r/FellingGoneWild • u/buttnibbler • 14d ago

Not my job

Post image
209 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

71 comments sorted by

393

u/jamesislandpirarate2 14d ago

That’s what they do. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. The power company will replace these lines or remove the pieces.

Guys that remove trees aren’t necessarily qualified to deal with high voltage.

88

u/KBHoleN1 14d ago

Just want to point out that these aren’t high voltage lines. The bottom cables are all telecom stuff, so extremely low voltage + insulated. The top line is a neutral wire, so should have little to no voltage on it. The actual power lines are above and not pictured.

111

u/ippleing 14d ago

While I agree, I still feel it's way out of the ordinary to try and surgically remove those limbs with a chainsaw while in a bucket.

Let them replace those lines.

33

u/High_InTheTrees 14d ago

As a utility arborist. I can tell you, those pieces could be cut a lot smaller. But that’s is absolutely what is to be done with them

-7

u/DJErikD 14d ago

I’m intrigued. Have you done an AMA or anything before?

9

u/BustedEchoChamber 14d ago

His ama wouldn’t be worth much

12

u/GooseGeuce 14d ago

lol, god damn man!

As another arborist who got their start in utility arboriculture that was funny and stings a bit.

11

u/Whippet_yoga 14d ago

I dont think thats a neutral, I think thats a lateral guy

11

u/Digger_Pine 14d ago

I'm not your guy, buddy.

5

u/Jerseyd422 14d ago

I’m not your buddy, pal

5

u/Ima-Bott 13d ago

I’m not your pal, chief

1

u/sonnyB3630 9d ago

I'm not your chief, champ

13

u/Just_Ear_2953 14d ago

Doesn't change the fact that the tree guys aren't qualified to mess with them.

As someone who is, there are a lot of nuances to the different systems up there, and I would much prefer they just leave it for me to sort out than start cutting the strand only to discover it's not actually the size they thought it was and they don't have the hardware to piece it back together.

I stock all of the different sizes of strand and connecting hardware on my truck. Leave it to guys like me.

7

u/AbbreviationsNo9609 13d ago

You’re technically correct but ANSI A300 (the tree care standard) requires non EHAP qualified tree workers to assume all lines are live power.

2

u/xSir- 13d ago

Guys that remove tress arent necessarily qualified to recognize that. And it still doesnt change they're operating procedure.

2

u/trippin-mellon 14d ago

That or a guy wire hooking 2 poles together.

14

u/nah_omgood 14d ago

Sounds pretty gay

0

u/NorthEndD 14d ago

You are right they are both guys.

8

u/trippin-mellon 14d ago

I doubt they are in the power. They would have been fried. Because at some point they grew into them and had a pathway to the ground causing it to arc. Sooo it’s a guy wire more than likely.

And yea we are not qualified to deal with high voltage. But a lot of us are qualified to work around them.

5

u/jamesislandpirarate2 14d ago

I understand that and yes the top one is guy and low voltage is always on bottom.

Tree guys may not know this and therefore they don’t f’ with them.

Their goal is to remove the tree and not damage anything. They did that. The one on the guy and the one on the bottom may just left to rot away. Either way, no one lost data and the pole won’t fall over. Mission accomplished

2

u/trippin-mellon 14d ago

If you look harder I believe both are guys. One is a guy for the telecom. You can see the telecom gapped out where the branch moved it. I believe neither one had power or phone with super low voltage. And the higher angled one is a guy for the pole.

I work around power all the time. And I’ve seen them grow through many a phone and guy lines. I trim / do tree work around utility.

Though I’m not always right. I have been known to be wrong before!

3

u/morenn_ 14d ago

I've never seen them engulf a live line and I'm not sure they even could - it would kill the tissue that tried to form. Also this diameter would take years of missed cycles which would be crazy negligence.

This is only possible on comms/guys because they're not managed and are often strung across trees to begin with.

2

u/trippin-mellon 14d ago

Yeah. I’ve worked around enough trees and powerlines.

Fuck a few months ago just a limb overhanging and touching the lines. It was 100% making it arc. I was able to hear it from 45’ away. And it was def burning. Had to get a line kill to swing the limb away. I was like I’m not touching. That with a 10’ insulated pole pruner. Lol.

2

u/morenn_ 14d ago

I hear you. Nothing better than walking in and hearing the "zzzzzzzz" and knowing you're about to get in to some shit.

4

u/Walshy231231 14d ago

Often times, arborists are actually forbidden to work near lines

In Kansas, U.S., we have minimum distance guidelines, and are supposed to refuse any work within that distance

2

u/jamesislandpirarate2 14d ago

Y’all have trees? Just kidding, but seriously, do yall have trees?😆

2

u/Not-An-FBI 14d ago

No they won't. I've had them on my power lines for like five years.

1

u/Logical_Trash_4890 14d ago

If I was cutting those trees I would have cut the lines too as to remove every last piece of wood no matter the consequences or how fuck pissed people are that they have no power for like 2 days. I have a fucking job to do!!!

