Another reason to be careful while cutting trees.

[rathmir]

My god....you wouldn't catch me anywhere near those wires...my camcorder would have to have 50x zoom for that one...

 

[CarbonNeutral]

I love how the transformer kicks back in at the end - something to think about when you think the power is out....

 

[Billster]

No way would I stand around and watch that.

I may be wrong.... But the tree looked like a Lombardy poplar, because it was tall and not very wide.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Now how did they know to video it - didn't seem especially windy - I wonder if someone had tried cutting it?

 

[Danno77]

i'm still trying to figure out why there was a tree that close to a powerline. I thought that only happened in my area. Sometimes i wonder what they are thinking with their either massive tree trimming or complete lack thereof around here. I've see giant oak trees that look like a monster took a bite and left a perfect mouth shaped hole for the line to run through, something that seriously took some major man hours over the years, and then a block away there will be some other oak tree that looks like you could climb out on a branch and hang down right onto the line. no rhyme or reason. those trees shouldn't even be close to that line.

 

[daryl]

now thats a top down fire!!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We've discussed the hazards of felling trees and of wind and what it can do. We can't be too careful out there when felling. But this apparently was done just by Mother Nature. This thing really get nasty towards the end of the video.

(broken link removed)

 

[madrone]

No way would I stand around and watch that.

I may be wrong.... But the tree looked like a Lombardy poplar, because it was tall and not very wide.

Says Bellingham, probably WA, so I'm thinking western red cedar. I would stand around and watch that, but I'd have someone hold the camera while I ran in to grab a beer.

 

[Lazy Flame]

i'm still trying to figure out why there was a tree that close to a powerline. I thought that only happened in my area. Sometimes i wonder what they are thinking with their either massive tree trimming or complete lack thereof around here. I've see giant oak trees that look like a monster took a bite and left a perfect mouth shaped hole for the line to run through, something that seriously took some major man hours over the years, and then a block away there will be some other oak tree that looks like you could climb out on a branch and hang down right onto the line. no rhyme or reason. those trees shouldn't even be close to that line.

Recently the local power company (REMC) had some sit downs w/reisidents over the trimming issues. Alot of ppl find the means to the end unacceptable.

Here they kill everything if you let them. I threw such a monumental fit over the clear cutting they now call me and schedule the cut days w/me so I can "supervise"

!0' radius is the rule of thumb. If they had gone underground for 200' it all could have been avoided. I hate it when they spray the easement w/that toxic crap to kill the foilage. in 20yrs I'm sure it'll be proven cancerous. The smell gives it away.

What is funniest is they have a 20' swath cleared up the way and trees still fall and rip the lines to shreds so bad it starts grass fires. I've seen it 3x since I moved here 3yrs ago.

 

[Gooserider]

Part of the problem is that in a lot of cases the trees were there first! Consider that we've really only had electric power at all for about the last 90 years or so, and most distribution systems are far less old than that - maybe 20's and 30's...

The other side is the constant battle between the utility people, who would love to cut everything that could possibly fall on their lines, vs. the homeowners and local govt's that want to preserve the trees for a variety of reasons... This is an issue because the utilities know that even if they have standards and codes that say 10' clearance or whatever other number, the more they trim, the more and louder the screams they will get from the homeowners and gov't types (who are interested in keeping the screaming homeowner / voters happy...)

The end result is essentially what you see today, trees with holes in them, and trees with wires in them...

Gooserider

 

[Chris S]

What Gooserider says is correct, I've seen it over & over.

 

[Skier76]

Did that just knock a few months of the seasoning time? Will that be ready to burn this year? :lol:

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Did that just knock a few months of the seasoning time? Will that be ready to burn this year? :lol:

... uncoils extension cord to wood piles, cuts off end, jabs wires into pile. GOOD TO BURN.

 

[hilly]

Did that just knock a few months of the seasoning time? Will that be ready to burn this year? :lol:

That is exactly what I was thinking. If there had been any wood burners there I bet you would have seen the pick-up truck coming in to the picture with some guy yelling 'Dibs' right after it blew up.

 

[Duetech]

Hmmm....in the earlier part of the clip you could see some clouds of steam escaping before another section burst into flame. Yes I would say it is a fast seasoning method. I think I would rather wait on sun and wind and time. Great clip Savage.

 

[Skier76]

We may be on to somethign here kids. Scrounge wood Monday, electrified Tuesday, sold as "seasoned" Wednesday. :cheese:

 

[heppm01]

That is exactly what the inside of your chimney looks like when you burn pine!

 

[CarbonNeutral]

That is exactly what the inside of your chimney looks like when you burn pine!

That's why I have a pair of uninsulated conductors running up my flue - burns the creosote right off - can't run the microwave at the same time though

 

[Corey]

I love how the transformer kicks back in at the end - something to think about when you think the power is out....

ABSOLUTELY!! Sometimes the circuit will kick back on 2-3x before it finally goes off. Luckily no one went up close to 'inspect' the tree. We need to tag this post for anyone who asks about drying wood fast.

