Warning:
Shocking Pictures near Bottom of Page!
Safety is of the utmost
importance; for the working around the forces employed by and around
trees; are as massive as the tree's themselves. Electrical risks are just
one concern for arborists, chainsaw cuts, chippers, ropes, sheer mass,
speed, leverage, reach, the list goes on and on, in the hazardous world;
in the lands of these giants!
Quoted Text From the Discussion Forums/Boards
quote:
Originally posted by Tom Dunlap :
"A clean, dry rope is not
conductive?".<-You'll never get a rope manufacturer to vouch for that!!
Over the years of helping at EHAP training I've asked every journeyman
lineman if he would ever use a rope or throwline to move a wire. They have
all looked at me with "What-are-you-stupid?" eyes. None of them would ever
do it so I won't either.
-Tom
quote:
Originally posted by Crofter :Something I found interesting at a safety
course put on by Ontario Hydro was the fact that electrical lines can move
up and down 5 or 10 feet over a short period of time due to load changes
on the line. The difference in temperature due to load can change the
tension that much. Where you had enough clearance in the morning could put
you dangerously close later in the day. Over a certain voltage requires a
continuous spotter. -Frank
quote:
Originally posted by netree :
That's why lines strung in the summer are deliberately left with some
slack, so the line can contract in cold weather without breaking from too
much tension. The electrical resistance of the line converts power into
heat. This is why energizing a line is called "heating it up" in linemans'
slang. How much the line will lengthen/shorten with varying load depends
on a lot of factors, such as length of span, conductor material, conductor
diameter, ambient temperature and the actual load applied.
Lines will tend to lengthen with: Higher ambient temps, Aluminum
conductors, High electrical loads, Smaller diameter lines (which have a
higher resistance)...and shorten when the reverse is true.
Ropes should NEVER be relied upon to insulate you from electricity. NEVER
NEVER NEVER!!!...Dealing with power lines requires special tools, and
specialized techniques and training to do it safely. It is a task best
left to those qualified to do it. PERIOD.
>It only takes one hundredth of an ampere at less that 1 volt to stop your
heart. Keeping that in mind, remember that materials such as wood and rope
aren't necessarily INSULATORS, but more usually RESISTORS... cutting the
flow of electricity down, but not eliminating it. I can't stress enough
how important the right tools and training are required to work around
power lines.
>I just think it's far safer to treat anything not specifically marked as
being dialectic as a possible conductor......While I have it in mind, a
lot of guys are under the impression that the black coating on some
primary lines is insulation............-->It's not!!! It's only a
weatherproofing, and is neither intended as an insulator, or to be relied
upon as such. -Erik
Warning: Shocking
Pictures near Bottom of Page!
quote:
Originally posted by the forum moderator-
John Paul Sanborn :
Always tie in so you will swing away...To reinforce a point from John
Ball's lecture on injuries and fatalities. Many that had electrical
contact had a rescue of the initial victim, and recovery of the crew
member who attempted rescue.-JP
quote:
Originally posted by topnotchtree :
I have witnessed an arching demonstration put on by the utility co and the
union where the guy drew current through a kite string. He also stuck his
hand in a rubber glove and rubbed it all over a conductor, then removed
his hand and shoved a raw hot dog in a finger of the glove. Then he poked
a hole in the glove finger with a sewing needle. Then touched the
conductor with the glove. The hot dog was burnt to a crisp. The voltage
was 4800. Line clearance guys do some crazy things, but most of us know
what we can get away with safely. First of all we know how to ID the lines
and get a pretty good idea of the voltage we are working with. I read
somewhere in this thread where someone suggested using a handsaw to remove
a hanger from a wire. Although the wood handle on the saw may not conduct,
the screws on the handle that hold the blade in will get ya.....As a
general rule, the bigger the insulators the more power.
quote:
Originally posted by MidwestTree : If you have any
questions about powerlines it is useful to attend a class. The power
companies give these all the time. A lot to local (volunteer) fire depts.
They usually are good programs and you might learn just one thing that
could save your life. Even guys that work around them all the time should
step back and rethink what they are doing.
quote:
Originally posted by ORclimber :It is best to assume you
will (get shocked/killed). There are many variables
involved....Electricity follows the easiest path to ground. If going
through the branch and climber is the easiest path to ground....zap! -
Eric
quote:
Originally posted by Dobber
There are procedures in place to trimming near energized
conductors, If you are not familiar with them then you should not be in
the tree. ....
This a pic of an untrained worker after an accident. Look his name up if
you like, there is lots to see if you feel like reading. his name was
Lewis Wheelan, just started a summer job with a friend of his fathers who
owns the contracted company. Took a hit from a fallen conductor, lost his
right arm and part of both legs, due to all the scar tissue his body
couldn't keep it self cool without air conditioning. When the 2003 black
out happened he lost the air conditioning, causing him to slowly overheat
until he passed out and never woke up.
Warning: Shocking
Pictures near Bottom of Page!
 
We Locals pitched in and helped close the
job, so the family tree service wouldn't have to go back to that place,
the homeowner was covered; the stillness in the thick air at ground zero
seemed something like this:
That Early Mourning
Job:
There is an echo of stillness where she
last stood for a sec………..;
Now deafening silence roars
louder than the saws;
ears always perched for anyone to start their chipper,
and what would it sound like hear?
Like a vacuum created;
Perhaps by such a young, joyful life,
Disappearing so instantaneously leaving not even a trace here.
Somehow has cheated even time,
That hasn’t yet caught up in this place or these people,
Dangerously supplying sling shotting energy,
To journey far from the frail semblance of surviving,
To somewhere far below all too soonly.
Wee waded in and got started this mourn,
Few of us locals, closing ranks;
So Brian wouldn’t have to go back there,
To that space, and place.
The scene had just been released,
Including 3 of the vehicles.
All in all, I think ½ dozen tree services where by,
Before the sky’s own weeping,
kept building and layering,
Exceeding all others present.
Ya know if ya can’t nod at the climber 3 blocks away as you,
Go to your job, and end up aerially compromised;
Who Ya Gonna Call?
My buddy from another tree service
was there in bucket.
There was no better, no less; just well wishes and
Harmonized effort by all able.
Without a word, everything coming into place.
The original ‘Help’ for the job are stunned to 'help-less',
Especially in this place there seems no aim;
Just their numbing pain as you watch them move nowhere.
Burn this helplessness of loss in well,
As life commands everyone go on forward,
Witness those trying helplessly to reach back;
And remember why this happened,
So that it wouldn’t to you,
Or the one next to you!
This price has been high enough;
let it be considered paid in full!
-KC
My beauty and the Beast cards i make on 4 to a page Inkjet
postcards:
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8/1/4 (Always Under
Construction & Expansion!)