Hello everyone, I am here yet again with another great post from around my construction site.
Today we won’t be looking at construction but on an Electrical activity currently on-going on my construction site. I know by now, many would think I am either a structural engineer, an architect or a Civil Engineer but funny enough, I am neither of them. I am an Electrical Engineer who graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering but got to work with my elder brother who is an Architect for a period six months after I graduated and was waiting for my service year. I got to learn a whole lot from him which helped me get into the company I am working with right now.
I was asked certain questions concerning construction which I answered well and was initially employed as a site supervising engineer but I later applied to be employed as an Electrical Engineer and was granted the request.
So talking about today. We were told by our technical service director that we are to commence the installation of the electric pole stay which we have all been waiting for, for quite some time now after we had erected the electric poles.
Some of you might wonder what an electric pole stay is. Well, you have every right to be confused because Electrical Engineering isn’t your field of study. The first time I heard about the Electrical Pole stay was in my second year as a university undergraduate.
Our universities these days are fund of teaching us theory with little or no practical knowledge. So it happened that we had a practical class that day and as it was with the practical classes we used to have back then, we were being taught about transistors, resistors and the likes. The lecturer was already tired of teaching that everyday and decided to teach us something we had no idea about but according to him, would help us in the long run as graduates of electrical Engineers. He asked if we knew what a STAY was and we all said NO. He asked us to take out our writing materials and take notes while he thought us in detail what an Electric pole stay was and its components. Well, I paid adept attention to the lesson that day and it really paid off.
Isn’t it funny that what I learnt years back could come in handy after 8 years? Well, that’s life for you.
Just before I forget, amidst all these stories.
An Electrical pole stay is a piece of support which keeps the pole erect to prevent it from falling of tilting towards a certain direction
Here we can see the electric pole stay in place
The stay isn’t used on every single electric pole. It is used on poles which are placed in strategic positions like on the corners of a road or an electric pole having multiple electric poles carrying wires and connected to it. We could also find a stay on a pole carrying wire conductors in a T-Shaped form. These poles are likely to fall at any point in time due to tension and stress, so to avoid that occurrence, a stay is placed on them as a support to keep them from falling.
Here we can see how the stay is being positioned to support the electric poles and keep them from falling or bending
Today I will be showing you the components of an electric pole stay and will also be showing you how they are placed on the electric poles hoping that after reading this, you will feel a little bit like an Electrical Engineer and be able to make use of some of the Electrical terms used to describe low voltage power transmission.
Components of an Electric Pole stay…
- Stay pit
- Stay plate
- Stay rod
- Stay bolt and nut
- Stay insulator
- Stay wire
- Stay anchor
Describing the process…
First of all, the stay pit is dug a little distance away from the pole. The pit is dug to a depth of 1 meter and a width of 300mm by 300mm, that’s 1 foot square.
The stay pit
One of the men digging the stay pit
After the pit is dug, the stay plate is put in place with the Stay rod in the pit and concrete (A mixture of sand, stone and water) is poured into the pit and then covered with soil.
Stay plates
Stay plate secured in stay rod
The next step would be to secure the Stay insulator properly with the stay bolt. The stay insulator isolates the stay wire from the stay rod in other to prevent the advent of electric voltage flowing through the stay probably during thunder storms which would be dangerous to humans and animals alike.
Stay insulators
Stay insulator secured in stay wire
Stay rod fixed firmly to the ground and covered with earth
Stay bolt
The stay wire is then tied around the neck of the poll at the top and properly bolted to the stay rod.
Stay wire made of aluminum
Stay wire ready to be tied around the pole
The Stay anchor supports the entire stay at the top of the pole and used when the distance between the pole and the stay pit isn’t long enough to cause the efficient support if the pole but the stay alone.
Stay anchor
Stay anchor mounted on pole
From the images below, you will be able to see the Electrical technician who will be installing the stay on the electric pole getting the pole prepared for the installation.
Well I hope this goes a long way to teach you how a stay is being mounted. Stay tuned for more interesting and education #ULOGS from me. Till we meet again.