Just learned why my boom angle indicator kept drifting

Been running a Grove RT550 for about 8 months now and the boom angle reading was always a little off after lunch. Finally talked to a Lattice Boom guy at the shop in Tulsa who pointed out the sun heats the sensor housing unevenly if you park facing west. He showed me his little foil shield setup and I tried it last Thursday... boom angle stayed dead steady through a 6-hour lift. Anyone else have issues with sensors drifting in the afternoon heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

hunt.quinn5d ago

Man that is a solid find by that Lattice Boom guy. I been dealing with a similar thing on my Link-Belt for over a year now. Always thought it was just a bad sensor or a ground issue but it always acted up after a long hot afternoon. Never once thought the sun hitting the housing unevenly would throw it off that much. Makes total sense though when you think about it. I'm gonna give that foil trick a try tomorrow morning, thanks for sharing this.

sage_ramirez425d ago

That same thermal expansion thing drove me nuts on my Grove for two summers before someone finally pointed it out to me. I ended up wrapping the sensor harness in reflective tape and it hasn't glitched since.

ryan_gibson844d ago

Echoing what @sage_ramirez42 said, I've seen that exact same issue pop up on a few different cranes over the years. Thermal expansion on the sensor housing is one of those things that sounds ridiculous until you see how big the difference is. I remember one hot July afternoon where my boom angle drifted almost a full degree by 3pm, and I thought the sensor was just shot. Reflective tape or a simple foil shield like that Lattice Boom guy showed you really does the trick, and it's cheap to try before swapping out a $300 sensor. Glad you got it sorted out, that constant guessing game with drift drives me nuts too.