On Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:43:23 -0000, Dylan Smith
wrote:

On 2007-03-10, Dave S wrote:
I once was a volunteer fireman for about 10 years... in that time, we
had a big snake go slithering up equipment in a substation one night.

The 'can on the pole' transformers can go with a pretty big bang too.

One night, I got back from Brazoria with a couple of friends. I was
flying a Piper Arrow - I'd just let my passenger out, and was standing
on the wing walk.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash got my attention as one of these pole
transformers exploded - a big flash, a huge shower of sparks like a
large firework, followed by a loud 'kerpow' as the sound finally
reached us. All the lights went off, and we had to put everything away
with only our feeble flashlights for lighting.
What you witnessed was likely an explosive line fuse. These fuses are
usually mounted on the same pole as the transformer. Transformers
rarely explode, but it does happen. Usually though, the line current
exceeds the rating of the fuse and the fuse explodes to open the
circuit. This prevents the transformer from exploding.
--

Jim in Houston
osPAm
Nurse's creed: Fill what's empty, empty what's full,
and scratch where it itches!! RN does NOT mean Real Nerd!

--
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