Pole Saw for use around wires?

Some may call me stupid for asking, but do some arborist retailers sell pole saws for work around wires? As in non conductive, liek you could potentially take a branch directly off a hot wire?

They sell hollow and core filled fiberglass poles but it is definetally not recomended to use them to take limbs off hot lines. There is a tool called a hot stick that the power linemen use that would be better suited. Or even using fiberglass pruners would be better then a saw. When working in line clearence we used our pruners. but were still writen up any time we came into contact with the lines. Even if what was cut just grazed the lines. it was a potential write up.This is a super dangerous situation. what size is the line? is it coated? Is it a service drop. There are minimum working distances with all the different voltages. Be aware also any moisture will conduct. damp rope or pruners will still zap you. I use jameson core filled batch tested poles. I have about a twelve foot core filled pruner pole and an eight foot pole saw one. Plus I have two that are four foot that came with the big shot.

Better make sure that the pole saw is insulated and call the electric company and ask if they will do a temp service disconnect if the line you are working around is not a primary that serves alot of people. And if a limb falls on a power line you might want to call the electric company better safe than sorry.

Thillmaine said:

Some may call me stupid for asking, but do some arborist retailers sell pole saws for work around wires? As in non conductive, liek you could potentially take a branch directly off a hot wire?

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dont go near the wires minimum safe distance is 10ft

not telling you to get near any wires at all.

huge difference between pole to pole wiring and pole to house wiring. could be same or not.

pole to pole wiring can be high voltage. regardless if you've got a rated pole or not. call the utility boys...

Jamesom

So, with this Jameson pole, you can actually cut a branch and have contact with yourself and the pole, while the pole is in contact with the branch, and or wires and not be zapped? Pole to house I am talking about.

sorry I even mentioned a insulated pole. if you have to ask, call for a service drop. don't go near any wire!

If you have to ask, you've got no business being near electrical conductors.

Go and get some training in electrical hazards (TCIA's EHAP is a good start)
so you can at least recognize the hardware you're dealing with.

Don't become another statistic-way too many people in our industry have died from contact with electricity.

Thillmaine said:

So, with this Jameson pole, you can actually cut a branch and have contact with yourself and the pole, while the pole is in contact with the branch, and or wires and not be zapped? Pole to house I am talking about.

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once more dont go near the wires with jameson, home depot, your garden weasel, seymour or an old wood one you borrowed from a guy in islesboro.

Once More

DO NOT TOUCH WIRES OR ANYTHING TOUCHING WIRES!!! Got it yet?
This means don't climb a tree that is touching wires at all unless you are qualified to do so. If you don't understand step potential, Minimum Approach Distances, Line Voltage, Line Clearance, etc., YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED! Or maybe dead...

It doesn't take much electricity at all to stop your heart or create severe health problems even later down the road if you survive getting "bitten".
A good Friend of mine lost all his teeth within a week of each other about two months after being electrocuted while doing a hot stick job while wearing a full rubber suit, and he wrote the Safety Manual for the City Electricians where he lived (large unamed city).

Have power company shut down lines or find qualified line clearance tree trimmer to get second opinion from or help with job.

lie every one else saidDO NOt go nearcth wires . c if you do want ot take a tree dpow n near wire call he power comany . ask them to take the wires down and away from thh hose as well as makingsure the are niot live all the wire.. . I see ple prung near wires altoghte too often get aqualified ptree guy to look at it . It you want ot save money just ask them to drop it andyou can pick upthe mess . a chipper runsfrom 150 and up fo 24 hpurs depending size or if it is buranble and you brun just keep the suff asn use the bush as kindleing or getrid of it how evrypou are lehgally able.

I hav wantedconduitfor yearsgotmybwhis no clijets freak out if you eve comclose to the man hole that should withstanda falliong tree. . but ...

mtnman...spell check

I agree with the baove statements, lear what your woring around first.

CUTIS JAMES....you said that even if it was a cut that grazed the lines. Are you dumb? You are lucky to be alive. If I was a foreman and saw you "knick" the lines I would fire you while you were still in the air. I work around 25KV most days and couldnt imagine the flash/burn that would happen I made contact, that is very unsafe!! What if you made a "knick" in a big count fiber...like a 432 ct, or even a 1200 loose tube? I was a linesman for 5 years before doing tree work. This makes me angry and ashamed that our industry doesnt offer better training.