I have mixed feelings on the power line/tree trimming issue. Around here they usually do a nice hack job - no attempt what so ever to maintain a healthy tree. They will cut straight down the middle of a tree, 20' away from the line, then leave 3-4 scraggly branches which happen to be under the line. Once I saw where they cut 3/4 of a maple tree away - the only thing left was a couple of spindly branches hanging over someones house. I can't believe those newly exposed branches wouldn't break off with the first wet snow.

Years ago, I had the power co come on my property to cut a dead willow out of the power lines. They did the usual hack job on a maple, too. For years, any bit of wind and additional branches would snap off because they used to be somewhat protected by the rest of the tree. I suppose I wouldn't have minded if it would have meant actually keeping the power on, but they never did anything with the trees in the rest of the neighborhood. So sure enough, next ice storm a tree 2-3 blocks away goes into the power lines and we loose power for 3 days anyway.

At least we were warm, though!

 

[LLigetfa]

Wires in trees are not just a safety hazard. It also costs the utility dearly, not just with all that energy shorting to ground either. They did a study on the ground effect of high tension power lines and found that trees and ground cover in the magnetic field had a negative effect even without any arcing. The height of the towers is not just about safety.

I remember as a kid helping a neighbor put up a TV antenna mast on a wood pole and getting shocks when I touched the mast (bridging the mast to ground with my body). Another time, we were replacing the starter on a car that was parked under high tension lines and the guy laying under it was complaining about getting shocks, accusing me of not disconnecting the battery. The battery was disconnected and the guy was bridging the car to ground (the car being insulated by the rubber in the tire).

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I love how the transformer kicks back in at the end - something to think about when you think the power is out....

ABSOLUTELY!! Sometimes the circuit will kick back on 2-3x before it finally goes off. Luckily no one went up close to 'inspect' the tree. We need to tag this post for anyone who asks about drying wood fast.

I have mixed feelings on the power line/tree trimming issue. Around here they usually do a nice hack job - no attempt what so ever to maintain a healthy tree. They will cut straight down the middle of a tree, 20' away from the line, then leave 3-4 scraggly branches which happen to be under the line. Once I saw where they cut 3/4 of a maple tree away - the only thing left was a couple of spindly branches hanging over someones house. I can't believe those newly exposed branches wouldn't break off with the first wet snow.

Years ago, I had the power co come on my property to cut a dead willow out of the power lines. They did the usual hack job on a maple, too. For years, any bit of wind and additional branches would snap off because they used to be somewhat protected by the rest of the tree. I suppose I wouldn't have minded if it would have meant actually keeping the power on, but they never did anything with the trees in the rest of the neighborhood. So sure enough, next ice storm a tree 2-3 blocks away goes into the power lines and we loose power for 3 days anyway.

At least we were warm, though!

We've had tree trimmers in here a couple times in the past several years. Seems out power company sold all their trucks and laid off people who used to do that and farmed out the business. The first time they came in they did a butcher job but did stay within their guidelines for the most part. The cut one huge oak on a neighbor's that they were not supposed to cut, so they ended up buying it from him!

After they finished the first time they said they were coming back to spray but I think they had so many complaints on that they canceled it.

Not sure about other places, but here in Michigan, they have a 34 foot right-of-way. They can cut anything within that right of way and they mostly do that. This does mean that trees outside the right of way that have limbs pushing into it get trimmed but not cut. So, 17' on either side of the line is where they must stay. Some might do a check to see if this is the same in all states.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

I was reminded of this post yesterday. Kitchen lights went out, check breaker, none out. Go round house - other circuits are off as well, some still on. Turn on the range - all the other lights come on, turn off range, lights go out - cool eh?

Knowing enough to be dangerous about electrics I knew that one half of the circuit board was out (the range being 220v pulls from both sides, so when turned on it was bridging the two sides of the board). Wonder over to the neighbors - they have both circuits. Walking back through my yard I look again at where the power line runs through a tree notch - smoke - the tree had rubbed one of the lines' insulation. Only wisps as it was only 110v...

Call the fire department as I only had the office number for the power company - they turn up, call the power department who spend an hour fixing the line and putting in a sleeve. Also coincided with the largest snowflakes I've ever seen. I wonder how many amphours have been lost to ground over the time the insulation was compromised..

 

[LLigetfa]

I wonder how many amphours have been lost to ground over the time the insulation was compromised..

Is this downstream of a central meter? If so, you'll get your answer with your next hydro bill.

I have a funny story about meters and hydro bills... A former boss complained that his bills had a sudden and drastic increase. He was comparing his bill with his neighbor, who commented that his bills are much lower since they replaced his meter. My boss complained to the utility that they didn't wire the new meter right and that he was paying for his neighbor's consumption.

Turned out to be a leak in his water line that caused the pump in the well to run constantly.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Luckily, no, upstream and there are no other checks as at least three of us share the line from the transformer.

I can see how the well would cause that - I filled my tiny 3000 gallon pool and that cost about $20 extra that month