah, it’s pretty bad in Canada too. I was the first to be surprised to see that being in a small area in the west of Quebec. Even then, with the new programs (Canada + provinces) that will install fiber pretty much everywhere by next September, it usually is fiber to the pole only (not that I complain, with DOCSIS 3.1 it can be quite fast, but the uploads aren’t as good as with fiber).

[@michaelhofer9149]

👊🏼 from Maryland.

[@lonahlen8266]

Hello from Indiana. You put out great videos. Thanks.

[@jcolby265]

You’ll be back to that house again. Customer should hire a tree crew to open up around that service. In NH pole to house is customer responsibility. We’ll take trees off services but won’t cut hazard trees pole to house.

[@Bobsdecline]

Exactly 🙌. We usually go above and beyond...I wish everyone understood that 😔

[@mikel9567]

Our power company has their own arborist division and they also contract with private companies like Asplundh and Kemp West. They will come out and remove a line clearance tree for customers free of charge. It is cheaper for them to do that than to deal with the consequences later. I'm in WA State and we just had a massive windstorm come through. Our power crew is currently working to replace 1 mile of broken power poles. Thats just on the main road. I have no idea how many poles on private property broke. I don't know how much poles cost or what the labor costs are, but I guarantee it's going to be way less than sending a crew out to remove a tree before it becomes a problem.

[@steelfist65]

Watching from Narrowsburg, NY. Love your videos!

[@MichaelRBaron]

Howdy from Pittsburgh again. I can't do a winter outdoors here clean shaven. How do you manage to not freeze without growing a facebear?

[@BrentCordis]

One of the best. Love seeing you working a job.

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

Given the number of videos I've watched on this channel, it was WORTH the sub... Good luck on the 50k Aaron

[@Bobsdecline]

Thanks Trevor!

[@billmurray8739]

watching from Virginia

[@Bluenoser613]

I hope you get to 50K. Great content!

[@Bobsdecline]

🥂 Cheers!

[@strobelightbrian]

Nice to see it! Thanks for showing it!

[@michaelmyersrush13]

Good video Erin. Barrie on.

[@davesworkshop2714]

Nice job 👍. I must go look at a 38kv sub in the morning. Trying to figure out the earthing on the AIS equipment plinth in one Im working on.

[@luciahaskins3170]

I'm watching from the snow belt of Michigan's Upper peninsula. Have you ever gone swimming in lake Superior before? Thanks for sharing the video.

[@Phred_Phlintstoner]

Nice! Another yooper! Technically I'm from Wisconsin, but I can almost spit to Michigan from here. Where in the UP are you? I'm very near Iron mountain/ crystal falls.

[@Bobsdecline]

Never have!

[@luciahaskins3170]

@@Phred_Phlintstoner Far west side, Ironwood.

[@dendkmac]

Watching from Las Vegas, you guys are up in cold country doing the line man's work.

[@scottfeatherstone7156]

Very nice job, great customer service!

[@brucelonsdale8422]

Coolamon NSW Australia.

[@michaelgagne1911]

Great customer service nice job 👍

[@danyoung5346]

Erin Keep them coming AWESOME videos

[@spanishinquisition4420]

watching from surrey, bc! (oh my good god the flooding is INSANE)

[@stewartthompson72]

Anything you want to post is fine with me, I always find it interesting. l thought the flow was just fine on this one. Watching from Vernon, BC.👊

[@Bobsdecline]

Appreciate that Stewart! I get a ton of partial footage, often times because of images or situations that I have to edit out for liability reasons

[@jeffellis7192]

Washington state west coast. Love Your videos

[@Bobsdecline]

Thanks Jeff!

[@Chris_In_Texas]

So does the power company then pay for that tree removal on the private property or does the homeowner? About the only thing the power company pays for here is the every few years of trimming out of the power lines where they just butcher the trees, cut off the one side or a big V in the tree. With all our wind storms and tornado's, they still blow over taking out the overhead lines as well. I am glad we have all buried utilities for the most part around here in the subdivisions, and in the Dallas Ft Worth area we don't have many trees either, nothing like there. You have to go to south Texas or east Texas to get trees like those. Keep up the good work. 😎👍

[@horseluvr005]

Who does your right of way trimming?

