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Compressed Air Tank on Power Lines

A

AlWahrabi

Jan 1, 1970
0
I often see a compressed air (or is it oxygen or acetylene?) tank attached at
the base of a telephone pole and apparently hooked somehow into the power
line...for some odd sort of diagnostics. I can never figure out what the
possible connection might be: why an air bottle is attached near the power
line. Any suggestions appreciated.
 
E

Externet

Jan 1, 1970
0
Seems you are assumming the bottle contains gas. Seems yo are
assuming the compressed gas is hooked to the power lines. You are
assumming the gas is air, oxigen or acetylene. You are assuming
telephone poles carry electric power.
Not only power lines are hanging from poles. Can be telephony,
communications, coaxials, signalling, etc.

Gas can be used to pressurize jacketed or ducted communication cables
to expel or prevent moisture from entering the jacket and causing
crosstalk or corrosion.
Miguel
 
W

Wade Hassler

Jan 1, 1970
0
I often see a compressed air (or is it oxygen or acetylene?) tank attached at
the base of a telephone pole and apparently hooked somehow into the power
line...for some odd sort of diagnostics. I can never figure out what the
possible connection might be: why an air bottle is attached near the power
line. Any suggestions appreciated.

When I was a youngster, a Phone Guy told me it was a nitrogen tank
that purged a junction box containing two spliced ??-pair cables. Kept
oxygen out by keeping an ever-so-slight positive pressure in the can.
 
I

iQbal

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thats quite possibly a step down transformer.

iQbal
 
J

JeffM

Jan 1, 1970
0
Bottles of dry air or nitrogen are connected to telephone lines
to give a positive pressure and prevent the moisture in ambient air
from condensing and causing crosstalk problems.
 
N

Nirodac

Jan 1, 1970
0
Correct (no, not the transformer reply). The cylinders contain compressed
nitrogen (generally) and are used as stated earlier, to displace moist air
in the communications cable. They only use the gas when repairs are needed
or there is some major issue (like a large leak, or an splice in progress
where the cable sheath has been opened ). Normally the communications
cables are pressurized at the headend, in the central office, with pre dried
air . Water or moisture in a telephone cable is definitely a bad thing.
Some newer communications cable use a grease around the conductors, instead
of air. The grease prevents moisture from reaching the copper.
 
J

Joseph Hansen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Oooh that grease is NASTY. I recieved a short length of that wire from a
"friend"... a bundle of solid conductors each in its own color coded sheath.
Was going to use it for breadboarding. The grease got all over the place.
It was white, like lard, and squeezed out of the bundle whenever it was
flexed. Yuck.
 
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