I have installed hundreds of single and multi-line service drops. I totally agree with the following premises:
- Electricity and Lightning follow the path of least resistance to ground. Electricity and Lightning will follow the greatest “potential†to ground.
- Outside plant should be bonded and grounded to the multi ground neutral (MGN).
I have a couple of questions:
1. Why are the non-splice blocks such an issue? The gas carbons will engage when electricity or lightning are detected. With the carbon engaged, the flow of electricity will be directed to the #6 ground. Even if there are a sizable number of cable pairs on the other side of the block, the carbon will shunt the electricity to the ground. The electrical path will want to flow to ground, not the user side of the cable. There won’t be enough concentrated potential to warrant the electricity to flow to the user side. Even with a splice terminal, if there are multiple 100 pair terminals they will only be grounded with a single #6 ground that is common to all terminals. I believe it’s because a #6 ground properly grounded provides sufficient potential to direct lightning/electricity.
When using single pair and six pair drops to the home or business, the drop and the inside wires are connected to the same lugs on the protector. The inside wire is not at risk because when the protector engages it creates a path of least resistance for electricity to flow to ground. I wouldn’t expect that the electricity or lightning would “jump the pins†on a direct 66 block terminal because the gas carbons will engage and direct the electricity to the ground wire with more potential and not the inside wire.
2. Buried Service and icky pic: I said to myself that can’t be true. Icky pic can’t be flammable. I scrapped some off the buried service wire and lit it with a match and it did burn. You’re correct! Then I wiped an icky pic’d drop wire, cleaned it and tried lighting the wire. It burned. Then I grabbed some two pair aerial drop wire–(non icky pic wire) and lit it with a match and it burned! Then I grabbed some 6 pair aerial plant wire and lit it with a match and it burned. Then I grabbed some OSP #22 gauge and lit it with a match and it burned. I would not call the icky pic an accelerant. Icky Pic burned very similar to the PVC wire. I tried lighting an 12 pair buried service outside jacket and it did not burn with a match.
My reason for doing this experiment was that I have installed many 6 pair buried service drops with icky pic. I would think that cleaning icky pic on a block is “good housekeeping†and important for that reason. It is messy. Also, individual service wires are never enclosed in a splice. The individual 6 pair buried service pairs are connected to the protectors themselves. So are 2 pair drops. So are 6 pair aerial drops. There are no splices. Of course with buried service, the metallic sheath of the cable is bonded and grounded (at both ends) and the protectors are grounded. Aren’t proper bonding and grounding the keys here? There is no fire-resistant splice in any these applications. So, why wouldn’t this apply, as well, to the non splice protection terminals? Aren’t the protection carbons and the bonding and grounding more important than the splice?
