What is a SURGE TEST will it kill horses.

[Raceapaint]

Over the years I hve lost horses due to rapid weight loss. Always occuring straight after a helicopter was flown over the H V power lines surge testing ???. The Distributer will not help or advise.
The whole system HV and LV dates back to the mid 1950,s and I believe unsafe.
There are several other possibilities due to a distribution Xformer but thi is the main one.

 

[James]

Have you had an autopsy done?

I think the vet might be able to give you a better indication as to the cause of death than any of us.

 

[snowhead]

Where did you get the information about Surge Testing?
What reliable source of information leads you to believe that the system is unsafe?

As far as I know the helicopter overflights are for thermal imaging of cable joints to check for poor connections and surveying of trees and any other objects nearby that may poses a risk.

 

[DPG]

Is it not much more likely that the noise of the helicopter stressed the horses???

I can't see how an overhead line inspection would result in weight loss to horses.

 

[Raceapaint]

As the Newbury problems show there is no positive way of proving if the death is electricution.
Vet only come up with its possibley a worming problem. I have good worm control.
Worms do not kill rapidly over a very short time and only when a helicoper flies past.
WHAT IS A SURGE TEST?

 

[DPG]

As the Newbury problems show there is no positive way of proving if the death is electricution.
Vet only come up with its possibley a worming problem. I have good worm control.
Worms do not kill rapidly over a very short time and only when a helicoper flies past.
WHAT IS A SURGE TEST?

Who told you they were performing a surge test? Normally helicopters are used for inspection of lines and towers.

Again, could it not be the loud noise/vibration that has distressed the horses?

 

[James]

As the Newbury problems show there is no positive way of proving if the death is electricution.
Vet only come up with its possibley a worming problem. I have good worm control.
Worms do not kill rapidly over a very short time and only when a helicoper flies past.
WHAT IS A SURGE TEST?

Newbury was an obvious electrocution.
turns out a faulty cable underground introduced enough of a voltage difference from one part of ground to another part of ground so that when a horse bridged the different voltage levels it caused them to die, probably a heart attack.

it was quick and obvious, electrocution does not take days.

 

[pc1966]

Horses and other farm animals are far more vulnerable to electrocution as (a) they don't ware rubber shoes, and (b) their legs are much further apart than humans, etc. So the impact of step-potential from a fault is much greater.

But electrocution is pretty much instant: tens of seconds until heart failure / death by lack of oxygen, so unless your horses dropped pretty much at the same time following a 'BANG!' event then it is not that.

A low-level fault could trouble animals, but they are not stupid so if there was some issue with a given pylon leaking much current to ground you would find they all avoid that area. Panic usually happens in places like milking parlours with low leakage fault as the animals are forced in to uncomfortable situations.

Testing for step-potential is easy enough, stick in two electrodes (short spikes) in to the ground 1m apart and in a line away from the probably source and measure the voltage between them. Anything much over something like 5V would be troubling.

 

[pc1966]

Just to add if you really suspect a step-potential problem then treat the ground and any inserted probes as dangerous unless proven safe. Typically that means insulated boots & gloves, and a "penguin walk" as you take very short steps to avoid a high voltage from wide-apart legs.

What is Step and Touch Potential? And How Can You Reduce it's Risk

Awareness of step and touch potential, caused by earth potential rise, is important for anyone working on high-voltage power transmission and distribution systems above 1 kV. Earth Potential Rise Earth Potential Rise (EPR) is caused by electrical faults that occur at electrical substations...

greymattersglobal.com

 

[Lucien Nunes]

To answer the original question, a surge test is one of a number of types of test applied to large electrical equipment mainly to test the condition of insuation. Surge testing can locate certain types of incipient faults before they become severe enough to show up by other methods and can be used as a preventative measure. An electronic test set generates a specific waveform that is injected into the equipment under test, and its response is analysed e.g. from the trace on an oscilloscope.

 

[Raceapaint]

Horse death possibility1----Surge test---You indicate not likely ??
Horse death possibility 2---New Xformer replaced 2018 as I reported old one was loosing oil ,I was checking daily due to more horse loss in 2016. A new !4yd LV and HV earthing was also installed.
Since the recent horse deaths I have put a Fluck clamp meter and cheap one on the LV pole earth wire at base of this xformer. very intermittent readings showing as high as 90 milliamps. .20 mill is death. 4/5 is rapid weight loss.Both meter show within 1 milliamp
Horse death possibility 3. tomorrw night as at 84 i need my --.whi--- sleep.!

