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Care of leather electricians's gloves without damage to insulating rubber liner

Bill D

Diamond
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Location
Modesto, CA USA
I bought a nice pair of used leather elctricans gloves. I would like to oil the leather to help preserve it. Will this cause any problems for the removable rubber gloves? They are some sort of soft black rubber, I assume synthetic rubber. rated for 10,000 volts. They will see 240 volts max. I will use them seldom and store them in separate plastic bags if needed.
Bill D
 
My experience FWIW. I do live tie-in and tie-out for portable power distribution. I wanted a pair of high voltage gloves and asked a PSE&G lineman about his pair. His advice, don't buy them unless: you work on equipment in excess of 240 frequently; your employer buys them for them; your employer tests them for you on a regular basis. If you can't trust your gloves, they are useless.

Care: StackPath
 
I bought a nice pair of used leather elctricans gloves. I would like to oil the leather to help preserve it. Will this cause any problems for the removable rubber gloves? They are some sort of soft black rubber, I assume synthetic rubber. rated for 10,000 volts. They will see 240 volts max. I will use them seldom and store them in separate plastic bags if needed.
Bill D

I should theoretically be an expert at this - but am reluctant to give advise 'cuz anything could happen with said crumbs of advise.

"Oil" - that's a bit of a standout.

What "Oil" and why ? [Thinking leather here.]. IME gloves , work gloves and "Other" don't do well with "Oil".

- A lot of armor-all products also systematically destroy a lot of synthetic and natural blends (eventually) - for "Rubber'.

Long term not a great solution. - just in case you are thinking that , and YES if you go completely nuts with how you treat the leather you could affect the rubber long term , so YES better idea to store them separately.

That's speaking as a former conservator that specialized in these things; and later did some design work for a group of master saddlers + saddle fitter - really excellent grades of British leather tanned in tanks going back to the 1700s + care.

I think whatever you do, you'd certainly have enough insulation against a 240V potential.

Weird question ~ How old are these gloves ?

Are these like super old / near "Steam Punk" esthetic ?
 
Rule of thumb: oil and rubber do not mix until proven otherwise. Especially natural latex rubber. Especially-especially voltage-rated rubber which will be relied upon to keep you safe.

Contact the manufacturer and verify chemical compatibility before applying any sort of oil. Worst case you can buy new protectors for much less than the cost of replacing damaged rubbers.

Do you know how to test these gloves properly?

Also worth noting that Class 1 gloves will not permit you as much dexterity as a set of Class 00 gloves - so they may or may not be suitable for the type of work you intend to perform. Also worth noting that gloves alone do not constitute the complete PPE necessary for energized work. Arc flash is every bit as much of a killer as shock.


https://youtu.be/1ckk3owZz-w?t=30
 
You played with saddles and didn't mention neatsfoot oil ? Available at any tack store ?

Bad camera, bad bad !

lol,

It's not for everything...

I'm more a Belvoir Carr & Day and Martin guy myself. + a judiciously small amount of the same as saddle soap as to NOT rot the stitching. [More UK / European tack than western.].

That's weird "Neats foot oil" - better on a horse's hoof than on leather IMO.

As a conservator that would be "outlawed" lol.

Maybe OP / Bill D can post some pics ? Or some indication of feel and texture and coatings / treatments etc.

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Off Topic - Some of the most gruesome and bizarre stories I have ever heard in my life have come from electric (company) linemen...


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Rule of thumb: oil and rubber do not mix until proven otherwise. Especially natural latex rubber. Especially-especially voltage-rated rubber which will be relied upon to keep you safe.

Contact the manufacturer and verify chemical compatibility before applying any sort of oil. Worst case you can buy new protectors for much less than the cost of replacing damaged rubbers.

Do you know how to test these gloves properly?

Also worth noting that Class 1 gloves will not permit you as much dexterity as a set of Class 00 gloves - so they may or may not be suitable for the type of work you intend to perform. Also worth noting that gloves alone do not constitute the complete PPE necessary for energized work. Arc flash is every bit as much of a killer as shock.


https://youtu.be/1ckk3owZz-w?t=30

Just weird tangential thought,

Also AC is weird shit esp at high voltage and high power if you elect to turn your hand into a sort of special capacitor i.e. go crazy with the oil ? But OTOH home use ?
 
What an AMAZING idea - ask the folks who know the actual correct answer, first!

=)

This goes against PM policy...always ask here first, anything from rectal surgery to nuclear fission, nothing is off limits, and the answers are always more correct than going directly to the horses mouth.:rolleyes5:

Stuart
 
For 240 volts you almost certainly could get by with thicker disposable Nitrile gloves worn inside thin leather work gloves. That's what I've done and if the work gloves get dirty from other use I don't use them for electrical but grab a newer pair.

And I always use dry gloves, NEVER oiled.
 
I meant neats foot oil(which is no longer neats foot oil today). or some synthetic version of it.
Plan is to replace a Zinsco 200 amp panel backplane and install a Square D version inside the old box. thinking of doing it hot with no permit. My city will not issue a permit unless you area licensed contractor.
The permit department used to allow panel change over ,but only over 100 amp, with no permits. No all they say about any permit is call and leave your name, number and job site address to find out if you need to be inspected and pay lots of money.
Bill D

I have read that what is sold today as neatsfoot oil is made from pig fat and has little relation to the more temerature resistant true oils.
 