[@jaydauro7539]

Watching from Texas. Do you get cross training on the communications setup? Seems like a great idea to provide better service to your customers.

[@Bobsdecline]

It really is! A few of us had some training years ago, most of it now is shared amongst each other. Like you said, it's about the customer service. Most of our guys will try their best to help out!

[@AM-yl7gw]

I'm currently taking a course of line-worker and I have learn more with ur videos than on school, appreciated ur videos man !! would you consider buying a go pro for first person shots it would be cool to see the work in your point of view , GOD BLESS!

[@Bobsdecline]

Nice! Appreciate the kind words👊👊 I've got a few vids already with a go pro max helmet cam. I'll be sure to do some more!

[@danielsplayhouse3804]

Where exactly are you located at Bob I could probably kind of guess by your accent that you're in the BC area me I'm down here in Tampa Florida but great videos love watching them

[@midnite630]

Wow. You actually reconnected communication wires? Around here, the power company will cut, not remove, if necessary, but the provider is responsible to reconnect them. My friend had to wait almost a week to get their communication wires reconnected.

[@assassinlexx1993]

It is always good to cut the wedge clamp. Instead of trying to bang it apart. You got to love those pole chainsaws.

[@Mayhemkiller200]

It's funny how some people treat fibre like its super fragile (don't get me wrong it is fragile) but I've seen some fibre take so pretty good abuse and still work fine. (We never abused the fibre but 3rd party installers would sometimes so we always made sure to test it before connecting and 9 times out of 10 it was perfectly fine)

[@NSaw1]

Ah yes the glass wires xP Was just working with some for the first time at work for LAN access to cameras. It was interesting and a tad bit scary because IK how much it cost and I did not want to let it bend too much lol

[@aaronpowell4885]

Been subbed for a while now. If I had another account I'd subscribe from it also. Good luck on getting to 50k by January! I bet you'll get it! Thanks for deciding to upload this one👍 from Hobbs, NM, USA.👊

[@jimanderson4495]

I gu you’re allowed to disconnect and reconnect communication lines….coax and fiber.

[@TheJmich2001]

I learned long ago to never say "shouldn't take us long at all" LOL NJ

[@Bobsdecline]

Haha! Yup, good call! 🤐

[@benny7491]

Do you guys use H-taps on all your hot leg connections? Down in Maine we use 51’s

[@jmatx]

I would like to see more about the actual fiber optic connection. How do you do that without a bunch of special tools?

[@PaulE4213]

Fiber drops have a plug that just unplugs at the pole. Just need to make sure the end stays clean.

[@Bobsdecline]

That's right! Plug 'n play. If there's any damage upon arrival or a termination that's needed, we'll leave it to the professionals in that field of work. The older copper telephone lines you can usually figure out and re-attach.

[@Smannellites]

Do you receive training on tree-felling and use of chainsaws?

[@Isajahify]

So you guys can disconnect and reconnect 120/240 while it’s energized? Is there a high arc flash risk/danger with such low resistance between the work area and the transformer?

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

He took the meter off of the house it fed, so there wouldn't be any load upon the circuit during disconnect and connect up at the pole, and shouldn't arc or flash, which also might have destructive consequences for equipment in the house.

[@caidhg]

Corning fiber is actually more robust then you think and it can have a minimal loop diameter of about 5 in before it has loss. But it will comeback when when opened and in lots of cases will still work with a small kink

[@Nick_Shrope]

I agree. The more I have worked with fiber drop cables, I have learned that they are super durable, from cars driving over them on asphalt to kinks to the point of the strength members breaking and the fiber still working fine after straightening the cable.

