line clearance guys just make me laugh!

[voxac30dude]

i watched a youtube video of a arborist who trimms the tree's in brooklyns botanical garden and this guy commented on his video. i think the comment sums up line clearance workers who all have this macho "my work is more dangerous then yours" attitude twords us "tree trimmers".

#
67DieHardPatriot454
1 year ago

I work for Asplundh tree expert co. We do hurricane work and all sorts of storm work. Tree trimming isn't that hard but it is dangerous then you add powerlines. I am a Line Clearance specialist. Meaning i trim trees out of powerlines and away from. Thats a good saw hes using thats what any tree trimmer dreams of using. An Ms 200 t made by good ol stihl. Alot of power that saw there real loud. However all in all tree trimming is fun and it builds your confidence. Climbing up it then trimming.

 

[jmack]

Wtf

 

[Tree Pig]

speaking of line clearance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yj5QtFu2RA

 

[sgreanbeans]

COOL VIDEO!, could you imagine that thing dropping into your living room!

We have alot of ROW guys around, all think that they do "real" tree work. I have them do "make safe" for me, watch them, they could make a concise effort to make good cuts and some do, most don't care, get their daily quota as fast as they can, go sit in the truck and wait for the others!

 

[Scottscape]

they work by "clearance not appearance"

 

[Industry]

You guys paint with an awfully broad brush don't you. you ever think that those line clearance guys do a hell of a good job given what they have to work with. how many trees do you guys trim on an average day? 5? 10? I do residential work too and each aspect of arborist work has unique challenges. maybe you should think about the challenges faced by utility guys on a daily basis before you have judge us.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

What was that one where they opened primaries to secondary and started the neighborhood on fire. Cable was attached to gutters and they were sparking up a storm...

 

[jpzaf]

You guys paint with an awfully broad brush don't you. you ever think that those line clearance guys do a hell of a good job given what they have to work with. how many trees do you guys trim on an average day? 5? 10? I do residential work too and each aspect of arborist work has unique challenges. maybe you should think about the challenges faced by utility guys on a daily basis before you have judge us.

It's the same old tired bs. Residential vs line clearance. What I do is better, more dangerous, harder than what you do. There are plenty of hacks on both sides as well as guys that think everyone elses work is inferior. Unless you've done both don't judge.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

you ever think that those line clearance guys do a hell of a good job given what they have to work with.

I do.


I do NOT understand the bickering. They are two different jobs, with radically different requirements. Applying the standards of one job to the other is just stupid.

Or childish.

 

[lxt]

what kinda thread is this??? another stupid lets get everyone verbally beatin each other up thread!!

Ive done both LCTT & residential......I like both but they have there equal share of hard hazardous work!!! funny thing is when someone screws up you can count on someone here posting it for giggles.

how about the thread starter post some pics of his handy work......c`mon big boy....you dont mind bustin on others!!!



LXT.................

 

[beowulf343]

Lxt, best post i've seen in a while.

Glad to see a few people standing up for the line clearance "hacks." I did it for three years (year of transmission and two more climbing backyard lines.) It's a whole different animal and i have a ton of respect for the guys doing it every day. And that's an interesting thought, line clearance guys around here work 52 weeks a year, most residential outfits take the day, week, or even the winter off if it's too snowy, or too cold, or too wet. Tougher or dumber?
I noticed someone mentioned number of trees trimmed res versus lc. While most of you guys look down on the line clearance climbers, i personally thought it was one of the best educational experiences i had as a young climber. Sure, their climbing methods are pretty primitive by today's standards, but where else are you going to average up and down twenty trees a day. I know some residential climbers that don't go up and down that many times a month.
One thing i would like to address though is the pictures of trees that pop up on this site with the line clearance hack captions. You don't know the situation. Oddly enough, i could point out a dozen trees i did in those three years that were horrible-topped out with three branches left. But you know why it was left like that? Not because we were total hacks, not because that was what the power company wanted-it was what the HOMEOWNER wanted. Yep. Alot of the line clearance guys i know prefer to not leave something that ugly, but in the attempt to compromise between the power company and the homeowner, that's what they end up with.
And that's one thing i don't miss-probably 90% of the homeowners don't want you there doing your job. The hostility can get to you. I've wondered if that's part of the reason many of those guys loved storm work-the one time homeowners worshipped the ground they walked on.

Anyway, line clearance guys, you don't often get any respect here. So, from someone who's done it--keep up the good work!

 

[lego1970]

I've done both line clearance and residential work. Each has it's own unique challenges, but both are hard. The only type of tree worker I don't respect is the one that's always trying to belittle the other guy.

 

[Nailsbeats]

I've done both line clearance and residential work. Each has it's own unique challenges, but both are hard. The only type of tree worker I don't respect is the one that's always trying to belittle the other guy.

That, the druggies, and those that refuse to learn because they have so much experience.