You could always do it one handed...standing on a dry piece of plywood, or so I've heard, but I would think a licensed electrician and permits would be more safe.:)

Stuart
 
Plan is to replace a Zinsco 200 amp panel backplane and install a Square D version inside the old box.

gloves or lack of them should not be a problem in my experience doing that kind of work.

if you need to pull the old box, wrap the exposed ends of the conductor in electrical tape, but use a harder plastic such a piece of pet cut from a water bottle or 2L soda bottle, wrapped around the end of the conductor, then electrical tape over that.

that way when you pull the wire through the old conduit knock out, even if it gets caught, the sharp steel won't cut through the tape and blow up in your face.

i'm assuming you have 4/0 aluminum cable entering the box through a 2" conduit?

find a young guy strong enough to man handle the cable out of the breaker. relatively low risk of shocking yourself, higher risk of shorting it out to the box accidentally.
 
You have a bad panel/breakers, similar to the issue with FPE and this could result in a fire.
You're going to cheap out instead of doing a panel change with a permit, licensed Electrician and inspection.
Is the money saved worth having your home insurance null and void?
 
You played with saddles and didn't mention neatsfoot oil ? Available at any tack store ?

Bad camera, bad bad !

If you ride with a curb I'm putting you on ignore :(


^^^^ I missed that one (you snuck that in).

OFF topic: [Apologies to anyone else ].

European FEI / Grand Prix dressage coach (for a number of years till I got injured) + trainer as well as 3 day eventer [addition of Jumping and Cross country.].

I do have a pretty talented Western rider* and competition roper (card carrying cattle guy from Kentucky) working out of my barn.

I have a collection of about 75 to 100 different bits...

My horse (of my own that I have a Hanoverian I trained from a 5 years old to GP) I predominantly ride in a double bridle (and about 25% of the time in a single snaffle); so I guess that means you must put me on ignore as the curb chain is integral to the weymouth bit + separate snaffle of a double bridle.

If you have good (independent) hands (balance and seat) you can ride in anything and not disturb the horse unduly or hang on it's face.

A noted Loriner (someone that makes bits for horses mouths / bridles) said " I make bits for men's heads not their horses' mouths ".

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* This guy would make a kick ass polo player - that's where 'We" meet in the middle but most riders and trainers steal the best from ALL disciplines and make it their own. Good horsemanship and good horse skill is what it is regardless of discipline - I have roped the metal "drag" cow (in my arena) off my horse for fun.

I know a good trainer that was teaching in Taiwan - pretty crazy program and stories but trying to get a handle on 'English" competitive/ Olympic disciplines... They seem keen to throw themselves at it.
 
Plan is to replace a Zinsco 200 amp panel backplane and install a Square D version inside the old box. thinking of doing it hot with no permit.

:popcorn:

Ever seen what happens when the secondary of a pole pig shorts out? Hint: Service conductors have NO short circuit or ground fault protection. It will sit there and burn for days. That's why you don't f*ck with service conductors.


Good part starts at 7:55.

https://youtu.be/jytzSA24jFY?t=476


Here's another example of what happens when service conductors get shorted out. Albiet much bigger ones. The 480V side of the transformer burns out first... then the heat of the fire damages the 13,800V side. You can hear the difference around 3:50.


Call an electrician. They'll pull a permit, coordinate a shutdown with the utility and probably replace the entire panel rather than just the guts. Better to be out a couple grand than to take a trip to the ER while your insurance adjuster waits their turn behind the fire department at your house. The whole point of junking an FPE panel is to *avoid* an incident, not instigate one.

Or by all means, oil up your 10kV insulating gloves (which are probably way out of date anyways) and protect your unfused service conductors with cut down plastic water bottles and vinyl tape while you try to adapt a Square D panel to fit an FPE tub, all while dodging the city board of electricity. Just be sure to get video of it. Don't forget the NoAlox.
 
Those two videos (especially the first one (the kid at the cell phone) are a scream) -

The second video towards the end it almost looks like a high amperage Jacob's-ladder.

Good share / find @Just a Sparky

Eerie red arc/ near continuous plasma "In flame". That mother was really tall thick and wide, that whole band of apparent continuous arcing.

It's easy to forget that "Fire" is a sorta plasma / electron cloud with a reasonable charge density - so it's so weird to see these systems arc and interact with fire. Some of these initial electric fields are invisible (obvi.) and weird to see these persistent field effect interactions without an actual ground.

Makes you think.

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Second video also reminds me of the "North ridge Earthquake " in LA in the early 90s - when that hit (after it seemed to finish) I went to the top floor (using the fire escape) and roof of the apartment complex I was living in to asses the extent of earth quake damage (at night time / dead of night) with a pretty good view of Fairfax/ "Hollywoo " etc. and I was pretty stunned by the amount of arcing on just about every transformer on top of what seemed like almost every substantial building and pole etc. (all blowing and arcing out making these puffs of plasma / plumes or 'Arcy-clouds" randomly across the city) + every car alarm in the whole of LA going off at the same time + complete darkness other than the arcing of transformers. Bizarre, chaotic and out of control + a pretty rough earthquake. The plasma fire work display was pretty memorable / unexpected though.
 








 
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