[@caidhg]

@@Nick_Shrope word and that's the bonded optic stuff to, I don't know if you've worked with the heavy shielded stuff that 3m and now corning if using for bsw but it's basically the flex fiber product in a heavy rip cord-able case. The inner flex fiber can wrap around a pencil and have no loss so as long as it's not shithoused it's good. just more expensive.

[@bclineman5250]

The Corning drops, when bent to the point where you feel a snap, is the fibreglass strength members breaking, not the actual fibre optic line. The fibre inside is bend insensitive, and takes quite a bit to break or cause significant loss.

[@pahtcub]

Mind balancing that line extender while you’re up there? Lol

[@redsquirrelftw]

I'm surprised there is not a better way to connect triplex at the pole like a big junction box or some kind of connector so that it does not require to be cut. I guess that would just be too much of a point of failure with weather etc?

[@EverydayProjects]

Interesting channel (and work life!). I've subscribed. I have always wondered what the work crews are doing when there is an outage and you provide information on this in spades! I'm in British Columbia, Canada where the electrical utility is called BC Hydro. I've heard that when the power drops out but then comes back on moments later it's because another feed is avaliable. Is that what you mean by parallel feeds? Fantastic content! keep up the good work, and be safe!

[@eprosenx]

Do you guys carry fiber optic cleaning supplies with you? My rule is that I never ever ever reconnect single mode fiber without cleaning it. I carry “Cletop” cleaners and AFL Click pens with me at all times. If you are going to be doing this kind of work I highly recommend getting whatever the right cleaner type is for the connectors in use. They are tiny tools and are not very expensive relative to your other tools and a few seconds of work will highly likely save another truck roll to go track down the dirty connector (and unless they knew the line had been disconnected it would be nowhere near the first thing I checked). I think this is fantastic customer service and it is really efficient. Having multiple utilities have to dispatch is flat out stupid for everyone for what is an extra few minutes of work.

[@Bobsdecline]

First I've heard !? The communications rep that gave us our crash course on this stuff didn't mention it. There is a water tight cover that permanently attached to termination. It seperates and then covers both exposed ends. Would you still recommend cleaning if it's only very briefly exposed before being covered and sealed? Thanks for the info!

[@throttlebottle5906]

isn't that secondary a bit too close to the primary on that pole?

[@BigDish101]

Your fiber there looks to be done like AT&T does in the US.

[@carter83419]

When the wires travel through such a congested area towards the property, is it not more cost effective running the cables underground in the long run? I live in the UK and have no clue about line work but enjoy your perspective 👊🏻

[@ke6gwf]

You can't really do underground through a forest, the roots will destroy the lines. You would have to cut a wide right of way and maintain it regularly to keep it clear. Not to mention if you are in Rocky ground it gets expensive real fast! Lol Also you have to keep in mind that his power company in a small province in Canada probably covers about as much land as there is in the UK! lol So over here it makes less sense in wide open spaces. ;)

[@travelwithus750]

Does your company charge the cable company for the work done on a job like that?

[@trafficsignal101]

I like your videos but what gives with the banjo music? You are in Canada not the U.S. south.

[@markbernier8434]

I'd like to see a vid on how you handle it where there is serious weight of timber on an unbroken line

[@mw3gamer23]

Here in the states that would have been a 12 hour shift for the power company, tree company, and the telephone company since nobody wants to do the extra work than what their payed 😂

[@robertmailhos8159]

Nice looking fall colors up there in Canada young man 😎I'm watching from eatonton ga

[@aptsys]

What the heck is a fall colour?

[@Bobsdecline]

Like Camo... But with Reds n' Yellows instead of Green and Brown! 😉🍂🍃lol

[@robertmailhos8159]

@@Bobsdecline thank you for your reply young man 😎

[@timjorden8329]

Where did you train to be a lineman?

[@ajfurnari2448]

Community colleges/trade schools are your first step. Talk to your local power company or IBEW union office, they would probably help with education guidance and may even offer financial assistance programs

[@Bobsdecline]

Our province has a Lineman "college". After a traditional application process, our utility provides the first block of training while under supervision of the college.

