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I was dead set against load cells until a near miss changed my mind
For years I ran a Grove RT540E without any load measuring gear. I figured I'd been doing this since 2009 and I could eyeball a pick within a few hundred pounds easy. Last month on a job near Portland I had to lift a precast concrete panel that felt light enough. Threw on a rented load cell just to shut the safety guy up. Turned out that panel was 1,400 pounds over my rated capacity at that radius. Would have tipped the crane for sure if I tried the lift without it. Now I won't touch a job over 80% of my chart without a cell on the hook. Anyone else ever get humbled by a piece of gear they thought was pointless?
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amy_foster791mo ago
Oh man you are speaking my language. Had almost the exact same wake up call a few years back on a job in Tacoma. Used a load cell for the first time just to prove a point to the foreman and it saved my butt big time. Was lifting a bundle of steel beams that felt totally fine and the cell showed I was actually 1,800 pounds over at the radius I needed. That would have been a real bad day if I'd just gone on feel like I always did. Now I keep a load cell in my truck at all times and use it for anything over half my chart.
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hugoh5529d ago
Would have tipped the crane for sure" is exactly what I was thinking when my load cell caught me 1,600 pounds over on a transformer pick last fall... I used to brag about never needing one too. Now I keep a rental cell on every job that goes above 75% of my chart... feel like a fool for all those years I was one bad guess away from disaster.
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