Be safe out there!


And fot the record, the Yellow Jameson poles that are filled with the foam are rated to 100,000 volts when they are clean and dry. Jameson also offers a little Orange rod with brass loops on each end. This is made to be tied into your pruner pole cord, and thus insulating the cord to 100,000 volts.
*I am not advocatng this to the average person with no hot stick training/maintenance training.*

climb it said:

mtnman...spell check

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Climb it this post is about using a pole pruner , pole saw or other tools to cut limbs near wires not my poor typing

If you must know iwas in a accidnmet not thnaks to a groundy lighting up a butt instead of paying attention to the rope .

:deadhorse:

Yeah I am dumb. I was refering to what I cut grazing the lines. Not my person, saw, pruner or any other tool. . I did not bounce the lines at all but yes occasionally what I clipped did graze the lines as it fell. I am one of the safest people you will ever meet so don't jump all over me over a little miss understanding. I was not holding what grazed the lines either I am talking about the twig falling free from my pruner cut. I was never fired written up or any of the above. And I too worked and cleared transmission lines coming out of sub stations and lines coming straight out of the plant. I am well versed in all my minimum working distance and proper techniques. We were doing our weekly tailgating training. There is no luck to my being alive at all, it is gods will. I appreciate your concern just relax with the foolish name calling.

Not all the jameson poles are filled with foam. Some are just hollow. The foam is more expensive but I feel they are worth the extra change. The strength factor ya know.

A note about the foam filled tested Jameson sticks, don't let that be a false sense of security. We have a hand held tester a work, though we send them for testing at another one of out other facilites every so often. We once took a brand new stick from storage and did a wet test on it (spray distilled water along length and apply tester), it failled. It failled due to the dust that had accumulated on it while in storage. The interesting thing was that fiberglass mop handle from the janitors closet passed. For the stick to work they must be in excellent shape and be clean. They must be well cared for and clean. As dirt builds up on the surface they loose their ability to insulate. As scratches and gouges appear they hold dust and moisture that will cause the insulating properties to decrease. Our sticks are all cleaned with hot stick wipes, treated with a silicone wipe and kept clean. They all have stickers for the last test date and when the next one is, if the sticker is missing it takes a ride to get tested and regalssed if needed. If they are gouged or sratched badly, the get sent to be reglassed. Like any tool they are best kept clean and in excellent shape. If something is close or on the lines call the utility.

Curtis I apologise for calling you dumb......now.

You do understand that when I first read your reply, and as you admitted, your post was misleading.

As I stated I was a lineman and I take these things more seriously than the average worker.

Get a service drop done by CMP. they do it all the time. If it is just a service TRIM, then have the customer call CMP to put a sleeve on it or write a work order for it to be trimmed by the guys who do it everyday. We've got insulated tools and are EHAP qualified.

Thanks boston bull. After rereading my post I can totally see how my bad typing is so misleading. this has also led me to realize I may be coming off all wrong here. I am all for the service line being dropped. I do this all the time. I will take down the phone and cable myself only after inspecting them to make sure they are not crossing a hot line or touching anything that makes them look dangerous. The phone and cable company will charge you for this service even for a temporary drop. The utility company around here is Ameren IP now and with this change came a change in policies. I can no longer call and get the service line dropped. It has to be the home owner. They want to be sure that the home owner knows that if the line isn't back up by four oclock there will be a seventy five dollar after hours charge for the rehook. If I am not done (which hasn't happend) I always tell the guy dropping the line to just hook it up any way so there will be no charge and I will reschedule another drop. They are super fast at both the drop and the rehook. I usually get the cell phone number of the guy who drops it and I just call him directly for rehook. It works out great. In light of this bad storm we had recentallly I feel guilty trying to get on the schedule because these guys have been so busy. Yet it is better safe then sorry. So it takes a couple extra days is all.Still it has never been weeks. Which I am thankfull for.By the way boston why the switch to tree work if you were a lineman? Usually I had heard it was the other way around. Most guys would get a job with the clearence sub to get familiar with the lines and proper protocall with the likely chance that since they were in a similar work enviroment they would get a lineman slot before some other joe blow college guy because of some similar experience?