How to remove this tree?

experience is what it is all about. it sounds like the power company is gonna use cover up material on the energized lines. is someone from the power company going to be there when you take the tree down.

it sounds to me like you got it all planed out right. i have taken them down without cover up while they are still energized. it takes a lot longer and you have to make a lot more cuts.

i hope you will take some photos to post.

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Hey Norm thanks for posting this one! I know the power co. can't shut down for every tree in proximaty. But then again this isn't the average "wire hugging tree" If it were me I would call in that "once in a great while" favor and get a shut down & ground! I'm sure you and your crew will get it down safely either way though! (everybody know's Norm's the MAN!)
 
The job is getting interesting. The power company saw the tree and realizes the close proximity. They still DO NOT want to pull fuses, they want to rubber the wires up. As I know more, I'll keep you posted. Job is still on HOLD.
 
PECO lineman told me never to depend on wires that are capped (sleeved). Last week they (PECO)deenergized and grounded a line for us prior to a crane removal. (See MrTree's post on 4/3/07 re: grounding). Also, the line they deenergized was 12' from where the tree stood which is a lot further than yours.
 
We work near lines up to 500 KV here. Not that big of a deal as long as you follow some protocall and have highly trained workers to do a job like that. If Norm is in charge of that job it will get done- safe and on time. Good luck!
 
I am the one who looks at this type of situations for a power company, and If that tree was on our system I would not allow you to do the job that close to the lines. I would use our crews to do a "Make Safe" for you, that is getting 10' of clearance from the tree to the lines. In this situation, basically we would cut the tree but no clean up done. Even with my crews doing the job the power would be shut off, no question. I do not care if I had to shut the sub down for that tree, it would not have any power in that line as long as there was a danger to human life. Rubbers as they are called are for extra protection to lineman who already have rubber boots, gloves and sleeves. Not a tree trimmer with a t-shirt and blue jeans and a pair of spikes dug deeply in a tree. Tell me this, what IF there was a limb break while a piece is being lifted and rolled the sleeve off of the line, what is protecting your climber then? See my point.

There are such thing as insulated primary lines. They are called Hendrix cables. They are mainly used in situations where proper clearance cannot be obtained. It is very costly compared to other wire. There is also wire that has a weather proofing as stated earlier and is not an insulation. Both of which are not to be considered insulated and all minimum separation clearances should be maintained.

Another misconception is: the higher the wire the higher the voltage. Wrong, there are several systems that have the neutral on the top. I am not talking about static lines either. We have a couple of spans of this type construction on our system and the neutral is on the top.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am the one who looks at this type of situations for a power company, Even with my crews doing the job the power would be shut off, no question. I do not care if I had to shut the sub down for that tree, it would not have any power in that line as long as there was a danger to human life. Rubbers as they are called are for extra protection to lineman who already have rubber boots, gloves and sleeves. Not a tree trimmer with a t-shirt and blue jeans and a pair of spikes dug deeply in a tree. Tell me this, what IF there was a limb break while a piece is being lifted and rolled the sleeve off of the line, what is protecting your climber then? See my point.



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Sounds very sensible, and without doubt the obvious choice in a situation like this.

Shut the power down, end of story.
 
I would have it shut down. My rule is that the sleeve/blanket/rubber is there if a accidently line slips in within 3 feet or a small limb falls onto the line. Never have we used the blankets to Insulate the worker, because we still need to observe minimum seperation. The only things that get closer than 3 feet are tested and clean live line tools, nothing else. The shut down is worth it, even if I had one of my crews do the work (utility) I would be they would ask the same. Depending on the amount of customers the process for shutting it down differs so contact the utility ahead of time. Synthetic line is great but is it clean enought to break minimun seperation? A dusty freshly tested pole will conduct.
 
Being certified alone doesn't justify working within the safe limits of approach.
You need to be certified and equipped.
It isn't very feasible for anyone but a line clearance utility.
If you are working near live power and you aren't so equipped you better check with your insurance company before something happens.
 
Also another question: In this scenario, since the utility knows that a tree trimmer will be within 10' of the line and the utility was asked to do something about it and notified.....God forbid something happened that the trimmer was electrocuted using the "Rubber" method. Wouldn't the utility have a responsibility under OSHA rules and have their check book layed open in court.
 
Here they top them out below the lines.
If the utility and/or the workers company can't prove due diligence then they'll pay but the guy is already dead so the objective would be to prevent the accident from happening in the first place.
You either follow the rules or risk getting someone killed.
 
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