Comment on What would you do in this scenario?
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 4 days agoEh. I don’t see any compromised insulation on any of those wires. Honestly, I wouldn’t even bother. Just head on up there with a nonmetallic ladder and poke that junk out of there with something nonconductive if you’re worried. I ain’t afraid of no volts. (And before anyone freaks out, that bare aluminum cable is structural, to prevent the wires from sagging. It’s not carrying any current.)
It seems to me that whatever built that nest decided to abandon it before moving in. There isn’t any visible bird shit around it which there certainly would be if it had birds in it (especially ones big enough to drag those sticks up there) and the lack of chewed material around it indicates a lack of extant rodents.
Red0ctober@lemmy.world 4 days ago
The bare cable may also be for ground, but it’s hard to tell. Even so, shouldn’t carry any current, unless there’s a lightning storm happening
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Ground wires don’t go from the pole to the house. Your home’s ground literally goes into the ground, either via a stake or by being attached to a cold water pipe. Having your ground connected to distant objects/poles/locations is counterproductive, because the extreme distance is likely to wind up with different potentials at different points, which would put current on the ground wire all the time, which is exactly what you don’t want.
Anyway, notice that the big bare steel (it’s probably steel) wire is not actually electrically connected to anything and is only attached to a tensioner pulling it against the house. The ferrule on the end is to keep it from fraying over time.
WhyIAughta@lemmy.world 4 days ago
beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Even though it’s neutral, and very close to ground potential… Depending on how much current is flowing through the other two wires, the voltage on the neutral will be varying amounts of non zero. Probably not enough to kill you, but maybe enough to feel bad, under the right circumstances.
That’s why, even though the neutral and the ground are bonded together in the breaker panel, you still need to run a separate wire to your outlet to ground your appliances. Electricity doesn’t take the easiest path, it takes all paths simultaneously, relative to their resistance, favoring the easiest. Don’t make yourself a path 🤷♂️
Still nothing to be afraid of, you shouldn’t be messing with it anyway. Just steer clear and you’ll be fine.
Note: I’m not an electrician.