Dover Shores Electrical System Upgrade
Dover Drive Gets New Wiring
We get a New Transformer
Three Giant Economy Size rolls of Wire
Feeding wire into the conduit that leads to our back yard
The center of activity for us will be this electrical box in the back yard
New wiring, pulled in from the man-hole next door
The transformer, about 50 years old, will be replaced with a larger one to support heavier electrical demand
A crane placed on Ruth Street will move equipment over our neighbor's house and into our back yard
It doesn't look like it will be 200 feet tall
The crane moves its own ballast (12,000 pounds) into place to prevent tipping
Outriggers in place, the top sections are unfolded and locked.
Meanwhile, in our yard, old wires are cut for removal
Parked in front of the house behind ours, the crane dwarfs our 75-foot palm trees
Another crane works nearby, maximizing the work done while our power is off
The heavy ball keeps the line vertical while the straps blow in the wind
Threaded down through the tree branches, the straps are attached to the old transformer
Out with the old, tiny transformer
Up through the trees, guided by radio commands from the ground crew
On its way to the street behind our house
Lifting the old transformer, as seen from the street behind our house
The old transformer, arriving on Ruth Street
Lowering the old transformer
The arriving replacement transformer is considerably larger
It gets bigger as it gets closer
The new transformer will barely fit in the bunker
The blue rope leads to a manhole two houses and one street to the south so new wires can be pulled through later.
A delay clearing old wiring resulted in the transformer swinging in the breeze for an hour,
much to the dismay of the crane operator who had other projects to complete
Threading the new transformer down through the tree branches
Thre crane operator, behind a neighbor's house, can't see any of this. He takes commands by radio
Still supported by the crane, the transformer is moved into the place it will sit for the next 50 years, just like the last one
The new transformer takes in 6930 volts and feeds 120 and 240 volts to the house
It weighs a mere 938 pounds. Try dropping that in a hole in your yard without a crane
With the replacement complete, the crane can move on
My old tiny transformer and a sample of a new, larger one weighing 1506 pounds