The power company contracts with them to clear the tree limbs out from around the high electric wires.

they brought one of these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qByYQhPF5Y

good cheap entertainment

a lttle bit of drama on my part when they seemed way too close to the power lines

Very disappointing - I was hoping you had one of these zipping around in your backyard!




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfz1YrpMbBg

quote:

a lttle bit of drama on my part when they seemed way too close to the power lines

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I see that. I will put in a call to your utility company to cut the power the day before to ensure safety of the line workers.

The fine folks at Asplundh once trimmed several of my trees into nubbins that looked like a tornado had just came through.

quote:

The fine folks at Asplundh once trimmed several of my trees into nubbins that looked like a tornado had just came through.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah they are NOT tree Arborists. They are handy when their army shows up to clear the power lines after a major Hurricane. If you are lucky enough to be there when they do their work it is possible to establish some rapport and minimize the gross overcutting.

True story. I had a friend who went to work for Asplundh soon after they first moved into the Denver market. He’s feeding limbs into a chipper at the back of a truck when he hears, “Police! Don’t move!”

It seems there had been a string of daylight burglaries and since no one was familiar with the orange trucks of Asplundh, it was surmised that it was a front for a burglary ring.

If you're lucky, you can see barehand crews that work on energized transmission voltages of 500Kv and higher from helicopters, now thats some entertainment!

At our location at FPL, the Barehand crews also worked out of our locations and if they didn't work from specially insulated Transmission bucket trucks designed for use of 240Kv and up to 500Kv, we'd often see them loading up on a chopper and taking off. Most often they just work energized Transmission lines because it's not practical to take out that particular line out of service. Distribution voltages yes, and almost daily but Transmission of those higher capacity Transmission lines, hardly ever.

Working barehand on energized high voltage Transmission lines required them to operate wearing these special metal meshed suits and first contacting the energized conductors with a metal wand, thus energizing their suits at the same potential as the voltages and then performing their work. Often replacing or repairing insulators shot up by some nitwit with a rifle. They are either totally isolated from the ground and at the same voltage as the energized conductor either by helicopters or their special Transmission bucket trucks.

In some conversations with these guys, one told me that he could feel his cavities buzzing in his mouth when working on the energized conductors!

Now thats some entertainment if you can catch a glimpse of them in action!

Couldn’t figure out what the name meant. Now I know it’s the call of a line worker when he hits that live wire.

quote:

Yeah they are NOT tree Arborists.

actually ,one of the two that were out working in the back yard was a certified arborist,

he said after three years of trimming , it would be a good idea,
and
Mid America electric will not come out to shut the power down for them , w/o sending a field inspector first

quote:

actually ,one of the two that were out working in the back yard was a certified arborist,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Damn I am impressed. The crews here are barely literate. There have been big fights between the Garden Clubs, the City Arborists and Asplundh. We are talking centuries old Live Oaks that are getting pretty rough treatment. Maybe it is an Iowa thing. I thought all Iowa had was corn and few trees.LOL

he said that he has only met three other trimmers , in his 14 years that spent the money to get certified.

the company does not care one way or the other,
was surprised to hear that 15 0ut of 30 people that they hire , this summer, will quit within 30 days ,

That’a nearly half!

They do random drug testing is one reason. It is dangerous and hard work is another. They can make big money for relatively unskilled labor after major hurricanes. The utility companies wont touch your lines unless the trees are off of them. Lots of overtime to be had.

he said that they use a running bowline knot on the limbs that they need to ease straight down ,

I'd see plenty of youtube video's on how to tie it,

but none that tell you how to tie it on to a limb ,60 feet in the air

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
he said that they use a running bowline knot on the limbs that they need to ease straight down ,

I'd see plenty of youtube video's on how to tie it,

but none that tell you how to tie it on to a limb ,60 feet in the air

It is very straightforward. The rope is positioned in a limb crotch or a block located above the limb you are cutting. The end of the rope is run around the limb you are cutting and tied to itself with a bowline. When positioning the rope on the limb you are cutting, it is best to place it at least a foot from where you are cutting or beyond a lateral branch to keep the rope from slipping off. If a very heavy limb is being cut (over 200 pounds), I will first wrap a half hitch around the limb and then tie a running bowline around it.