GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Conifer keeling in "wind-tunnel"!

Bill Grey · 09-03-2011, 08:27 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

"Janet" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

"Eddy" wrote in message
...

. The trouble is I can't afford to let this deodar
get any higher than its current 18 feet, because of power lines and
satellite dish interference.

Eddy.

Your mention of powerline worries me a bit! At What voltage do the
powerlines operate ? (HV or LV) You don't want to even get close to
these
and if in doubt contact your local electricity provider so that their
linesmen can do the lopping with the intention of preventing any flash
over
between the line and the tree. They will have a vested interesting in
having a fault free system.

At our previous place the power people came round every few years to
check trees within reach of powerlines. We had a very ancient apple tree
whose crown was mostly obscured by a 30 ft rose. Although the tree
seemed to have reached mature height and stopped growing the inspector
insisted it was a safety hazard and condemned it. When his contractors
got it down they showed me some top branches which had been invisible
from the ground; they were not just dead but charred black from
electrical discharges. The current had been jumping to them, several
metres distant from the overhead cable.

Janet

Clearing trees/branches from flashover distances is important. Consumers
are quite rightly miffed when the power goes off because of a fault caused
by trees hitting the lines.
The power companies aren't tree surgeons and usually they are only concerned
with clearing threes/branches to a safe distance from the lines.

Bill