tree md
Addicted to ArboristSite
Nice work rope. Looked like a tricky one. 
powerlines
- Thread starter mattfr12
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ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
Rftreeman
Addicted to ArboristSite
ozzy42
Addicted to ArboristSite
nice job rope but im disapointed in one thing... you look nothing like your avatar
Hope I can still climb like that when I'm 80
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/05/31/happy-birthday-clint-eastwood/
Nailsbeats
Addicted to ArboristSite
Excellent job there Rope. I liked the simple natural crotching. What climbing saw you using there? 200t or is that one down?
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
200 t yes,but it was stlfirewoods saw not mine! PS: I have blocks and pully but really the job consisted more of tag lines and jump cutting than tip tie as there was not a suitable pull point high enough to be effective to lift those long limbs.
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
Sewickley lines underground?????? worked that area for 3 different trim cycles through asplundh & lewis! very little is underground!! from edgeworth to osbourne its all old money & people who complain evey time a tree needs trimmed.
theres some very old easements in that town, scaife road, turkeyfoot rd & every thing up by DT watson out to Glenn Mitchell rd....the new lines put in on capital work are all 13.2 - 23kv & all the 4kv stuff is ancient with bare secondary banks & no spacers!! not to mention that area has some BIG TREES!!!! & in the worst spots!
LXT..............
Ropes did you chill for a minute to put in a chew? that reminds me of my buddy....no matter where he`s at when its time for a dip he pauses & looks so calm..... like he`s mesmerized by the chew!! LOL
Dam good job!
LXT................
Dam good job!
LXT................
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
Folks we have a wiener, yup, dip time. It has been a long time since doing a bad line clearing type job and it would be a lie if I told you I was not tense a time or two those limbs where starting to slip bark and a couple were doughty and all limbs thumbsize could just be broken easily. I have done these type trees for many years when I was a danger tree foreman. The trunk of this tree is right near minimum separation or about three feet from the primary, I told stlfirewood I could not promise there would not be an outage but I would try not to. It was done with no loss to service.
tree md
Addicted to ArboristSite
I hear ya buddy, anything that close to a primary is pretty intense. The tree I posted up earlier in this thread was 7-10' from the primary at the trunk and that is as close I care to go. And that was a live tree. 3', noway. But then again I was never trained for utility work like you have been. I pretty much try to respect the 10' rule.
I think someone really has to have been there before they can fully appreciate the scope of that tree. Again, GOOD JOB!
I think someone really has to have been there before they can fully appreciate the scope of that tree. Again, GOOD JOB!
Bigus Termitius
Addicted to ArboristSite
'No loss to service'.... I like how that was worded.
Good work, man.
Where is your 335? 200 eat it? lol.
While I'm thinking on that...I'll trade you my 335 for your 200 that doesn't work so good. deal?
mattfr12
The Bulldog
'No loss to service'.... I like how that was worded.
Good work, man.
Where is your 335? 200 eat it? lol.
While I'm thinking on that...I'll trade you my 335 for your 200 that doesn't work so good. deal?
ya me 2 if you change your mind.
TreeClimber57
Addicted to ArboristSite
Being qualified is only half the battle, and hopefully makes one realize the consequences. However, there are a lot of supposedly qualified tree workers who still scare me..
I worked for provincial utility for many years (same as a state on in the U.S. - if they have state run utilities). Now I was in forestry, but we still had the same training and the same tools as the linemen did, in fact half the crew used to be linemen. Doubtful that many tree workers can tell 8kv from 44kv to tell the truth..
And frankly, without the tools and protective gear that I had when working for utility, I keep my distance from anything on primary side of transformer. Now if I had the proper protective gear then would be different story..
Moral of story, don't be stupid. I have seen many, many contacts in my life. Fortunately all with equipment, trees or other conductors. Electricity is not to be messed with or underestimated, it only takes a short time of inattentiveness or carelessness and it is all over.
Leave it to somebody with training, equipment and who is doing it every day.
TreeClimber57
Addicted to ArboristSite
Good principle to follow. Electricity has no friends, and treats all as equals.
Lawnmowerboy48
ArboristSite Operative
Honestly many of you inspect your bucket booms daily? It is said that fiberglass booms are not conductive. If you take a graphite pencil and draw a line down the boom; that boom is not compromised. Lets think about all of the stuff that gets on our booms every day: oil, bark, scratches, saw chips, etc. It is not the voltage that kills it it the amps. It only takes half a milliamp to offset your hearts rhythm to kill you. I just mow lawns don't take me seriously haha.
TreeClimber57
Addicted to ArboristSite
Ok..
1st - Fiberglass booms, when properly maintained, and when inspected properly on regular basis are non-conductive to the level which they are rated. This can vary dramatically from one to another however. Note it is ONLY to the rates level that any insulator is considered safe. There is no such thing as a perfect insulator - or non-conductive material. Essentially in theory, if the voltage is pushed to a high enough level, any insulated material can be broken down.
2nd - anything on the boom surface can compromise the boom. As can impacts, etc. Which is why crews for utility companies are trained to inspect the booms, identify potential issues and then have trucks serviced properly.
3rd - Contrary to common belief or understanding it is a combination of voltage and current that kills. Voltage on its own typically, if high enough is the major cause of visible burns. However, it takes voltage to overcome resistance, whatever that resistance is. A tree limb, a truck boom, truck tires (yes I have seen tires blown off a truck by a contact), air, or your body. However, once the level of voltage is sufficient to cause an electron flow, then that flow - called current - is measured in amperes. (or fractions thereof) So.. it is actually the flow of electrons - or milliamps that is stated to kill - but that is electron flow. Electron flow CAN NOT occur until the voltage is sufficient to overcome the resistance in its path. Once the flow begins - watch out!
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ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
I agree and have had many years of training and performing the impossible, as I have said; I was on my last employment hazard tree foreman for the power company 13 years. I have worked in line clearance over two decades and have experienced everything your trying to warn about. Some talk a good game and some have been there and I am the latter. It is neither amps or volts that kill it is lack of resistance that gets you. Staying out of the path of least resistance is your friend when working with power.
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
I have performed hypot tests on booms it is required at least yearly for buckets used in line clearance. The test is performed with a portable transformer capable of 100kv with allowed leakage of 5 milliamps that expensive equipment can test for we also tested our gloves and basket liners by submerging them in water and a metal prod is inside liner which is juiced to 100kv and the leakage is measured on the metal tank. And yes there is a perfect insulator it was made by God it is called wings and birds have them.
Bigus Termitius
Addicted to ArboristSite
Fact.
