Vent: my hoist cable snapped at 60 feet up on Tuesday

Was lifting a 4 ton HVAC unit for a school rooftop job in Phoenix when the cable let go out of nowhere. Dropped the whole load right into a fenced off parking lot, lucky no one was underneath. Turned out the cable had a bunch of internal corrosion I missed on my morning inspection. Any of you guys had a cable fail without any visible warning signs before?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary8368d ago

Internal corrosion I missed" - sounds like you might have rushed that morning check.

sandraf847d ago

Figured you might have missed that detail. The internal corrosion usually shows up as a dull gray film on the brass fittings, not the bright orange rust people expect. It's easy to overlook if you're just glancing around instead of getting up close with a flashlight. Next time, try running a dry cloth along the inside seam - any rough spots or flaking metal will catch your attention right away.