Snapped a lowering rope mid-crane pick outside Portland, what a mess

Last month I was on a job in Beaverton taking down a big dead white oak that was hanging over a garage. We rigged down the first few limbs fine, but then I tied off a heavy lead with what I thought was a fresh 5/8 line. It snapped about halfway through the lower, the limb swung and took out a section of gutter and a fence panel. Homeowner was standing right there, watched the whole thing. Turned out the rope had a hidden core degrade from being stored damp in my trailer all spring. Since then I started keeping a log of every sling and rope by date, and I retire anything over 18 months old no matter how it looks. Cost me about $400 in repairs and a half day to make it right. Anyone else had a rigging failure that was pure equipment age, not operator error? How do you track your gear lifespan?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

henry_ross4d ago

Damp storage is what kills ropes, not age. Retiring gear at 18 months no matter what is throwing money away. Log your hours and inspect after every use, that tells you way more than a date stamp.

2