×
Follow Us
Results 1 to 6 of 6

Ozone Smell in a Substation

 Jump to latest post
    #1
  1. papiLG is offline Junior Member Pro Subscriber
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Posts
    3
    Reputation

    Ozone Smell in a Substation

    what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
    asking for a friend.

  2. #2
  3. SecondGen's Avatar
    SecondGen is offline
    I push buttons.
    NETA Level III Pro Subscriber
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    508
    Reputation
    Quote Originally Posted by papiLG View Post
    what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
    asking for a friend.
    Tell your friend they might have some arcing/PD going on. What kind of substation (indoor/hv/lv/etc) and equipment?

  4. #3
  5. gasman is offline Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Posts
    11
    Reputation
    Quote Originally Posted by papiLG View Post
    what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
    asking for a friend.
    I have definitely smelled that distinctive odor in distribution substations during and after thunder/ice storms when air circuit breakers have had repeated trips and recloses. It was a long time ago before vacuum breakers became the norm. If you are smelling it in a station constantly I would suspect a continuous low level arcing such as a loose PT drawer or breaker disconnect connection.

  6. #4
  7. michaellabeit's Avatar
    michaellabeit is offline
    NETA Level 2
    Junior Member Pro Subscriber
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    14
    Reputation
    Quote Originally Posted by papiLG View Post
    what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
    asking for a friend.
    Definitely partial discharge.

    Definitely.

    One of the NETA approved tests for partial discharge IS an ozone presence test. If I'm not mistaken, ozone is a byproduct when partial discharges break down organic insulators like EPR and XLPE.
    Last edited by michaellabeit; December 22, 2021 at 08:08 AM.

  8. #5
  9. Kalbi_Rob's Avatar
    Kalbi_Rob is offline Experienced Member Pro Subscriber
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Jacksonville, NC
    Posts
    290
    Reputation
    Quote Originally Posted by michaellabeit View Post
    Definitely partial discharge.

    Definitely.

    One of the NETA approved tests for partial discharge IS an ozone presence test. If I'm not mistaken, ozone is a byproduct when partial diacharges break down organic insulators like EPR and XLPE.
    Not a scientific article, but just a quick search:

    "However, when entering a substation, you should always use your own senses. Look for signs of stress, smell for ozone, listen for audible crackling from within switchgear. Any of these indicators can be a sign of severe PD and an unsafe environment."

    - https://eatechnology.com/australia/n...d-managing-pd/

  10. #6
  11. Billhig is offline Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2021
    Posts
    3
    Reputation

    Probably arcing or partial discharge

    Partial Discharge and arcing across loose connections both cause the air to be ionized. It forms ozone from the oxygen and nitrous oxide from the nitrogen. You can test for partial discharge online, in service, without opening panels. Check out our website www.eatechnology.com for lots of info on causes and effects.

Subscribe

Share this thread

Related Topics

  1. Outdoor Substation Rain Safety
    By dharmikpandya0 in forum Safety and Arc Flash Talk
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: February 22, 2021, 02:08 PM
  2. Safety-Electrical Cord for Substation
    By Skyehaven40 in forum Safety and Arc Flash Talk
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: January 25, 2018, 05:37 PM

Tags for this Thread

Follow us


Explore TestGuy


NETA Certification Training


NICET Electrical Power Testing


Help and Support




You are viewing the archives. Enjoy new features and join the conversation at wiki.testguy.net