cuting an elm: water gusher

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Never had gallons and gallons of water come out of a cut when taking a tree.

Old elm 80 feet maybe, more than two feet diameter a scosh less than three. Snaggly as can be with big sweeping branches running off in the most ridiculous directions. Growing with other trees the squirrels planted more than 40 years ago.

The first cut: taking the lower part of the wedge.
several inches in: water gushes out - keeps gushing soaks the ground around me.
Weird.

[Chris Padilla]

That would have made a great picture!

[Jim Becker]

Trunk is probably hollow with a hole up high somewhere... ;)

[Joe Pelonio]

Hollow area inside, with a squirrel or woodpecker hole allowing rain in??

[Ben Grunow]

How do you know it was water?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

How do you know it was water?

lol maybe it was Grey Goose?

[Bob Rufener]

We usually refer to these as "piss" elms......

[mark page]

I've seen it before, but was from a cottonwood that was appx 4 ft diameter and 110 ft tall. Dad bid and got the job of removing it when he was still alive and I volunteered to help him. Sap ran out of it like a garden hose. Made a mess of chain saws and your clothes were soaked top to bottom. Wasn't a very good feeling at the end of the day. Now I know why cottonwoods are such lightning magnets:eek:

[Steve Clardy]

We usually refer to these as "piss" elms......


Yep. Same here :)

Did that with a rotten oak one time. Water came flying out of it.
20 miles from home, pants soaking wet. :o

[Dick Bringhurst]

Yup. That happens occasionally around here only with True Fir. A green tree solid trunk with a pocket in it, caused by "shake", or a large pitch pocket. Comes squirting out all over you so your soaked with pitchy gunk for the rest of the day. You don't smell to good either. Dick B.

[Bill McDermott]

Was watching commercial lumberjacks harvest huge old tropical hardwoods in Southeast Asia. No idea what type of trees they were. But all of them were like fire hydrants. The lumberjacks wore shorts and tank tops and took the spray without any fuss. The water appeared to be fresh and clean. Different type of trees in the rain forest.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

We usually refer to these as "piss" elms......

My neighbor's dog does too....
-Jeff :)

[Greg Cole]

We usually refer to these as "piss" elms......

Reminds me of cutting some Spruce trees back in Vermont... referred to by an uncle as "cat piss spruce". Upon asking why, he handed me a saw and told me to "cut that one down".... about 15 seconds later I knew why and had a reminder all day.:rolleyes: Dunno it the stink ever came all the way outta those pants either.
Then again, kinda reminds me of milling some red elm in the shop. PEEEYOU.
Never seen a gusher though, even sugar maple trees cut in early spring. The saw dust was wet n goopy, but not a pisser. The trunk or butt of the tree would weep sap for a good while though.
Agreed, would have made a good photo.

Greg

[Richard M. Wolfe]

It happens when a void is in the tree that traps water "pumped" into it by hydrostatic action in the tree. Take a look at a tree that's a hundred feet tall. The top growth requires water just like the rest of the tree. And where does that water come from? - the roots bring it from the ground. Since a large tree can use 200-300 gallons of water a day there's a lot of "pumping" going on.

I had a friend who said he cut a tree branch off a tree that was overhanging a roof and water shot out of it about a foot for a few seconds. I didn't see it....just relating a story.

[Hubert Carle]

Cut a Chinese Elm years ago and after it hit the ground it water just poured out . NOT from any pocket or hollow area. It just ooozed ( gushed ) out of the grain for a very long time. :eek::eek::eek: