In general an insulator washer platform needs to be able to reach a height of the highest cross arm less about six meters. For example: if an insulator cross arm is at a height of thirty meters (30m) then the platform must be able to reach a height of 30 – 6 = 24 meters.

Click here to see Insulator Washer Photos on Flickr

Click here to see our insulator washer home page.

Click here to visit Mitsa’s lens on Squidoo

There are several methods to clean insulators.

• Hand clean- De-Energized The insulator is cleaned using a hand brush.  This is done de-energized.
• Hand clean Energized – A cleaning brush is attached ot a hotstick and the insulator is cleaned by hand.  This is typically only done for vented lightning arresters or in areas when wet/dry cleaning are not possible.
  
• Wet clean -  This can be done energized or de-energized using a high pressure insulator washer.
• Dry clean -  Can be done energized or de-energized using a dry washer.

A Flashover is a a short from phase to earth.  They are usually very loud (like an explosion) and can cause damage to insulators and hardware fittings.  Flashovers can be a result of allowing contaminants to accumulate on insulator surfaces.  If the contamination is conductive, it will reduce the effective leakage distance of the insulator.  The contaminants on an insulators surface can be fine when it is dry, but if there is a small amount of moisture (but not enough to clean the insulator), the moisture can create a leakage path in the contamination and cause a flashover.

Below is a preliminary list of the basic information required to specify an insulator washer.

1 – Tower heights?

2 – Use – On road /  off road?

3 – Terrain/soil conditions – Hilly, flat,  sandy, marshy, rocky?

4 – Is an aerial lift required?

5 – How big of a tank is required?

6 – How many hose reels required and their lengths?

7 – Number of wash guns required and the nozzle diameters?

8 – Usage – substations / distribution network MV/ HV/EHV?

9 – Chassis type 4×2, 4×4 6×4, etc?

10 – Trailer mounted?

And don’t forget about training!!