Pole Saw for use around wires?

I forgot to say that the subbed clearance companies around here no longer take care of the service drops. Home owners have to call a regular tree care company to have it done.There were a few occasions when we were in a tree on some ones property(mostly the youthfully challenged) and they would come out and ask us to take off a limb over their service and we would, just to keep up a good reputation but for the most part we had to decline requests of this nature.

polesaw use on wires

first of all this is not a spitting contest!!!and second it depends on what kind of wire the make up and type of line i trim limbs off of lines all day touching but i know what i can touch and what i can't if its triplex 3 wrap u will be ok or insulated wire on secondary thats ok as long as its good and note near the ceramic conductors.im a line clearance exspert certified!i have a rule of thumb dont trim anything that your not comfortable with or think is not safe for you!!!have a great day

Yikes

I need to take some classes on this!!!!
I just learned the 10 foot rule a couple months ago studying for the arb exam. Up until then, I've been working in trees w/tons of wires going right through and sometimes touching the tree somewhere. Not all the time but occasionally (pole to house only).

wires

yes i agree take some classes and training!!!never go around or climb or attemp to cut,trim,or prune anything with wires in or on them without prop. training in line clearance. be safe

treejerk1 said:

first of all this is not a spitting contest!!!and second it depends on what kind of wire the make up and type of line i trim limbs off of lines all day touching but i know what i can touch and what i can't if its triplex 3 wrap u will be ok or insulated wire on secondary thats ok as long as its good and note near the ceramic conductors.im a line clearance exspert certified!i have a rule of thumb dont trim anything that your not comfortable with or think is not safe for you!!!have a great day

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Where to start?

Secondaries have a PLASTIC coating and NO manufacturer will give a rating on the insulating value of this coating. Can you touch it and be ok? Sure. Does that mean that one day there wont be a pin hole on one of the hotlegs and you'll get fried?

There is NO insulated wire in line work, except for the wire they use as taps. Wether those taps are from cut-out to cut-out or for riser poles. But again find me manufacturer that will give a 100% insulated rating.

People who are "certified experts" should need to work as a linesman for a minimum of 2 years or take a test given by linesman, in the field, NOT in a book. You are going to get someone killed giving them this advice.

Always remember...........NO WIRE IS INSULATED. There are NO wire manufacturers that will give an insulating value on its wire for Primary/secondary use. Thats why when you see line crews working they will put line guard/ line hose on EVRYTHING!

Jerk: I worked as a linesman for 5 years, does this make me a certified expert? No! Deos it mean that I know evrything? NO! But I will debate this subject with you anytime you would like, because I do have more real world experinece working around and WITH live, energized, overhead and underground conductors.

Do you work for PENN? They are a nationally known great co. I cant imagine for one minute they would be leting a representative of their co. be spewing filth over the internet about barehanding LIVE secondary cables.

BostonBull said:

Do you work for PENN? They are a nationally known great co. I cant imagine for one minute they would be leting a representative of their co. be spewing filth over the internet about barehanding LIVE secondary cables.

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BostonBull is righteous in his words....telling someone it is safe to handle live secondary is extremely irresponsible, the advice you should give is to treat every wire, electric, cable, or phone like it is live and potentially life threatening.....were do some of you guys come from...geese

wires

first of all no body told he to do anything for one!and ye syou have exp. in this thats proven..as for me i was saying what i encounter on my day and no im not a rep of any sorts work for my self..and im still learning thats it you take what you read here and run with it its all opions thats it unless we pay you for training..so post to the questions and not the replys from now own!i think alot of you just surf this place and look for things and people to insult and pick fights with.insted of what its truly for.

I can speak for myself and say this website is inteneded as a tool for learning! People come here with questions and expect professional safe replies.

Speak to the questions and not the answers? You are the reason people here get hurt. Taking advice from people who claim to be experts and are dolts!

The only reason that I responded to your response is that it was cleraly written by an Idiot, and not idiot as in a slang/putdown word. Idiot in its truest form, with a capital I, as in Ignoramous. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignoramus

If you cant give safe, sage, and good advice, dont give any.

Look at my previous posts. Do I argue? Yes. Do I argue about stuff that is irrelevant and probably good advice? Not usually. Do I call people out for giving PlSS poor advice to people who are trying to learn? You better believe it!

Who gave you your certified expert titile?

Boston Bull is right. The "insulation" can't be trusted, it's there to protect the wires, not the other way around. The only way to be safe is to have the utility disconnect the drop, we do that for free here. I never was a linesman but I would listen carefully to what they have to say.

bostonbull is dead on!

there's a huge amount of information on AS.
problem is deciphering what's real from advice that will get you killed.

