GravityVT
200596
3642
18
Jun 25, 2022 6:34 PM
GravityVT
200596
3642
18
LOKI75
Damn, have actually never seen that… as an electrician, we used to use a bucket truck to do that
KAPTKipper
Mmust not get windy there.
HulksBigGreenDick
GNiko
TIL
relsky
I've seen this, I've seen ladders, I've seen cherry pickers, I've seen a dude shimmy up the pole. Many different types out there.
WolfFromTheTVShowFutureMan
“Mildly interesting indeed” I say to myself about the most interesting thing I’ve seen in months.
AmbroseWolfinger
In my city they use a cherry picker.
trigonman3
Do they pick cherries with the light changer? Departments should really communicate better.
eratosthenesearth
Some smarty-pants know-it-all saved people a lot of work. And maybe a life.
PandaPlop
Disappointed they don’t use spring boots like cartoons. Also, this is a strange looking centaur. @ElbowDeepInACentaur
HappySeahorse40s
[light pole climber here] oh, now you tell me.
galapas
Wait! What?
AlmostClever
Wait, those bulbs get changed?
IAlwaysUpvoteLowBudgetCreativeWork
OCTAVlAN
Whats that from?
somnif
The first Captain America movie.
navytowel
I have never once considered that the bulbs would even need changing
uzetaab
They always use very long lasting ones that last for years. Usually have a trade off like colour, or warm up time.
CoolHandFluke
Neat
WeeblesWobble
Uh… I don’t think that’s the safest place to wait while they bring the light within reach…
uzetaab
Nah, it can't move past the base because of how it's hinged.
DamnedIfYouDo
This isn't the United States, this is somewhere else. In the US they use lift trucks to get up there (except high mast).
NotAgainRichard
Australia has these.
bobbyofthehill
This answers the age old question. It takes 3 city workers to change a light bulb.
uzetaab
4, you forgot the one filming.
a5f5vcax8d5
5 if you count the 1 sitting in the truck with coffee talking to his girlfriend on the phone ‘cause it’s the only time his wife isn’t around
OhTheySayThisUsernameIsNotTaken
ameer93s
In case you're wondering this is in Oman
orbitn
Stop the illegal harvest of transformer penises just to light your highways.
RalphH
Most of the time they use cranes.
trigonman3
How do they train the cranes to fly up there? How do their wings grasp the bulbs? So many questions.
AFistfulOfDollHairs
Picture this: maxi-golf.
mrthewhitee
Most I've seen are changed with bucket cranes. This is a neat design though.
ME2BNS12
The really high array types have wheels on a track in the center and roll down the pole about halfway to be in reach of the bucket
ChloeRed
Hah, just mentioned the ones that can be winched down in another comment!
ME2BNS12
I used to work on them when I was a teen/twenty-something
Megamastermetamememaker
Everything just a ROI calculation... how much do these poles cost more than standard vs sometimes exchanging light source
ME2BNS12
And also how well can you trust the pivot point so that it doesn't fall apart and kill the service electricians
Filanwizard
It’s likely lower risk than a bucket truck, this might even be doable on days with wind. Tall pickers don’t always blend well with wind.
Filanwizard
Additional they may not have to close a lane for this method. No vehicle in a lane is less chance of an accident.
SykoBob78
The ones we have at my plant were put up in the 70’s or 80’s, so, they haven’t fallen apart yet. I’d say pretty good
ChanceVLuck
This only works if you live somewhere with no trees.
OhWhoaDannyJoe
Every time someone posts a cool mechanism or process, somebody inevitably points out a situation it wouldn't not work in >
OhWhoaDannyJoe
*adjusts glasses* "this doesn't work where it won't work." *smug smile*
OhWhoaDannyJoe
There are many more non-solutions than solutions, you're smart if you can point out the latter.
Generricwhiteman
And no salt on the roads.
CyanideBreathMint
They’re typically used on Interstates and major highways around the access points, so trees would have already been cleared for the road.
exe122
Otherwise they have to temporarily fold down the trees as well.
Tennox
ThongsAreFootwear
Or powerlines
Leithoa
Like a major road where they've trimmed all the tall trees.
HeresYourSauce
Hmm, I know some poles have holes in them for a ladder. Often times they store the rungs on the side in a pvc tube with a lock on it.