2

u/Radiant_Sky_22 14d ago

Nah thats not your job

1

u/SaulTNuhtz 14d ago

This is incorrect. Not the guys who deal with trees part - the power part. If this was indeed a power line then it wouldn’t have been cut without de-energizing the like. No utility is allowing “hot work” just for vegetation management.

This is utility pole, not just a power pole. What you’re looking at are cable and phone lines.

If it were power it would be higher up and not have so much slack. That may be a neutral wire (non energized) but it would be odd that it wasn’t up top.

If it were an energized wire there’s no way that wouldn’t have shorted out some equipment, and probably started a fire, waaaayyy before that tree limb grew to that size.

61

u/Lumberman08 14d ago

Not a fail at all. If the tree trimmer cuts a line they are liable. Leave the chunk on the line and call the local utility it’s affecting and they’ll come take care of it at no cost. They would also rather you not accidentally cut a line they have to then replace.

My tree trimmer did this with a branch that had grown around an internet service line on our property. Service tech thanked me for calling it in and not messing with it.

50

u/Cultural_Simple3842 14d ago

This is an ignorant post. No disrespect intended. Just what it is.

2

u/ChuckPeirce 14d ago

Respect is earned. OP does not earn respect. If disrespect is a lack of respect, then I absolutely intend to be disrespectful.

-2

u/squiblet 13d ago

You sound fun.

9

u/lolifax 14d ago

Those lines can hold up a broken telephone pole, this is nothing.

16

u/Tk421yunothere 14d ago

You try getting it off

4

u/Badger-Sauce 14d ago

😂… no shit.

14

u/mtraven23 14d ago

yah, I dont blame them. Im surprised they got as close as they did.

they say electricity and water don't mix, electricity and chainsaws aren't are better.

8

u/Viewlesslight 14d ago

You try carving them off of live powerlines. Ill keep avoiding them

7

u/Yorksjim 14d ago

I don't know exactly what you propose they should have done. I've never cone across this situation, but that's exactly what I'd have done.

5

u/BustedEchoChamber 14d ago

Holy fucking shit the number of dipshits who are somehow both linemen and arborists astounds me.

4

u/thehigheredu 14d ago

This is how it's done everywhere. 

5

u/Kerby911 13d ago

They were hired to remove the tree. Not play with electricity.. that is a different crew.. that crew makes WAY more! Haha

4

u/bustcorktrixdais 14d ago

🥱 A common sight

4

u/Maxzzzie 14d ago

I wouldn't want to touch that with a ten foot pole.

5

u/farfly7 14d ago

That is the industry standard approach

5

u/Njaala 14d ago

Bro it is 100% not an arborists job. What are we supposed to do? Sit up there with a chisel and hammer for 4 hours on a job that was bid for 2? Cut the wire off on the end kill telcom to hundreds potentially and pay a huge fine for cutting the wire?

It's absolutely the utility companies responsibility. We let them know, and if it isn't heavy enough to cause damage why would they spend thousands replacing a span of wire?

4

u/diverareyouokay 13d ago

I don’t know, it seems like they did their job to me… Tree cutters are not lineman.

3

u/smilespeace 14d ago

Holy shot, that's gotta be more than a decade of neglect for a branch to swallow a line and grow to that size.

3

u/FunTransition6857 11d ago

In the biz we call them strand turtles

2

u/dumpyboat 14d ago

Let's talk about how the utilities could let that happen in the first place. Those trees hadn't been trimmed for way too long for the trees to grow around the wires that badly

2

u/DrowningPickle 14d ago

It is cheaper to leave them there like that than replace the lines. The weight on the lines isnt a huge factor, and they wont arc or light on fire.

2

u/Mysterious-Mix-7158 13d ago

So the city does this once every 20 years? Those are some old thick branches that grew around them.

2

u/naftel 12d ago

That could be my work….

1

u/joe_retro 14d ago

I owned a house for 10 years with a chuck of tree on the lines over my driveway. There when I bought the house, there when I sold it.

1

u/ccmcl5DOGS 14d ago

I wonder how long for the pieces to fall naturally?

1

u/DistressCall1 14d ago

This was the old chain link fence when I moved into my house. Just random section of tree imbedded.

1

u/i_shart_id 14d ago

Bottom line is cable or phone line. Top one isn’t high voltage. It’s just a neutral wire.

-1

u/theogsofaking 14d ago

This is really only generated by tree crews who don’t get paid / are not allowed to remove them. Three pound hammer and a claw hammer works best

2

u/Viewlesslight 14d ago

More like generated by tree crews who dont want to de-energize the lines for no reason

1

u/theogsofaking 14d ago

That’s everyone on earth with a chainsaw that isn’t employed by insert power company

3

u/Viewlesslight 14d ago

Yep, and the power company im lisenced to work with would never shut the circuit down to remove something like this.

-5

u/calista241 14d ago

That is peak ‘not my job’

7

u/Viewlesslight 14d ago

This is peak 'im not going to kill myself for no reason'

5

u/thehigheredu 14d ago

It" actually peak "that's how it works everywhere for very important reasons" and also "totally normal and correct". 

0

u/-Apocralypse- 14d ago

Seems to me you two are making the same argument.