SWA Cable

[Railroads]

Steel wired armored cable as used in the UK for direct burial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XST0DkotYw

Me thinks this cable might be somewhat safer than UF buried in the ground especially with the nimrods who like to go digging and cut through UF running to sheds, garages, well pumps, light poles, etc. Nimrods round here bury the cable only 12 inches or less when they DIY things.

Robert

[Thaumaturge]

Oh we have our share of nimrods as well, so don't go feeling beset upon Robert. Only difference I see is that we are used to burying things deeper here because of the freeze thaw cycle. Sadly that only means that the nimrods will happily dig deeper themselves in order to do their damage. Create something truly foolproof and the world will simply create more foolish fools.
Doc

[Wayne 440]

My experience has been that the probability of damage to any type of power, phone or cable TV conductor is inversely proportional to the time remaining before quitting time on Friday.

[Steve Dawkins]

Sadly that only means that the nimrods will happily dig deeper themselves in order to do their damage. Create something truly foolproof and the world will simply create more foolish fools.
Doc

You are so right, Doc. One of the local utility workers told me that a homeowner once dug in their back yard and unearthed a 19.9kV primary cable. Thinking it was a tree root, they chopped away at the shielded cable with an ax until it blew them out of the hole. You'd think the spiral strands of shielding around the cable would have given them a clue. I don't remember if the utility worker told me whether or not the homeowner lived to regret their mistake.

[I like oldstuff]

^ That's a total ouch. I'd bet his axe/shovel or whatever he used was found in the next county.

[Railroads]

The rest of the town folk.

Robert

[Jack Hottel]

A subdivision next to our farm has 19.9KV distribution and the cables are getting old now. Every time a fault occurs we can certainly hear it. The subdivision was an experiment on the Poco's part, I don't believe they have put in any other 19.9 since.
Jack Hottel

[Birken Vogt]

19.9 as in 19.9 to ground, 34.5 phase to phase?

Around here everything is 12 phase to phase delta except some 21 nearby where it is Y connected.

I never see 34.5, I guess it is for very long runs and/or high demand areas?

[Jack Hottel]

Normal distribution in this area is 7200 to ground, 12 phase to phase. The installation I mentioned is powered by two large, single phase, pole transformers, one one each side of the subdivision. They jack up the 7200 to 19.9KV.
Jack Hottel

[Jack Hottel]

Update. Around Thanksgiving the Poco converted the subdivision form 19.9kv down to 7200 volts. They removed the two step up transformers and replaced every pad transformer in the subdivision. Fortunately the wire gauge was large enough to carry the increased current. They hope the insulation will stand the reduced voltage for another 30 years.
Jack Hottel