 

[Job Corps Tree]

Line Clearance guys just make me laugh

I climbed and did large removals for 20 + years, had to cut trees out of power lines But not every day. They say 10 feet we would get alot closer than that, but not every day.I don't know how the can go near that much energy day after day. I did it when I had to not wanting to wait for the power co. to come out but not every day. been sideways of 1 phase of a 3 phase Just once! Had someone set the tree on Fire below my but not every day. No I was happy with just doing Trims and take downs.
The Line Clearance guys have my respect

 

[PFirebird]

another testosterone fueled pissing contest.

 

[utilityman]

As with anything there are good and bad ones in every business. I have had the pleaseure of working around some top notch line clearence guys. I have seen some of these guys do unbelievable things to get the job done. I will tell you when working storm conditions line clearence guys are like god to a lineman. They are out there busting their butts sometimes away from there families for weeks on end. As a lineman myself, I will tell all of you guys they have my respect for the excellent job they do!!

 

[TreeClimber57]

another testosterone fueled pissing contest.

Maybe, maybe not. Many of the line clearance guys around the country are not really that well trained and certainly are NOT arborists.

I started 35 years ago in line clearance for one of the largest utility companies around (at least in Canada).. covering 400,000 sq miles of area.

Now the company I was with trained well on how to do the job, focused on safety, use of tools, climbing, distance trees should be cut from lines, working safely with and around power lines, etc.

However they DID not have any real training on proper pruning techniques, zero on anything that might be even remotely related to arboriculture. The job was to cut the trees or limbs.. clear the lines.. focus was on safety and production.

Now in reality a lot of my work was in right of way clearing.. and that frankly is even worse. As the only focus there again is safety and production.. but virtually zero in anything related to pruning at all. Almost all was felling.. clearing of virgin forest for right of way.

I have yet to meet a clearance person who could come even close to a decent climber/arborist in tree knowledge or technique.

Clearance guys can climb.. although mostly on spurs. They can use saws safely.. great with buckets and tracked vehicles (we had Nodwells).

So really depends on what you are comparing them to.

Good climbers - yes.. for the most part.
Good in bucket trucks - yes.. better than most guys who work outside the clearance work.
Good with saws.. yes.. but no better than any other professional.
Knowledgeable with trees biology, or aboriculture in general.. nope..sorry..

So.. what are we comparing and then we can see who is good or better. I have lived both sides.. and have been doing this about as long as most on here. So hard to :censored: me with :censored:.

Reality is reality.. no getting around it. Line clearance guys are great at what they do.. clear trees from utility lines.

Don't get me wrong.. good guys.. work hard and in some nasty weather. But not arborists.

 

[TreeClimber57]

As with anything there are good and bad ones in every business. I have had the pleaseure of working around some top notch line clearence guys. I have seen some of these guys do unbelievable things to get the job done. I will tell you when working storm conditions line clearence guys are like god to a lineman. They are out there busting their butts sometimes away from there families for weeks on end. As a lineman myself, I will tell all of you guys they have my respect for the excellent job they do!!

No question and agreed. They do great work .. and a lot of hard work and long days.

 

[Komitet]

Maybe, maybe not. Many of the line clearance guys around the country are not really that well trained and certainly are NOT arborists.

I started 35 years ago in line clearance for one of the largest utility companies around (at least in Canada).. covering 400,000 sq miles of area.

Now the company I was with trained well on how to do the job, focused on safety, use of tools, climbing, distance trees should be cut from lines, working safely with and around power lines, etc.

However they DID not have any real training on proper pruning techniques, zero on anything that might be even remotely related to arboriculture. The job was to cut the trees or limbs.. clear the lines.. focus was on safety and production.

Now in reality a lot of my work was in right of way clearing.. and that frankly is even worse. As the only focus there again is safety and production.. but virtually zero in anything related to pruning at all. Almost all was felling.. clearing of virgin forest for right of way.

I have yet to meet a clearance person who could come even close to a decent climber/arborist in tree knowledge or technique.

Clearance guys can climb.. although mostly on spurs. They can use saws safely.. great with buckets and tracked vehicles (we had Nodwells).

So really depends on what you are comparing them to.

Good climbers - yes.. for the most part.
Good in bucket trucks - yes.. better than most guys who work outside the clearance work.
Good with saws.. yes.. but no better than any other professional.
Knowledgeable with trees biology, or aboriculture in general.. nope..sorry..

So.. what are we comparing and then we can see who is good or better. I have lived both sides.. and have been doing this about as long as most on here. So hard to :censored: me with :censored:.

Reality is reality.. no getting around it. Line clearance guys are great at what they do.. clear trees from utility lines.

Don't get me wrong.. good guys.. work hard and in some nasty weather. But not arborists.

I currently work for the Company you speak of, a lot of things have changed, I've met more arborists working here than I ever did in the private sector, out of my crew of 12, 9 of us are certified arborists, 6 of us are OTAB certified, and all of us are utility arborists. We're actually in the midland area right now on the big chute feeder, stop by.

 

[jpzaf]

Don't get me wrong.. good guys.. work hard and in some nasty weather. But not arborists.[/QUOTE]