# Stray Voltage



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Are you paying for a utilities stray voltage from antiquated power lines? It can be felt at much lower levels by livestock than by humans.

Regards, Mike

Landmark Stray Voltage Decision in Minnesota


----------



## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

I seem to remember back in the 70's that high power transmission lines were coming under scrutiny for a host of medical concerns both human and animal... its SHOCKING that this is still an issue after 40 yrs. Martin


----------



## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I know a dairy here that had issues with stray voltage.He had alot of health issues with the cows and claimed also him & his wife.

He called in a specialist and they metered the stray voltage.It was way over allowable levels.He rewired the whole farm site.Also had some issues with the grounding of the line comeing in by the transformer.


----------



## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Nitram said:


> I seem to remember back in the 70's that high power transmission lines were coming under scrutiny for a host of medical concerns both human and animal... its SHOCKING that this is still an issue after 40 yrs. Martin


1.) Take a fluorescent tube in your hand and walk around a transmission line at night....you won't need a flashlight and you can tell your kids that you are magic.

2.) Run a coil parallel to the transmission line and you can drain off power without going on their easment.

We had a big line going through our place that we played with as kids.....probably amazing that I was able to father children. Transmission lines are really an EMF issue. Stray voltage is a different problem from old lines/equipment and improper grounding. I have also seen stray voltage from the cathodic protection on pipelines.


----------



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

We had some stray voltage problems years ago when were still milking cows. Bad ground from Nipsco was the culprit. When we expanded and added the three phase service, while the trenches were still open we added about fifty feet of bare copper clad 8 gauge wire from the ground clamp in each breaker box and attached the end of that to a 8 foot ground rod drove in the bottom of the trench. When we installed the grain leg I buried 50 foot of bare 1/0 copper cable in the bottom of the footer then clamped the other end right to the leg itself. Personally I never feel the tickles from a bad connection or bad ground and grandfather would even fix the electric fence while it was still on, even seen him grab sparkplug wires that were missing the boot but father really feels any stray voltage as well do the livestock.


----------



## Will 400m (Aug 1, 2011)

I work a few fields under high line one is 345k volt and the other is 115k volt. I had a chain let go on the pickup head of the baler I was using and had to replace it. Got under there to fish the old one out and got one hell of a wholup. So I had to keep myself in contact with the machine and the ground all the time or get hit again. Now when I work those fields I cary a steel bar with me to ground the equiptment when I have to work on it. Oh and if you leave anything in the field overnight and its not grounded it will build up and knock you flat out so I leave a ground rod on anything that dosnt have metal touching the ground.


----------

