Professional tool reviews for professionals

We often receive contacts from inventors about new products-but we rarely build relationships with inventors. In this case, a friend who worked closely with the owner and inventor of the Vulcan Line Tools Wave Timer contacted me recently. As far as I know, this tool may save a lot of time for line workers and avoid working in the field. Facts have proved that understanding the sag, tension, and temperature of the power cord is essential for proper installation of the power cord. This is where the Wave Timer comes in.

Vulcan Line Tools is located in Auburn, Alabama. The company was founded by Zac Young in 2019 and specializes in manufacturing equipment for the power industry. In short, the Vulcan Wave Timer can measure tags, tension and temperature in overhead wires.

The law requires power companies to install power lines in accordance with specific parameters. Depending on the temperature of the power lines during installation, these lines must meet specific sag and tension requirements. Why? Overhead power lines expand and contract with changes in temperature. This will cause some serious problems. To hang the power cord correctly, you must know the temperature of the power cord when installing the power cord. Using this temperature, you also need to determine the appropriate sag and tension that the production line must set.

My friend gave me an example. If you install the wire in the warm summer and the tension is too high, the cool winter may (and may) cause the wire to shrink. This makes the power cord excessively strained. In extreme cases, this can lead to pole failure. By the way, utility poles and hardware failures put the utility on huge liabilities (PG&E paid $14.5 billion in 2019).

Current methods of measuring power line sag, tension, and temperature involve a slow and expensive process. Frankly speaking, it slows down the workflow. Competing devices can take 15 to 30 minutes to make these measurements.

Unfortunately, this sometimes causes linemen to simply "stare" at the dent in the power line. This may result in overhead wires that may or may not meet specifications.

The Wave Timer is designed to be an easy-to-use device, and it also confirms that the operator hooks up the cable correctly. In fact, it has the ability to provide a record to verify that they did the job correctly.

It is also fast. Wave Timer can also provide line droop, tension and temperature data in just 5 seconds.

To start using the wave timer, first download the wave timer app available on the iOS App Store. The application will run on any iPhone or iPad. Currently, they do not provide software for Android phones through the Google Play store.

Next, click the power button on the Wave Timer. When the device is powered on, you will see a green status LED.

Press the Bluetooth connection button on the iOS app. This allows the application to connect to the Vulcan Wave Timer. When it happens, the status LED changes from green to blue. This means that the Bluetooth connection is successful. The user should be able to stand 100 feet away from the wave timer (line of sight) and still remain connected.

Unfasten the Velcro and firmly connect the Wave Timer to the conductor-about one to one and a half minutes of forearm length from the insulator. If you place the Wave Timer next to the roller or top pin, you may need to extend the distance to the length of two forearms.

After connecting, press the read temperature button on the iOS app. This measures the temperature of the conductor. You will see the status LED flashes orange.

To measure sagging, press the start button on the app. The status LED flashes blue to indicate that it is ready. Firmly grasp the wave timer around the yellow case, then quickly pull it down and quickly release it. Vulcan Line Tools is a metaphor for playing "rock, paper, scissors"...the kind of pulling speed.

You want to send a sharp, clean wave along the conductor to eliminate unwanted vibrations and obtain reliable readings. To further improve your results, Vulcan recommends placing your hand gently on top of the conductor when recording-right where you connect the waveform timer.

Wait for five seconds, the app will show sagging. To make another measurement, just wait until the conductor stops moving before starting another recording. If necessary, hold the conductor with gloved hands to make it damp.

After measuring the sag, the app allows you to easily calculate the tension. Just click the tension button on the app, select your conductor, and enter the span length. The application will then display the maximum horizontal tension in the conductor.

In order to record your work, the Wave Timer application can save or email a record report of the collected data. Just click the PDF button to display the options.

You can also use Wave Timer with the hoist, but some accuracy and reliability will be lost under lower tension. Vulcan Line Tools only recommends using the wave timer with the hoist when there is full tension in the span.

To use it in this way, you need to install the tool next to the handle and then pull down the wave timer as usual.

If the battery of the Vulcan Wave Timer is low, the battery LED will turn red. To charge it, just plug the included micro USB charging cable into the tool. The battery LED turns yellow while charging, and green indicates that the device is fully charged.

The suggested retail price of the Vulcan WT-002 Wave-Timer line measuring instrument with strap (part number 970817947) is $1,500. Currently, you can find it at Altec.

Obviously, this tool emerged as a solution to a common problem. This is Tool Innovation 101. This also makes us want to support a company that wants to help make the work of line workers safer and more accurate. We have seen power lines near us come into contact during the hurricane-this is not fun. If a tool like this can help linemen to tighten the line more easily (and appropriately) so that they can stand better in high winds — so much the better.

For more information, please check the Vulcan Line Tools website.

When he is not remodeling part of the house or playing with the latest power tools, Clint enjoys life as a husband, father, and avid reader. He has a degree in recording engineering and has been involved in multimedia and/or online publishing in one form or another for the past 21 years. In 2008, Clint founded Pro Tool Reviews, followed by OPE Reviews in 2017, which focuses on landscape and outdoor power equipment. Clint is also responsible for the Pro Tool Innovation Awards, an annual awards program designed to recognize innovative tools and accessories from all walks of life.

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Professional tool reviews for professionals

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