Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-01-03
SMOOTH ON RATS.
An Electrical Trap that Got Them Noise
lessly and with Dispatcn.

81 had a very unusual trouble once,
said an electrical construction mar, thai
kept all hands at the station guessing
for more than month.
1--WE had installed an underground
cable system in an Ohio town for sup
plying light by means of 4 2OO0-volt
alternating current system. placing our
transformers, as rule, Oh the outside
basement walls. Shortly after the plant
was put into operation our station man
reported one morning that there APP
peared to be a swinging ground on the
line for a short time, 80 much SO, he
said, as to send the station ammeter Far
beyond its usual load. Well, we made
all the usual tests, but could lind o,hlng
wrong, and it was several days before
we heard anything more from it, when
all at once it came back one night and
again disappeared within a few seconds
as before.
las we had some overhead wire. |
sent man out to look for Il guy-wire
contact, but none was found. Then |
sat up for several nights myself watch
ing for it without result, as it did not
appear, but the first night | left the sta
ton it was reported again. and few
days later it happened while | was in
the station, but before | could get TO
the board to open the switches, and so
find OUT which circuit ii was on, it was
gone and the line once more clear, and
SO it went on for two weeks more.
by this time one Of the lines began
to show considerable leakage, and | rried
to locate the trouble, which work, how
ever, was interrupted by the dynamo
starting up. That night, however, our
regular Cronic trouble came on again,
and this time remained on instead Of
clearing itself, as the other had done,
and a quick opening Of the switches
showed that it was on the same circuit
we had tested during the day. Well
we kept the circuit going until morning
and then started to find the trouble. BY
very careful testing we soon traced it to
certain rather old factory building
Going inside, we tested the transformer,
but that was all righ,, but there was 4
ground between the transformer and the
street, so that we followed the primary
cables in that direction, which passed
through an unused coal and junk room.
AS soon MS we entered the place. whore,
it seems no Que else ever thought Of go
ing we were greeted by an odOr that was
snifocating. and near the Wpe entrance
leading TO the street we found Il pile OF
decomposed and decomposiug rats
we called the janitor, eo5 them out
of doors as quickly as possible, and then
the cause of our trouble was plainly APP
parent, for every rat was more or less
burned.
but how? Going back to The cellar
we found one rat still lying across our
cables, burned to a crisp. Looking at the
cables again, We found them gnawed
through in more than dozen different
places. Now what had induced those
rats to climb mp there and gnaw through
that lead pipe and electrocute them
Selves
II put this question to naturalis. who
lived in the city, who explained il by
saying that probably the rats, being very
keen of hearing, had noticed slight
hum from the alternating current cables,
and imagining that the pipes contained
running water. gnawed through the lead
sheathing until they reached the copper
wire. when they would be killed, and,
without making even sound 10 warn
others, drop to the floor below" -Elec-
trical Review