I'll see your genset woes and raise you 2 breaks in a sites power line. This is at KZKE-FM. In 1975 some idiot buried at least 4640 feet (measured with a GPS) of 00 gage aluminum. I should also mention that this is spliced together power pole drop line and was not meant to be buried.
When the ground gets wet the weight shifts and rocks skin insulation off the line. The result is what can only be considered an electrical leak. Electricity conducts literally to ground. The result is the aluminum wire reverts back to alumina, a fine white powder based on bauxite that is a ceramic. The current conditions are text book classic for frozen tundra, But things have improved. Last week it was ankle deep snow in most places and knee deep in some. Now it is just mud. Mud, mud, sticky mud, mud in the water, do you understand that? I even found mud in sealed containers there was so much of it. We spent all day yesterday digging holes and still didn't find the break, and there are 2 different breaks by my reckoning. Station has been without power since Christmas. Pretty much my weekend is going to be shot. Planning on renting a Bobcat with a hoe and tracks. The ground is still too wet to efficiently dig with a shovel.
