Darn low power line

[Dave]

Over 100 degrees and I have been hauling hay. What is wrong with that picture? Good thing it is big bales so they get loaded and unloaded with a tractor. Bad news is it was supposed to get stacked by one of those self loading trucks except the power line between the shop and the barn is too low. He did the 80+/- bales in the front field in less than an hour. I get to do the 70+/- bales on the house side of the river 8 at a time on my trailer. I need a tractor with an AC cab.

 

[1982vett]

I moved 80 yesterday and 21 more this morning before it started raining, 7 at a time. Still have 20 rolls to go and 75 or maybe 90 acres more to cut. Yeah, ac is nice when it's working…

 

[wbvs58]

Well the good thing is that you realised the power lines were too low and avoided any nasty situation.

Ken

 

[sstterry]

Over 100 degrees and I have been hauling hay. What is wrong with that picture? Good thing it is big bales so they get loaded and unloaded with a tractor. Bad news is it was supposed to get stacked by one of those self loading trucks except the power line between the shop and the barn is too low. He did the 80+/- bales in the front field in less than an hour. I get to do the 70+/- bales on the house side of the river 8 at a time on my trailer. I need a tractor with an AC cab.

That low power line is nothing to ignore. If it is the line coming from the power company, they should raise it with no charge. That is definitely not up to the Electrical Code. Code calls for 18' high. I tried a case a couple of years ago where a guy filling a grain bin was electrocuted and burned to a crisp while filling a grain bin (lines have to be even higher at grain bins).

Edit to add: A lot of people don't know, but most of those utility lines are not insulated.

 

[Dave]

That low power line is nothing to ignore. If it is the line coming from the power company, they should raise it with no charge. That is definitely not up to the Electrical Code. Code calls for 18' high. I tried a case a couple of years ago where a guy filling a grain bin was electrocuted and burned to a crisp while filling a grain bin (lines have to be even higher at grain bins).

Edit to add: A lot of people don't know, but most of those utility lines are not insulated.

It is the line to the barn, not the Power company line.. Probably installed shortly after the REA got power to this place. Code? This is eastern Oregon we quit using Morse Code a couple years ago.

 

[Ky hills]

We have a line running from a pole to the house that is fairly low. Have to warn all tall vehicles like feed trucks to swing out towards the pole just in case. Had a close call one day when our hay man came up with his tractor and disc mower on a flatbed gooseneck, and took out the electric line.

 

[sstterry]

It is the line to the barn, not the Power company line.. Probably installed shortly after the REA got power to this place. Code? This is eastern Oregon we quit using Morse Code a couple years ago.

I am just trying to warn you about the safety aspect on a farm. Take or leave it, your choice. I was just trying to help.

 

[Dave]

I am just trying to warn you about the safety aspect on a farm. Take or leave it, your choice. I was just trying to help.

I certainly wasn't offended and I hope I didn't offend you. I always say I am in a state that the country forgot about. In a county that the state forgot about. And in a little community that the county barely knows exists. Codes, permits, people here just don't worry about them. And I wasn't joking when I said that line was put in very shortly after power was brought in. Back then codes would have been non existent.

 

[wbvs58]

I am just trying to warn you about the safety aspect on a farm. Take or leave it, your choice. I was just trying to help.

A fellow my father in law trained race horses for and I used to go out to his horses and cows, he was a small crops farmer and lost his life to power lines on his property when his boom spray was vertical he caught the power lines. He knew the place well and where the obstacles were, just got careless.

Ken

 

[sstterry]

A fellow my father in law trained race horses for and I used to go out to his horses and cows, he was a small crops farmer and lost his life to power lines on his property when his boom spray was vertical he caught the power lines. He knew the place well and where the obstacles were, just got careless.

Ken

It only takes once. 62 people die from farm electrocutions every year. And by far most of these occur with contact to a powerline that is too low.

 

[callmefence]

 

[sstterry]

I certainly wasn't offended and I hope I didn't offend you. I always say I am in a state that the country forgot about. In a county that the state forgot about. And in a little community that the county barely knows exists. Codes, permits, people here just don't worry about them. And I wasn't joking when I said that line was put in very shortly after power was brought in. Back then codes would have been non existent.

You did not offend me. I have seen a lot of bad things happen in my career. I am just super cognizant of safety.

 

[Nick Wagner]

It only takes once. 62 people die from farm electrocutions every year. And by far most of these occur with contact to a powerline that is too low.

It's not just the low power lines, farm equipment gets bigger and taller every year too. Farming is a dangerous occupation and a split second can change your life forever, so thanks for being a safety advocate.

 

[Dave]

I am just trying to warn you about the safety aspect on a farm. Take or leave it, your choice. I was just trying to help.

