[TowerTalk] Man-lifts

[Richard Thorne]

+1

I have a crane with a bucket coming this week to do some repair work at 
90'.  It does cost, but the job will be done safely and quickly. .

Rich - N5ZC

On 10/15/2012 11:27 AM, Howard Hoyt wrote:
> I just read:
>
>>> The time saved and pain avoidance vs
>>> climbing/tramming/hoisting and from retrieving
>>> forgotten tools or dropped nuts was huge for
>>> me and I felt much safer.
>
> and I second that!  If you take care to site the tires, and position 
> the machine base as close to the tower base as possible (within 
> articulation limits), it is far safer than climbing, especially on 
> some towers like the HBX series.  Another couple advantages of a 
> man-lift:
>
> 1) The ability to take a fully-assembled Force 12 C4XL down by merely 
> raising the bucket until it was a couple of inches under the CG of the 
> beam, then releasing the mast clamps and just sitting it on the lift 
> basket.  A couple of nuts and a coax, and you merely swing the beam 
> away, and down to the ground.  No muss, no fuss.
>
> 2) Use of the hydraulics of the basket to help separate tower 
> sections.  To take a tower down, I take the bolts out of the top 
> section, then chain the basket to the section just above the section 
> CG.  If a gentle upward pressure using the bucket controls won't 
> convince the sections to separate, then light maintained pressure 
> while vibrating the joint will.  Once it is separated, the section 
> stays chained to the basket and is easy to lower to the ground.   
> Rinse, lather, repeat.  Of course, maximum load for combined 
> operator+tools+tower section must be observed, but the lifts I have 
> used are all 300lbs capacity or more, so it is not a problem for me 
> (yet!).  I disassembled a 60ft HBX down to the ground in less than 2 
> hours this way.
>
> Strain and stress (and gravity, of course) on the person is the 
> biggest risk in tower work, and the lift takes almost all of this, 
> allowing maximum concentration while working which maximizes safety.  
> I have used lifts for years and feel comfortable with the capability 
> and controls at height, if someone is not then the advantage of a lift 
> is understandably less.
>
> Just my $0.02 worth
>
> Howie - WA4PSC
>
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