Power.. yay

Ugh 107 degrees heat and the power went out at 4:45,the electric company just now restored power.. so happy it's 93 in my house, I sure would not have slept during the night if it didn't come on..

That is one reason I have a backup generator. It is even more fun when it is zero and your house has no heat that does not require electric to work.

Real farm folks have a wood stove to heat and cook on when the power goes off(LOL)

Due to all the lazy farmers when the power goes out due to the wind it will often keep going out again or stay out for days.

You got that right Gary. We have wood heat, propane logs, and a generator for the well pump.
Richard in NW SC

The smart farmers find out how to limit non paying work they have to do. LOL

(quoted from post at 05:34:42 07/24/18) The smart farmers find out how to limit non paying work they have to do. LOL

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Here in the east farmers used to farm right up to the pavement or the gravel of the road like you still do in the mid-west. When I was a kid a tree along the roadside was very rare. Since then the road side trees and even the fields have grown up to 50 ft tall trees which now drop their big branches on the wires whenever the wind blows. Of course it could also have something to do with nobody farming anymore, LOL.

Or you fellows have turned into Country Slickers(LOL)

Power companies in my area don't come close to cutting back the right of ways like they used to,the phone company Century Link apparently does no line cutting anymore at all.

DTE (Michigan electric utility) has a continual trimming policy trying to keep the lines clear. I think 10' is the distance they use. Driving down my road, there are trees right next to the pole line with big "holes" cut right around the lines.

I'm getting a "line extension" of about 650' from the main line along the road into my property. Utility is coming out this week to mark the poles (4) and it will be 6-8 weeks from then when they set them. The 12' easement runs along the property line with a neighbor that was pretty overgrown for about 220'. I cleared 20' in that area (probably 50-60 trees) to allow trucks to go down the easement when they install the poles/line but there are still branches from the neighbors trees that encroach into the easement. I spoke to the planner and told her that my property is clear but mentioned the trees on the neighbor's side that may be a problem. Utility charges $85 to trim a tree as part of their "line clearance costs", removal: 4” to 10” circumference at 75.00 per tree, up to 32” for $1500 so I want to do as much of the "line clearance" myself as possible.

There is a tree on my property that I'm hoping we just have to trim. It's over 65' tall and $85 is a bargain to let them do that. (The actual line is 45' high.) If it's got to be cut down, I'm on the fence about whether to do it myself or hire someone. I've cut trees up to about 18" and it's a nerve wracking experience for the big ones especially if they want to go in a direction you don't want them to go. This one is about 24" in diameter. It's no big deal to have it drop on my property, it's all open field. If it goes onto the neighbor's property, it's also field but I'd have to drive around the fence to clear it: not as efficient.

Anyway, I've budgeted a few extra hundred bucks for line clearance above and beyond the installation costs which are pretty reasonable, IMO. It'll cost $2400 to put the new poles in and setup for 320A service. Going underground from the last pole/transformer to the house will be another $800 or so.

Anyway, I'm all for keeping the lines clear. We've lost power a few times the last couple of years and it's ALWAYS due to a tree coming down on a line due to wind and/or ice.

No room in the house for that.