Not at you personally. But when someone who sits in an office tells my about safety ....... well I fell timber for 20 years and worked on commercial fishing boats. Google them, they are the two highest rates of on the job deaths. I helped carry out the bodies of three dead coworkers. Another who was alive and talking to us while we carried him out, who died on his way to the hospital. More others who I had worked with who were killed on other jobs. I didn't survive those years by not being aware of my surroundings and having my head on a swivel.

 

[sstterry]

Not at you personally. But when someone who sits in an office tells my about safety ....... well I fell timber for 20 years and worked on commercial fishing boats. Google them, they are the two highest rates of on the job deaths. I helped carry out the bodies of three dead coworkers. Another who was alive and talking to us while we carried him out, who died on his way to the hospital. More others who I had worked with who were killed on other jobs. I didn't survive those years by not being aware of my surroundings and having my head on a swivel.

I was talking about the guy who might visit your farm and not know the danger.

 

[Nick Wagner]

Not at you personally. But when someone who sits in an office tells my about safety ....... well I fell timber for 20 years and worked on commercial fishing boats. Google them, they are the two highest rates of on the job deaths. I helped carry out the bodies of three dead coworkers. Another who was alive and talking to us while we carried him out, who died on his way to the hospital. More others who I had worked with who were killed on other jobs. I didn't survive those years by not being aware of my surroundings and having my head on a swivel.

I have spent sleepless nights worrying about local boys taking foolish chances Dave. Let me share my story.

I once had a doctor stand beside my hospital bed and tell me, young man, you should be dead. Another doctor said his daughter called him, she was upset because she had seen a farmer get killed. I told him to quick call her back because I wasn't dead. l couldn't move my legs though. I swerved to miss a car and the tractor rolled over. I can hear the metal screeching and tearing every time I think back, and it happened in 1988. The beet planter was on top of the tractor when everything stopped and I laid underneath it, drenched in diesel fuel, the tractor on it's side running wide open above me. Witnesses said I flew high in the air when the tractor rolled. I somehow pulled myself out, all I could think was that engine is going to blow or catch on fire and I needed to get away from it. I crawled far enough I felt safe, rolled over on my back and closed my eyes. A girl told me "mister, don't die". I don't think I'm dying but I've got diesel fuel in my eyes and it burns I told her.

The side of my head looked like hamburger. They wouldn't let me sleep nor give me anything for pain for fear I had a brain injury. A woman came in and started digging stones and dirt out, then she tried shaving my head. That livened things up. My butt cheek was just as bad, wore through my carharts and blue jeans. Spent about ten days in the hospital but I mostly recovered, went to therapy all summer. Dad and Grandpa were arguing about something after they had loaded the planter and turned their backs one day, so I managed to pull myself onto the tractor and plant a few acres of corn. By the time they started planting beans, I could get around well enough on crutches to carry a bag of beans on my shoulders. Still have swelling in one hip that never went away. Doctors wanted to do exploratory surgery, no way that was happening. That hip talks to me every day now.

I share my story in the hope others can learn from my experience. A couple years ago, I gave an interview to a regional paper. The day they ran the story, a fellow saw it and called me. He had survived a tractor rollover but was busted up much worse than I had been, said my story gave him hope he could farm again. I went to see him. He met me at the door in his wheelchair, tears streaming down his cheeks.

I've been told the good Lord looks after babies and fools, and I'm no baby. I wasn't afraid until everything had stopped sliding, then I was scared of burning alive. I couldn't figure out how I had crawled out on my hands and knees when I later couldn't move my legs. Witnesses said I pulled myself out using my elbows. And the car? They said it went about a half mile up the road, the driver got out and walked around the car, then got back in and drove away.

Accidents happen every day, but many are preventable. One last thing. Tell your children you love them, today.

Nick

 

[sstterry]

I have spent sleepless nights worrying about local boys taking foolish chances Dave. Let me share my story.

I once had a doctor stand beside my hospital bed and tell me, young man, you should be dead. Another doctor said his daughter called him, she was upset because she had seen a farmer get killed. I told him to quick call her back because I wasn't dead. l couldn't move my legs though. I swerved to miss a car and the tractor rolled over. I can hear the metal screeching and tearing every time I think back, and it happened in 1988. The beet planter was on top of the tractor when everything stopped and I laid underneath it, drenched in diesel fuel, the tractor on it's side running wide open above me. Witnesses said I flew high in the air when the tractor rolled. I somehow pulled myself out, all I could think was that engine is going to blow or catch on fire and I needed to get away from it. I crawled far enough I felt safe, rolled over on my back and closed my eyes. A girl told me "mister, don't die". I don't think I'm dying but I've got diesel fuel in my eyes and it burns I told her.