 

[DPG]

Again:

What makes you think they were performing surge testing?

Is it not more likely that the noise and vibration/air disturbance from the helicopter stressed the horses?

 

[pc1966]

Horse death possibility1----Surge test---You indicate not likely ??
Horse death possibility 2---New Xformer replaced 2018 as I reported old one was loosing oil ,I was checking daily due to more horse loss in 2016. A new !4yd LV and HV earthing was also installed.

Have you checked for oil contamination in any water supplies and any grass they eat?

Is that something an autopsy would report, as to me that is the most likely "electrical" connection to weight loss.

Since the recent horse deaths I have put a Fluck clamp meter and cheap one on the LV pole earth wire at base of this xformer. very intermittent readings showing as high as 90 milliamps. .20 mill is death.

For humans 20mA is not death, in fact the usual protection RCD trips at up to 30mA as it is below the threshold for fibrillation and being able to let go. See the IEC graph of electrical effects here:

Electrical injury - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Having said that, there is some evidence that animals are more sensitive than humans for like-events. There was once case of lightning hitting near a camp with children and the fatality rate in pet dogs sleeping along side them in the tents was about double that of the children.

But more fundamentally you are measuring the current going in to the ground, not what is passing in to any animals in the region. That is the whole point of having earthing structures buried deeper in the soil to ensure that someone walking in that area is not killed during a fault event that dumps more than 100,000mA!

As you appear to have a clamp multimeter (picture only shows a bit of the meter), I presume it can measure voltage so try putting in two spikes (e.g. tent peg) 1m apart in a line away from the pylon and measure the voltage difference between them. You can use different separations but as step-potential is measured in V/m it is simpler if the interval is 1m.

 

[Raceapaint]

I do not know the voltage at the lv earth insulated wire.bottom of xformer pole. Since obtaining a special fluke voltage clamp meter the current readings have not happened. I will keep trying.
The suggestion to check over 1 meter I will try. I have already checked from an earth rod 5 meters to the xformer support stay. On one occassion a varying voltage 120 to 130 v was read.??
My horses regularily rub on these stays .
I have been told that parallel earth lines can cause danger.the old is I beleive still in situ running 10 yards away across the road does this mean earth currents are consentrated.
thanks for your help...

 

[Lucien Nunes]

. Since obtaining a special fluke voltage clamp meter the current readings have not happened.

Current flowing in the LV earth cable of the transformer will vary according to external conditions because it is not coming from the transformer but returning to it. A fraction of the total leakage current from consumers installations and distribution system returns from the earth electrode, up the cable to the transformer's star point (or neutral end if single-phase.) What fraction of the total depends on whether and how the neutral is earthed elsewhere.

 

[Raceapaint]

I was told that obesety can be controlled by the use of electricity. drastic lose of appettite Was this the reason for horse deaths/weight loss..Did the Newbury horses that were effected but did not die , loose weigth. There seems to be a shut down to getting info. does electricution cause weight loss??

 

[DPG]

I was told that obesety can be controlled by the use of electricity. drastic lose of appettite Was this the reason for horse deaths/weight loss..Did the Newbury horses that were effected but did not die , loose weigth. There seems to be a shut down to getting info. does electricution cause weight loss??

I've never heard of electric shock being used as an aid to dieting! Do you have links to this?

Again, could the symptoms be caused by the horses being scared/stressed by the noise and vibration from the helicopter?

 

[Micktw68]

I've never heard of electric shock being used as an aid to dieting! Do you have links to this?

If that were the case at this stage in my career I should have the figure of kate moss.

 

[Raceapaint]

I've never heard of electric shock being used as an aid to dieting! Do you have links to this?

Again, could the symptoms be caused by the horses being scared/stressed by the noise and vibration from the helicopter?

My horses are bomb proof when it comes to tractors and i,ve never seen them run when heiicopters fly past. frightened horses mean broken legs not weight loss.
will try to find link but it seems to be common knowledge to quite a few people i consult.ed.

 

[DPG]

My horses are bomb proof when it comes to tractors and i,ve never seen them run when heiicopters fly past. frightened horses mean broken legs not weight loss.
will try to find link but it seems to be common knowledge to quite a few people i consult.ed.

Thanks for the reply.

Could you also post some links explaining the electric shock/weight loss theory.