The Power Services Division of The K-Line Group of Companies specializes in the cleaning, maintenance and painting of live electrical apparatus.
Virtually all insulators, regardless of material or coatings, require regular cleaning and maintenance when located in areas of severe environmental contamination.
While most common contaminants have little effect on insulator performance when dry, light wetting caused by fog, mist or other conditions creates a conductive surface film on the dirty insulator resulting in abnormal leakage currents or scintillations on the insulator surface. With increased contamination, more severe current leakage occurs, leading to dangerous flashovers resulting in momentary or sustained power service interruptions. Power Services’ regular washing/maintenance schedule helps to significantly reduce the risk of flashover and costly outages.
K-Line Power Services, using water washing and compressed air with dry abrasives (corn cleaning), removes the following contaminants from transmission line insulators (energized or de-energized):
1. Salt deposits from roadway salt application (particularly elevated roads)
2. Cement/lime — insulators located near cement plants, construction sites or rock quarries accumulate thick, crusty layers of cement/lime that when lightly wetted, trap leakage currents along the insulator/contaminant interface causing flashover
3. Dust from fertilizers, coal dust and fly ash by-products
4. Defecation from large birds that roost or hunt from transmission supports
5. Chemicals — atmospheric pollution from petrochemical plants or aerial chemical (agricultural) sprays can build up, causing flashover
6. Smog particles from auto and industrial emissions
7. Cooling tower effluent — under some conditions effluent can create a localized fog that can moisten dry, dirty insulators affecting performance
Industries and utilities requiring insulator washing include:
- Petrochemical manufacturers
- Heavy industry
- Cement/lime/quarries
- Those responsible for transmission lines located near heavy pollution/road salt exposure
K-Line Power Services is capable of providing additional services while equipment remains energized:
- Application of silicone grease to insulators, bushings and lightning arresters
- Application of Sylkote™, silicone rubber protective coating to improve tracking resistance in high contamination areas
- Preparation, priming and painting of electrical apparatus and lattice towers
- PCB sampling from pole type, padmount or submersible transformers