How much do you know about insulating tools?

For friends working in the power industry, insulating tools are undoubtedly their right-hand men in their work, accompanying them through countless working moments. Now, I would like to systematically introduce these important tools to those newcomers who have just joined the electrical industry, hoping to bring some help to their work.

Insulating tools can be divided into the following categories according to their insulation structure:

Class I tools, which adopt ordinary basic insulation design. In terms of electric shock prevention, they not only rely on basic insulation, but also add an additional safety precaution. Specifically, those exposed conductive parts that are not charged under normal circumstances but may be charged once the basic insulation is damaged are protected by zeroing. To ensure safety, there should be at least two protective zeroing points, and leakage protection devices are also required. In addition, operators need to wear insulating protective equipment when using such tools.

Class II tools, which adopt double insulation or reinforced insulation design. In terms of electric shock prevention, they not only rely on basic insulation, but also isolate the normally charged parts from the accessible non-charged conductive parts by double insulation or reinforced insulation. This design is equivalent to integrating the operator's personal insulation protection equipment into the tool in a reliable and effective way.

Class III tools, this type of tool uses a safe extra-low voltage power supply method. In terms of electric shock prevention, they mainly rely on safety isolation transformers for power supply.

Next, let's take a look at the specific types of insulating tools:

Basic safety tools, this type of tool can directly contact the live parts and can reliably withstand the working voltage of the equipment for a long time. Common tools include insulating rods and insulating clamps. Insulating rods are one of the commonly used insulating tools in power systems, which can be used for live work, live maintenance and live maintenance. Insulating clamps are mainly used to install and remove high-voltage fuses or perform other similar work, especially for power systems of 35kV and below.

Auxiliary safety tools, this type of tool is used to further enhance the reliability of basic safety tools and prevent the danger of contact voltage and step voltage. Common tools include insulating gloves and insulating boots. Insulating gloves are a five-finger glove made of rubber, mainly used in electrical work to protect hands or human bodies from electric shock and other injuries. At the same time, it also has multiple functions such as waterproof, acid and alkali resistant, chemical resistant, oil resistant, etc. Insulated boots are called high-voltage insulating boots or mining boots. Their insulating design can effectively isolate charged bodies or conductors of different potentials to ensure that the current can flow along the predetermined path.