Protocol for working over water?

hl_tree

hl_tree

Location
New Fairfield, CT
I was doing a little job for a new customer who lives on a good sized pond / small lake. Part of the job consisted of removing a fallen / dead elm from the water. I took off my shoes and socks and went in with my little topping saw. The water was only about 2' deep where the tree had fallen. After I made each cut I could see oil from the saw floating away on top of the water. Just wondering what you guys do when working over the water.
 
All of the time Tom?
I think it would be cheaper that way and probaly way better for the environment.
What a great idea.
Any particular brand?
Canola oil for removals?
Olive oil for fine pruning?

I new a guy that ran USED motor oil as bar oil....YUCK!
 
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I new a guy that ran USED motor oil as bar oil....YUCK!

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Hahahahahaha- yeah me too!
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As soon as I saw the oil floating away, I started thinking about asking the customer for some olive oil (hardcore italians). I said to myself though that I only had to make about 5 small cuts, so just get on with it. It sure did look like a lot oil though from such a small amount of cutting.
 
we had a little deadwooding of a big doug fir over a customer's little coi pond, but the cuts were saw cuts. when she saw the sheen on the water she was very upset, had my guys out there with specially made oil-absorbent pads of some kind.

did a bid a few weeks ago on a big alder at the edge of a salmon stream with an increasing lean (not quite 45), and did the bid assuming we'd use biodegradable bar oil. i researched it a little and found one on bailey's website that was twice the cost of the stihl bar oil i use but planned to do it for that job at least anyway.

tom, no ill effects from using exclusively veggie oil?? why the heck are we all using the other then? i figured the viscousity was off and would wear the bar or something..?
cool.
k.
 
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I took off my shoes and socks and went in with my little topping saw. The water was only about 2' deep where the tree had fallen. .

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Still had chaps on right?
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Ok so what is the properties of regular Husky oil. Also does vegi oil hold up well, I know it does well as a fuel.

Good idea on the oil pads.
 
We tried using veggie oil in our saws earlier this year, but our saw mechanic didn't like it. Not that we saw any adverse effects in the short time we used it. His main quam was that "bar oil" has more tack than veggie oil. Less tack means more friction turning to heat and traveling down the bar to the powerhead and potentially burning up saws, etc.
 
I broke two chains in short succession using veggie oil in my larger saws. By the time the oil gets all the way to the tip of the bar it is burnt off leaving the chain high and dry. I use it and it seems to work okay in my climbing saw. It doesnt run really hot too much and the bar is short enough that the veggie oil makes it all the way around. How much is that bio buzz? the stihl organic bar oil is riduculous expensive.
 
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I new a guy that ran USED motor oil as bar oil....YUCK!

[/ QUOTE ]Hahahahahaha- yeah me too!
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You have a great memory John! HA HA HA! That be me!
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I did that for a while. It got so stinky and nasty dirty that I quit. It worked just fine and I NEVER saw any sort of degrade.

There is a long thread on Arboristsite about using veggie, I used canola because it was the cheapest in three gallon jugs. It would be nice to have someone search AS to find the thread.

Right...for longer bars I might not use veggie. When the air temps got about 95 it got a little thin for my liking too. But I never saw any ill effects.

Before I started to use veggie I did a lot of research and reading. Then I just changed over when I had a job where two climbing saws were going to be used in equal amounts. The two climbers traded saws so they ran petro and veggie for the same amount of time. Neither climber noticed any difference in the saws.

I would tolerate a bit of wear on the bar/chains to save the nasty effects on the environment. Besides the climbers areen't getting oversprayed with petro oil and breathing the mist.
 
My own experience running vegetable oil on a 34 inch bar has been LESS wear than I would expect from petroleum "bar oil". As for the tack question---tack additives are used to help petroleum oils stay on the bar on the trip around the nose. Of course all the oil gets slung or rubbed off at some point-thus the need for continuos oiling. Vegetable oils have an affinnity for steel on the molecular level. Tack can be added to veggie buts seems unneeded(in truth it isn't needed with petro either-the heaviest user of saws that I have ever known uses straight 30 weight motor oil in his saws' oilers without problems of any sort). Bar wear and chain stretch have been minimal in the years I have used veggie but I have managed to gum up and cook 2 oilers. The exterior of my saws is also a bit grungier. I find myself transitioning back to petro. In truth, while we surmise that vegetable oil is more environmentally friendly and better for operator health we haven't got much science to support that conclusion.-It SEEMS logical but there are a couple of reports about nastiness from canola oil and petroleum oils ARE consumed and broken down by microorganisms. I don't know that it really matters.
 
Ok let me see if I got this: You took your socks and shoes off to go into only 2 inches of water? What are you wearing for work shoes LL Bean Penny Loafers? Is the guy who asked if you still had chaps on serious? What does Ansi say about it?
 
By the way are you sure it was just oil floating away and not your little pink piggies and Mr. Dunlap, is that all you can say after telling me I am going to make my wife a widow for doing some solo work?
 
Yes I see the ' and not the " but still you couldn't pull it out somehow or still its only 2 feet leave your boots on. I guess you knew you knew before you were going to do that job that day you should have brought your aqua socks
 
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