Wood utility poles have long been the preferred choice for transmission of high-voltage power in many parts of the world. Wood is durable, strong, and available in varied sizes and grades in addition to having a lower life cycle and acquisition costs.

Vulnerability of Wood Utility Poles

It is however, essential for pole owners to know more in depth about the vulnerability of wood poles. There are several factors that lead to the deterioration of wood poles and these include UV light, chemicals, water, temperature and mechanical activities. Wood gets degraded and becomes weak. And the most susceptible part of the utility poles is the pole top. Cracks form around the surface of the pole top and this lays open the inner sapwood or untreated heartwood to moisture and fungi. The presence of fungi is definite to lead to rapid internal decay of wood and this eventually will wear off the structure beyond repair.

Risks of Degenerated Pole Tops

Deterioration in pole tops can become a cause for a host of issues. Weakened pole tops will compromise the reliability of the link between the pole and its supporting hardware. Insulators and conductors that are not connected properly will cause power outage and heighten safety issues for the utility personnel and public at large. Much time of the utility personnel will be wasted in handling such unexpected crisis. Besides the additional man-hours required to be spent, additional expenditure will be incurred in repairing or replacing the poles.

Enhancing the Lifespan of Pole Tops

The lifespan of pole tops can be enhanced through installation of protective devices for the pole tops. These include pole caps or dock pile caps. They act as roofs to the wooden poles covering them from exposure to the varied environmental factors. UV degradation is prevented and moisture ingress is drastically reduced. Premature aging is prevented. Thus pole top protection devices prevent the pole top from becoming the cause for reducing the lifespan of the wood utility poles.

Advantages of Installing Pole Cap/ Dock Pile Cap

The pole cap is formulated from polyethylene and is meant to effectively enclose the top of utility power poles. This prevents the ingress of moisture and consequent rotting of wood in wooden poles and helps to avoid the collapsing of concrete poles. It also eliminates the possibility of birds nesting or perching on the pole. Electrocutions or outages due to a flash-over are prevented.

The hot melt adhesive lining of the pole cap offers total sealing against factors like moisture, weathering, contamination or any other hostile environmental factors. Ozone and UV rays resistant, the pole cap comes in varied sizes.  The lifespan of the devices is around 30 years or so. Ease of installation is another benefit offered by the pole protection devices.

The pole cap is supplied in expanded form to the client. On application of heat, the inner adhesive melts and flows into the cracks and cavities present in the pole top conforming to its shape, giving the poles more strength.

If you want to protect the lifespan of your wood/concrete utility poles then installation of pole protection devices is a must!