Submerged Wax Myrtles

[TreeLogic]

Have any of you ever had to pull submerged trees from the water? We did a job this week pulling fallen wax myrtles out of a pond. Man were they heavy. Way underestimated that job! They must've been 3 to 4 times heavier than normal. Even dragging small brush around the house was a task. After they sat in the sun by the chipper for a bit we couldn't believe how much lighter they were.

 

[oceans]

Earlier this year we pulled a failed Beech out of a pond using the GRCS. That thing was HEAVY! We had to piece it out in slightly smaller sections than we expected.

We prepped the saws by using Canola oil for the chains a week before to purge out as much traditional oil as possible...cutting over the water and such.

 

[Adkpk]

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We prepped the saws by using Canola oil for the chains a week before to purge out as much traditional oil as possible...cutting over the water and such.

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That's impressive.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I don't think the weight has anything to do with the trees absorbing water like a sponge. From my experiences its the water weight on the surfaces. Think of how heavy brush is when it's raining. As you found out once the water dripped off or evaporated the material was lighter.

There is LOTS of friction in the water when you're trying to pull the material to shore too, even if the material is floating.

 

[TreeLogic]

Interesting point and maybe so. I did notice the ones that were submerged sure drained a lot when larger trunk pieces were cut, though. More so than the ones we cut that weren't submerged, but still growing on the edge of the same bank.

So, if water evaporates through transpiration, could it not also be absorbed through lenticels, and stomata?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

From my limited understanding of trees and wood, in the lumber sense, water isn't absorbed quite as easily as we might think.

If I understand it right, lenticels and stomata close and are more like one-way valves...out not in for the most part.

For a good understanding of how to dry wood read the book, oddly enough, titled 'Understanding Wood'. It goes into great detail about how to go from tree to lumber. cutting and drying are a really interesting art and science.

There is inter and intra-cellular water.

 

[TreeLogic]

Cool. Thanks Tom.

 

[TreeLogic]

Sorry, thinking about this more. Is the limited absorption in live or dead wood? Most of this stuff had been submerged for awhile and appeared dead. I know dry wood can soak up some water, at least from my limited woodworking exp. Just wondering what difference it might make.

 

[mark_sauls]

Now Zebra mussels add a tremendous amount of weight to a tree in the water. I am no longer allowed to use the boat on tree jobs. You think that brush is heavy after an ice storm, try attaching 10,000,000 zebra mussels and then try towing it with the boat, or should I say drag it across the bottom. Expensive repair. Didn't come close to breaking even on that one.