"CALL BEFORE YOU DIG" - SAFETY TIP

[fistfulladirt]

Tom,as I said.....again,I am not saying I call em,and not telling you, to either.I was merely laying out the "other side",of the scenario.....I know that on one of my pieces of ground the owner allowed a bottle club to come in and dig...they dug through not only the owners phone line,but the main trunk line that fed his whole place(had phone lines on all of his alarms to his irrigation pumps and security gates...ended up a very expensive "mistake"...totally different than just MDing though.I am actually surprised cut phone drops dont occur more actually...from MDing...they sure do with "housewives digging fence posts etc....happens all the time...and yes "house wife",is liable for the bill
Tom,when I lived in Gonzales....I was digging holes for my dog kennel side posts and cut the phone line to my house....cost me $300 and they cut me a deal!

I agree, I'm surprised cuts drops don't happen more often from MDing. In 17 years I've repaired hundreds of cut drops, (I've never repaired a single fiber in that time, just copper). Most often occur from residential landscaping, and most drops are less than 12" deep.

 

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[302guy]

I agree, I'm surprised cuts drops don't happen more often from MDing. In 17 years I've repaired hundreds of cut drops, (I've never repaired a single fiber in that time, just copper). Most often occur from residential landscaping, and most drops are less than 12" deep.

The company I located for sent me out for damage inspections, and I always had to show up even if it was an aerial. One spot kept taking a fiber hit. Two times a week for a whole summer. Turned out to be squirrels. They spent a million bucks replacing it and it was a rodent. Once they put up guards it kept the out. The guys used to joke about the techs must eating PBJ sandwiches while they worked. Once I had to do a damage report on a farmer that snagged a fiber where it went up the pole right next to the SLIC. Pulled the coil out of the line, snapped it, and destroyed the SLIC. Probably put the poor old guy out of business.

 

[cooper1841]

The line I put in plastic conduit from the house to the new garage rings like silver at 8 inches, for as far as I want to follow it. Good thing I knew it was there or I would have dug. And 20 years as a heavy equipment operator, I've seen and dug up things that are not where they are suposed to be!

 

[302guy]

The line I put in plastic conduit from the house to the new garage rings like silver at 8 inches, for as far as I want to follow it. Good thing I knew it was there or I would have dug. And 20 years as a heavy equipment operator, I've seen and dug up things that are not where they are suposed to be!

I just checked last night...I can pick up my CATV wire all the way to the PED. It was replaced a few months back after my neighbors house got struck by lightning. Guess they went shallow since it's only a 60 foot run.
Almost burned his house down. Blew out two tv's in my house, and my invisible dog fence? All the way around the fence it shattered the boards and cracked the slats where the nails were, in the yard where it was buried it looked like det cord. burned all the way around.

 

[Frankn]

Well , here it is. The National Electric Code calls for all electrical wires/cables to be at least 2' deep. An exception would be if they are in conduit or below concrete such as walks and driveways. Direct burial wires UF are more heavily protected, but a shovel could damage them. The code only covers normal power lines of 110vac and higher, not low voltage, telephone and fiber optics. Frank

 

[hvacker]

I don't worry too much about telephone and similar wire as they won't bite you. Hi voltage is another matter. I was using a post hole digger for a mail box. I understood the hi voltage from the transformer was supposed to be, as I remember, at least 30 inches deep and as it was a new service I wasn't concerned. At just over 12 inches I hit the power line. Steam and smoke belched from the hole and I could see the transformer on the pole drop it's link.
The power company wanted me to pay for the repair until we discussed their responsibility for following code.
There are no guaranties as to what a crew will do regardless what code says. And that's not just the power companies.
There can be signs of where power lines might be. If you spot a transformer on the ground, the supply cables usually follow an easement along property lines. From the transformer to a structure they are usually run in a direct line to a meter on the structure. But life comes with few guaranties.