[@derpycwc]

How much does a job like this cost the customer?

[@cbart1987]

all i herd was batcher for the night lol i work nights as a facility's engineer for a seniors home complex time with fam is S!@# we do what we can lad free beer in ottawa if you make it hear or if i make it out east still free beer

[@cheddarmccheese5855]

Watching from New Jersey, I'm an Apprentice Electrician heading into my 2nd year & am currently considering being a career lineman! @Bobsdecline I'm just curious before going through the process of applying: aside from the danger factor, what are some of the downsides of being a lineman? That aside, really enjoying the content on your channel! 👍

[@dave4310]

Thanks for not cutting the fiber.

[@Bobsdecline]

It's an expensive cut! 😬

[@mikes9939]

That customer needs to clear out some of those useless trees. They cause nothing but trouble like this and have no redeeming value. A lot of work just because of them.

[@Bobsdecline]

I agree!

[@mikes9939]

@@Bobsdecline We love your channel down here in Atlanta, Ga. area! You guys deserve as much credit and love as possible for the great work that you do. NO ONE likes to be without power for any length of time and you guys are the most important people in the world. I have learned SO MUCH from your channel. I work in electronics on X-Ray equipment. We have high voltages also but watching your channel has enlightened me on the power grid and the equipment used. I can how look up at the overhead and identify nearly everything and know how it works. Please keep us entertained with more. Thanks!!!

[@Bobsdecline]

That's awesome Mike! It's not often you hear of specialized work such as working on x-ray equipment. Sounds very interesting! Thanks for the kind words as well, cheers!

[@bryantw3545]

Has anyone ever told you that you look like Kyle Busch the nascar driver?? Lol

[@greenshadow8497]

So does the customer get charged for that? or is this done as a "service" But knowing the power company they don't do anything for free lol

[@Bobsdecline]

This is kind of a loaded question. The tree didn't necessarily meet our criteria for removal... Infact as another comment mentioned: the customer should be hiring a certified contractor to properly remove/maintain his trees on his property. That being said, we never turn down a visit for a safety related concern. Had we decided to remove the wires until the tree was properly looked after or schedule a date for a future disconnect to have it removed we would have been no further ahead... The initial call there is no charge for... It was also a quick enough job that the extra time once we were there was negligible. Where we encourage customers to be responsible with land ownership and maintain their own vegetation, we also encourage involvement for work that is in close proximity to powerlines. We offer loop removal (depending on circumstances) free of charge if that means a customer can have a contractor safely remove a large tree. To schedule this with the customer as a free service would require a second visit and end up costing us more in the end. Had there been hazards such as a structure under the danger tree we would be more likely to simply remove the wire until the customer had the tree removed. It's a very difficult and often controversial topic. In the end we build powerlines and have never planted any trees. We try our best to be fair and usually go above and beyond obligations.

[@nick21614]

@@Bobsdecline Nice our power company wont cut anything unless it affects their main line they dont care about drops at all.

[@ThinkinThoed]

Thanks for posting these videos! Just got done binge watching the series :) One recommendation for the playlist, it currently plays in reverse, I had to click each video manually to keep them in order. (can't reverse them while playing) Playlist in question: kzbin.info/aero/PL2o49SBhueaHZKo2fiQaigvkm7iklMbvO

[@Bobsdecline]

Awesome! Thanks for watching 👊 I'll get that playlist fixed up as well, thanks for letting me know🙏🍻

[@steveblake8766]

#536 Thumbs up

[@Notdave29]

Can’t believe you guys have fiber run to houses. We can’t even get cable.

[@brianleeper5737]

Verizon is installing conduit for fiber in my neighborhood and so far the knuckle-draggers they have doing the work have managed to break a Comcast cable and two Verizon cables all in about a week's time.

[@stuarthall438]

corning ny

[@mikeburnett7028]

Has tour company given you any crap about filming your work and posting it here?

[@strausstechnik1896]

Nice!