TreeBenefactor
We use bucket trucks. Usually as easy as changing a light bulb. Sometimes us electricians get easy work like this. Love those days
HeresYourSauce
But this seems much easier if you have to change 100,000 of them
aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk
Some of the oldest ones in my neighborhood just had them built in permanently. They may be converted gas lights. They're made out of 1/
aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk
cast iron and wood.
mrbadxampl
different municipalities have different systems
AtomicTincan
Thank you captain obscure, you're our hero.
bugcooper
that isnt a municipality, its a street light
mrbadxampl
that's not my dad, that's a cell phone! I threw it on the ground!!!
bugcooper
laacis2
Well, we know now which one has the better ones
AimlessSavant
*regulations
ChloeRed
Yeap, ones with multiple lamp units in a circle often have a way to winch them down the pole to work on them, then winch them back up.
kinghootiewho
Just completed a project with 150 high mast light poles. Anywhere from 90ft to 150ft tall. All had a winch system to lower the light rings.
kylepayton1360
Some have a built in Milwaukee drill motor for that
ChloeRed
I think the ones near me just have a drive nut inside, and you just use a cordless drill to power it
[deleted]
[deleted]
ChloeRed
No? They said some have the drill motor _built in_. I said the ones near me just have a drive nut, you have to carry the drill motor to it.
Hemispheres
They do that in Florida during hurricanes.
MuseMatar
Yeah in the past I've just seen guys up in those cherry picker utlity truck things. Impatient asshat honked and made the guy drop the bulb.
DickCheney1
Dielectric Bucket trucks
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
This is what I've commonly seen, cherry-pickers.
AtypicalMammal
I think you are cherry picking your examples
mrbadxampl
this one's pretty cool, I must admit
plastikb0y
The dutch have some amazing engineering innovative solutions. (Not sure if this is dutch)
SmilinSloth
I think it's cool but has a major flaw once you weaken the structure. If someone hits it right they're getting a pole slingshot to the back
Ialwayslookhungover
Installing these in tornado alley probably isn't cost effective.
RandomlyAppointedNSAAgent
Attach an alternator and during tornado season u get backup power too!
mrbadxampl
yeah, I'd imagine they usually use something a bit more... robust
BenderRodriguz1010
YOU MUST CONSTRUCT MORE PYLONS
Jaymezians
YOU REQUIRE MORE VESPINE GAS
bippityboppitybuttsex
They changed all of ours to LEDs... now they don't get hot enough to melt the snow... unintended consequences...
JohnSmithterms
Sounds like they just need to shrink the housing down.
SXSam
Con. Se. Quen. Ces!
Sutashi
They got a bad batch of bulbs for ours. About half of them turned purple.
vicvalour
And they don't light up the street enough, only a bunch of blinding light 20 feet up, street still dark
jsnryn
Ours ended up with a bunch of defective bulbs that have turned purple over the past few years.
rayvn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiYO1TObNz8
Lethous
I assume there's more than one bulb, have 1 incandescent and the rest LED, have separate switches so a city can kick the heat on in snow
Drives11
I've never had that happen & I'm in Wisconsin. pretty sure the LED traffic lights in these parts have a built in defroster.
creamyonions
Same here, and they all malfunctioned to turn purple.
coloredgreyscale
Heated elements in the lenses / covers that are only active when it's cold, or even only while it snows.
turomar
Now you can get them at a discount cuz those towns don't want them. I finally have my own traffic light!
NotAgainRichard
Where is the snow piling up? On top of the light? Is that a problem?
causamortis1
This should have been corrected years ago. We've had LED traffic lights since the 90s. City cheaped out for ones used in warmer areas.
tracereading
It isn't like you can't put in a heating element.
OmarAlHadeen
My area switched to LEDs and a lot of them are purple for some reason.
mike13815
The purple ones are usually 3-4 peak wavelengths that help A LOT with visibility.
FiftyShadesOfTiramisu
Apparently they only use blueish LEDs plus phosphor dots that absorb the blue light and emit red + green light. Otherwise they would have...
FiftyShadesOfTiramisu
to use blue, red and green LEDs to mix white. Turns out this phosphor coating doesn't last though. Once it's gone you only get purplish blue
coloredgreyscale
Cyberpunk esthetic!
Anonawesome
Relevant. https://youtu.be/GiYO1TObNz8
iamdeathnote
First thing I thought of
squishybaker
Yay more Alec.
NATA5
ToasterDent
That's what snowplows are for - if your street lamps aren't hot enough to melt the snow.
MrBinkiBobo
Heat loss= energy loss/inefficiency.
iCurse
Problem is that they're adding solar everywhere I live, and solar needs sun, which snow prevents
MajikMessiah
But now they add heaters to melt the snow
R1ANR1CH
That’s actually a problem in the automotive industry too. Modern LED headlights don’t get hot enough to vaporize the humidity
DarkRedCape
I live in the UK. Ours are LED with 25LEDs. Only 15 are used, when one dies, one of the redundant ones activates. Never needs replacing.
bippityboppitybuttsex
You have a weird definition of never...