The side of my head looked like hamburger. They wouldn't let me sleep nor give me anything for pain for fear I had a brain injury. A woman came in and started digging stones and dirt out, then she tried shaving my head. That livened things up. My butt cheek was just as bad, wore through my carharts and blue jeans. Spent about ten days in the hospital but I mostly recovered, went to therapy all summer. Dad and Grandpa were arguing about something after they had loaded the planter and turned their backs one day, so I managed to pull myself onto the tractor and plant a few acres of corn. By the time they started planting beans, I could get around well enough on crutches to carry a bag of beans on my shoulders. Still have swelling in one hip that never went away. Doctors wanted to do exploratory surgery, no way that was happening. That hip talks to me every day now.

I share my story in the hope others can learn from my experience. A couple years ago, I gave an interview to a regional paper. The day they ran the story, a fellow saw it and called me. He had survived a tractor rollover but was busted up much worse than I had been, said my story gave him hope he could farm again. I went to see him. He met me at the door in his wheelchair, tears streaming down his cheeks.

I've been told the good Lord looks after babies and fools, and I'm no baby. I wasn't afraid until everything had stopped sliding, then I was scared of burning alive. I couldn't figure out how I had crawled out on my hands and knees when I later couldn't move my legs. Witnesses said I pulled myself out using my elbows. And the car? They said it went about a half mile up the road, the driver got out and walked around the car, then got back in and drove away.

Accidents happen every day, but many are preventable. One last thing. Tell your children you love them, today.

N

I have spent sleepless nights worrying about local boys taking foolish chances Dave. Let me share my story.

I once had a doctor stand beside my hospital bed and tell me, young man, you should be dead. Another doctor said his daughter called him, she was upset because she had seen a farmer get killed. I told him to quick call her back because I wasn't dead. l couldn't move my legs though. I swerved to miss a car and the tractor rolled over. I can hear the metal screeching and tearing every time I think back, and it happened in 1988. The beet planter was on top of the tractor when everything stopped and I laid underneath it, drenched in diesel fuel, the tractor on it's side running wide open above me. Witnesses said I flew high in the air when the tractor rolled. I somehow pulled myself out, all I could think was that engine is going to blow or catch on fire and I needed to get away from it. I crawled far enough I felt safe, rolled over on my back and closed my eyes. A girl told me "mister, don't die". I don't think I'm dying but I've got diesel fuel in my eyes and it burns I told her.

The side of my head looked like hamburger. They wouldn't let me sleep nor give me anything for pain for fear I had a brain injury. A woman came in and started digging stones and dirt out, then she tried shaving my head. That livened things up. My butt cheek was just as bad, wore through my carharts and blue jeans. Spent about ten days in the hospital but I mostly recovered, went to therapy all summer. Dad and Grandpa were arguing about something after they had loaded the planter and turned their backs one day, so I managed to pull myself onto the tractor and plant a few acres of corn. By the time they started planting beans, I could get around well enough on crutches to carry a bag of beans on my shoulders. Still have swelling in one hip that never went away. Doctors wanted to do exploratory surgery, no way that was happening. That hip talks to me every day now.

I share my story in the hope others can learn from my experience. A couple years ago, I gave an interview to a regional paper. The day they ran the story, a fellow saw it and called me. He had survived a tractor rollover but was busted up much worse than I had been, said my story gave him hope he could farm again. I went to see him. He met me at the door in his wheelchair, tears streaming down his cheeks.

I've been told the good Lord looks after babies and fools, and I'm no baby. I wasn't afraid until everything had stopped sliding, then I was scared of burning alive. I couldn't figure out how I had crawled out on my hands and knees when I later couldn't move my legs. Witnesses said I pulled myself out using my elbows. And the car? They said it went about a half mile up the road, the driver got out and walked around the car, then got back in and drove away.

Accidents happen every day, but many are preventable. One last thing. Tell your children you love them, today.

Nick

I rolled one when I was in High School. If you do it once and survive, you are sure not to do it again. My father was killed when he was run over by a tractor that jumped out of gear.

 

[Ky hills]

Tractors are dangerous for sure. I've had several incidents, and close calls, but thankfully no serious injuries. Just last week the man that we buy hay from, turned a tractor over while mowing hay. Somehow his mower caught into something and tripped it, raising the tractor up and pulling it around and over. He was pretty sore and got some glass in his arm. I always worry about them because they go on some steep and rough ground fencing and putting up hay.

 

[Buck Randall]

Jobs like farming, logging, and fishing are inherently dangerous. That's no reason to accept unnecessary risk from things that are easily correctable.

 

[callmefence]

We need to ban tractors........