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I dug around a little on here but didn't find anything on power line towers or transmission towers. I've climbed halfway up one near my house, but didn't go all the way since I'm not aware of the dangers of being close to power lines. I've seen videos of people right near them, and I've talked to people who have gone all the way up. They're super fun to climb, but I'm just not sure if the risk is worth it.
  [/url]transmission-tower-250x250
[last edit 1/31/2018 7:13 PM by sanctive - edited 1 times]
constants are changing... | |
Okay basic physics/electrics.
The whole tower is metal and definitely grounded.
Should the current touch the tower, it's going straight to the ground.
The lines are isolated by glass / ceramic insulators so that they are far enough from the tower to prevent arcing even in wet conditions.
Should anything get between the line and the tower and provide an easier path to the tower, the electricity will take it.
There's no guarantee it will kill you (people have survived) but if you like living, don't.
The tower is grounded, and on a day-to-day basis, touching any part of the tower will not hurt you at all. It's when you get close to the lines and start introducing your mostly water-based limbs into their electric field.
If you stay as far away from the lines as you possibly can, you could probably get way up there and live. But if you mess up, if you slip, if a piece of gear or your arm swings the wrong way, odds are good you're getting zapped (and the resulting paralysis / shock will likely knock you OFF the tower, falling 50+ ft to the ground. If the electricity doesn't f*ck you up, the fall will.
If you value living, I'd say go climb a cell tower, transmission tower ... Nevermind, cell towers will fry your nuts. Climb a crane instead. None of those are wired with bare wires carrying 50,000 V.
[last edit 1/31/2018 8:00 PM by flySparro - edited 2 times]
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Posted by flySparro
If you value living, I'd say go climb a cell tower, transmission tower, or crane instead. None of those are wired with bare wires carrying 50,000 V.
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Thanks for the info. I think based on that the risk just isn’t worth it. The funny thing is, I was thinking these would be safer than cell towers, as those will literally burn you alive.
constants are changing... | |
Ah yes, a little research showed me I was ignorant.
You'll be a poorly sunburned, sterile fool if you climb a cell tower.
I mean being sterile could be good if you're foolish enough to climb a cell tower.
But yeah. Thanks for teaching me something, too!
Go climb some cranes. Just don't do it in the rain. 
As Blackhawk says, "... don't climb on wet steel. Steel is completely unforgiving."
[last edit 1/31/2018 8:05 PM by flySparro - edited 1 times]
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Basically stay away from this.
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I recall a demonstration in elementary school of what would happen if you climb one of these. They used a hot dog, and when it got a little close, it basically exploded. I didn't eat hot dogs for months after.
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In Jr. High (young dumb and stupid, very very stupid) my buddy lived on a huge farm. Through the middle of his property the state had ran these big towers. We used to climb them and have fun. Then we found that if you took some of those fluorescent bulbs up there and held them up by the wires they'd actually glow without being connected to anything.
You'd think that would of been the indicator to stop. But we kept pushing it further until we found out when they get too close to the wires they actually violently explode. It only took us a couple times. (Young, dumb, and very very stupid.)
That's when we decided maybe we shouldn't be A) climbing way high with no harness B ) carrying what became glass explosives with us to get really close to crazy high voltage lines and C) that I'm sure putting yourself in that electrical field probably doesn't do the body good.
Best climbing advice ever from the legend that is Steed: Never climb after somebody with ulcerative colitis.
[last edit 2/1/2018 4:57 PM by 4Valhal - edited 2 times]
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You can absolutely climb to the top and be fine. How do you think the guys that work on them get up there?
I would suggest fall arrest unless you have longer legs, even with I still suggest it. With longer legs (and some flexibility) you'll be able to use the lattice like steps. Shorter people however will have to climb with a little more effort. Grippy boots help here, and wear tough pants as the steel is tough. You could solve those problems by finding a tower that has a ladder halfway up.
Now how high up you go, or how far out to the side you go once up is at your discretion and risk level. I would only be doing this on a dry, non humid day. You will want to adhere to the following guidelines for distances, and I recommend using the minimum, or green table. Yellow is where workers are allowed to be, and red is a no go as you're close enough for electricity to jump to you. You can usually find online a map of your provincial transmission system to find out what voltage it is.
http://hydroonetra...approach_chart.pdf
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Cell towers only give you radiation if you stand in front of the antenna's/ dishes, that being said AM towers are the worse, and if not turned down properly will give you shocks . Usually there is an anti climb on the structure so you are not able to use a ladder if equipped with one for the first 20 feet. Most towers are equipped with either ramrail or a DBI sala kit complete with a 3/8 guy strand as a safe climbing device. Proper rigging belt and lanyards are recommended. I would also suggest proper footing suggest extra clothes because 400 feet in the air when there is wind, is allot colder then being on the ground. There is nothing taller then 500 feet here in BC but some of those towers in the states (tall towers) are amazing, I can't imagine how long they would take to climb.
[last edit 4/20/2018 11:52 PM by Septimus - edited 1 times]
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I used to work around high voltage in a paper mill... you climb this thing, have your affairs in order.
you have any idea the voltage/amperage rocking through those wires?
up to 2000amps at 500kv or higher... stay the fuck off it.
[last edit 4/21/2018 6:51 AM by Samurai - edited 1 times]
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By calling the tower and politely asking them to turn down broadcast power. As long as nobody follows your advice and gets burned on a dual-purpose tower, or decides that AM towers are grounded, your advice won't kill except by radio-induced heatstroke. Kids, use common sense. If you intercept 100W of energy from the tower while climbing your body begins to overheat like you are running a marathon in Kenya. Don't die of heatstroke or find out if the old 5 minute cataracts legends are true.
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Posted by Samurai
I used to work around high voltage in a paper mill... you climb this thing, have your affairs in order.
you have any idea the voltage/amperage rocking through those wires?
up to 2000amps at 500kv or higher... stay the fuck off it.
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I've climbed them and been in active HV substations but I don't recommend it.
33 KV is witchy enough let alone 150+ KV.
Magnetic and capacitive inductance can come into play at these huge voltage/amperage potentials. At a 1:1 ratio that works out to sparks that nightmares are made off. At 20 feet away you can have a good enough coupling through the air to pull thousands of volts without a direct arc.
Being near a power or transmission station increases the risk.
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If a flash over happens within yards of you it will be like playing on the sun.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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