DarkRedCape
I’m sure they fail, I’m sure there are defects, but LEDs last forever, and when you have 10x backups, that’s going to last decades.
mydogtriestoeatrocks
"Never" = the next generation's problem, like pollution or global warming.
LordLumpy
Well assuming average lifespan of 100,000 hours, that's a rough service lifetime of 120 years. That's pretty "forever"
TheCriticsWereConciseItOnlyTookFourLines
Usually, wouldn't the snow come from above while the lights shine down? But yeah, something to melt snow and ice sounds good
DangerRNGR
ice builds up on the lense from wind. Newer ones have a built in heating element that kicks in when its cold out.
mike13815
"Newer" was the wrong word. Heated LED units have *always* existed. Snowy towns only fail to order them out of incompetence.
bippityboppitybuttsex
We see it more with traffic lights..
woogigooie
The solution for that is a heating element like in cars. Still uses less energy than a incandescent
Mechwarrior719
The city I live near swapped to LEDs recently. And now they’re all turning purple.
waspentalive
Pictures? Purple streelights? cool!
OnlyByMoonlight
This has happened all across the country. One of the major manufacturers didn't know there was a problem until it was too late
lilbrother
Milwaukee? They’ve got most of our replaced now, I think.
wodensday
Viral marketing for a prince biopic?
paperfanman
Same in my part of San Diego
KurtopiaCreative
Winston-salem, NC has purple.
sallyface
Central Florida?
causamortis1
This is a widespread issue. Basically faulty bulbs and I'm guessing the city is going with the lowest bidder for them too.
coloredgreyscale
Cyberpunk!
AC4400CW
Lansing, the 127 I96 interchange was purple for about a while. They've fixed them all now though.
Minaris
Charlotte?
brownribbon
Ayyyy Charlotte! I read a while back there was a manufacturing defect in several batches and if you see a purple light to call Duke.
Minaris
Interesting! Will do, I hate them!
sirava
I also hate that they're bright white. Could have made them more red/yellow to interfere less with night vision.
tounushi
The white also bothers me. Too sharp and clinical. Reminds me of a hospital for some reason. The old dull orange is far more soothing.
monkey484
The ones in a part of my town are damn near purple. I hate driving down that road but it's the way to DQ
Soufange
Ours are purple and really fucking up my morning commute.
gljames24
There's a debate on whether or not that's safer for cars as people stay awake with cooler light. Fuck cars tho
Ryebread91
I mean, I love my golf TDI but don't think I'd even kiss it but you do you.
Generricwhiteman
I miss the orange glow when driving home late at night...
MisterMarblesFoibles
They interfere with sleep patterns too. Humans and animals. Which causes a lot of other issues.
cosonfused
Our town has LEDS but they're ever so slightly off and feel a bit strainy on the eyes. The ones the town next door has are perfect.
lysani
There's an LED streetlight across the street from my bedroom window. Had to hang a thick blanket on the window to block the light at night.
YouSufferWithCognitiveDissonance
Our eyes see better with higher K light than lower K light from sodium lights, means less wattage needed.
KurtopiaCreative
A lot of ours are an odd purple/blue. I've heard that the reason is they are cheap and are wearing out a lot faster than expected
shyriath
There are a lot of those on the way to my parents' house. They're annoying as shit.
nabagaca
It's a common defect with a specific model. I think general electric makes it?
KurtopiaCreative
I'm not certain.
waspentalive
your local astronomers are unhappy too.
timmaybanks
Hmmm many are directional
Lovethesmelloftoastedsourdoughbread
Hot local astronomers in your area waiting to meet you!
FuzzyX
Be friendly and they may show you their optics.
HeadsAndShouldersPeasAndCorms
I for one would like to meet a hot local astronomer.
DidItForScience
So many LED companies and science websites say they reduce light pollution. But other science sites say they increase it. Very confusing.
dec9675
Do some more research or construct your on experiments just to make sure its probably better than reading shit online and getting confused
JHawkInc
If there’s money to be made, get more than one source.
DidItForScience
Yeah I looked at about 5 before I was like... OK. I'll just accept that it's bad. Though honestly there seems to be less light scattering.
SpaceSphere
Different parts of the light spectrum
YourMomWasHere
Horrible for birds and other wildlife (compared to monochromatic or similar) and can't be easily filtered out (ie sodium line is narrow)
YourMomWasHere
Just an excuse to push new technology at the expense of nature for some cost savings (and to push subsidies on to rich friends.)
ThisGuyPostingThings
LEDs tend to have as much spillover/broad ranging light pollution, but they can be pretty bad at the directed area.
Crambodian
^this, also most light pollution that interferes with backyard astronomy i caused by sodium vapor lights (that shitty yellow hue you see)1/2