I've seen some guys use aluminum poles. Even after I warned them not too, because in the course of a long day you usually end up flirting with some kind wire. Never use aluminum.

Aww man...

<<sigh>>

We use wooden shaft pole pruners and pole saws to clear triplex house drops, with the blessings of our local utility. I'm standing on the ground trimming buried trees daily, as per my official company training. Me and dozens of other groundies.

:help:

E-

I have zero interest in my crew or myself getting zapped. And i do take safety very seriously. I am not arguing or endorsing anything here just stating what i believe is standard operating practice [right or wrong] for this area based on my obsevations and conversations in the last year and a half.
I was told by a couple different local electricans and other tree companies [not utility guys] not to worry about house drops. By not worry I mean stay away from them, but if one has to clear the odd branch use a wood or fiberglass pole saw. Ie use common sense, yes they are insulated very well but who wants to die.
Seemingly everyone in this neck of the woods has a tree with branches through thier service drop. [which is sometimes why they call.] If i stayed out of a tree that had a branch within 10 feet of a drop I would not be in business or at least I would have lost more then half of it. So it is not that I am cavalier but rather trying to make the best decisions based on my reality: there are a lot of wires around trees.
I have also done awarness courses from the local hydro outfit, but it was not terribly informative: in this day and age of cover your ass the theme is stay away under all circomstances. Don't get me wrong i refuse work around wires if it is involved, but I have considered light pruning around or over house drops to be part and parcel of this business; Am i out to lunch on this?

thanks for your

alanarbor said:

If you have to ask, you've got no business being near electrical conductors.

Go and get some training in electrical hazards (TCIA's EHAP is a good start)
so you can at least recognize the hardware you're dealing with.

Don't become another statistic-way too many people in our industry have died from contact with electricity.

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There you go, I wish that only qualified people would respond to these questions (the one day course ain't enough so don't start), like linemen, experienced utility tree guys and so on. Mitchell, in B.C. there are no rules concerning residential service drops, none. The voltage for certified guys, the Hydro permits and all that fun starts at over 750 volts. 120 v. can kill you though, so better safe than sorry. Look up Worksafe regulations part 19, cheers, Jim (Hydro certified utility arborist)

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! CALL THE POWER COMPANY, THAT'S WHAT THEY DO AND WILL BE GLAD YOU DID. Why risk it? My father was nearly killed by a hot line, and my great uncle Doug was killed by a hot line in 1960. Do not be stupid.

I my experience, the small amount of contact with a house drop will not hurt you . Now if the drop takes a good shot and the wire comes loose, that can ruin your day. They are supposed to be good for 500 lbs. but that's debatable.

you can get non conductive pole saws but in most cases if you are messing with trees around the primary power supply line most of the time the power company will come out and clear the line for you or as stated they will kill the power or in very sever cases they will sometimes take the wire down, they would rather help you get it done safely than have too put the line back up or put you in a body bag, also, I may be wrong but in most states if you are not "line clearance" certified then you are in violation of OSHA rules and can be fined.

Chainsaw_Sally said:

<<sigh>>

We use wooden shaft pole pruners and pole saws to clear triplex house drops, with the blessings of our local utility. I'm standing on the ground trimming buried trees daily, as per my official company training. Me and dozens of other groundies.

:help:

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Sally, might that be because triplex house drops are WELL INSULATED? Yeah, that just might be why.

No, I'm not a lineman. I'm an engineer, and I understand electricity. It's what I do. I know what insulation is, and anyone who says house drops are not insulated needs to go back to school.


I think part of the dissension here is because people aren't distinguishing between the house drops and the hot stuff.

I'm not suggesting house drops are SAFE! No electrical wiring is SAFE.

But it's a very different ballgame than primaries and secondary lines. I don't hesitate to trim along my house drop with my ordinary fiberglass non-insulated pole. It's just no big deal. I don't drop branches on it, but that's just common sense. I don't want the thing coming down. $$$

I have 12 years of experience as a qualified line clearance tree trimmer. We have completed countless contracts for Boston Edison, Mass Electric and municipal light Dept's. as little as 100 amps can kill you instantly, most service wires are 200amps, and the insulation on a 200 amp tri-plex was designed to prevent outages from squirrels and trees, not to provide any type of electrocution protection. As a qualified line trimmer you learn that all wires are to be considered live, even telephone and cable and that defiantly includes secondary. There are many documented cases of people killing themselves trimming around service wires. Anyone here that suggests working around service wires is completely safe is feeding you grave mis-information.