Vent: my cable snapped on a 5-ton pick last Tuesday

I was hoisting a AC unit on a job in Newark and the hoist cable just gave way. Dropped the whole thing 15 feet and thank god nobody was under it. Anybody else had cables fail on smaller loads when they should have held?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielh811mo ago

Well now, I gotta disagree a bit here. A 5-ton pick should put plenty of stress on even good cable, and sometimes a failure is just the load being more than a small defect can handle. I've seen brand new cable fail on a 3-ton lift because of a tiny nick you'd never catch with a rag.

willowc601mo ago

2000 lbs is nothing for a properly rated cable. Ive seen 3/8 wire rope hold 4 ton with a good safety factor. Sounds like your cable had damage you didnt catch or was old and frayed inside the sheath. Gotta inspect those cables before every big lift, especially on jobs where the cable runs over edges or gets pinched. Newark job sites are rough on gear with all the debris and sharp metal around.

leohart1mo ago

South Jersey local here, I've seen the same thing with 3/8 cable on a Newark demo site two years back. You're right about the hidden damage - that corrosion inside the jacket is a nightmare because it looks fine from the outside until you flex it and see the rust dust. I always run my hand along the full length with a rag after every big lift, especially where it runs over those sharp steel beams they leave lying around. Also worth checking the thimbles and clips every time, I had one work loose on a 2 ton load and that wire got chewed up in seconds.