Warning: My 5-ton hoist cable snapped on a Tuesday morning lift in Tacoma.

Honestly, I had to drop the load onto a prepped gravel pad and shut everything down for a full inspection, so has anyone else had a sudden failure with a cable that passed visual check just the week before?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxpalmer3d ago

Yeah, that visual check thing is scary. We had a similar snap on a smaller rig, and the tech said it was internal corrosion you just can't see. The cable looked fine on the outside, but inside the core was basically dust from moisture getting in over time. Makes you wonder if we should be doing more than just looking at it, maybe some kind of regular testing schedule.

sanchez.mary2d ago

We started doing yearly ultrasonic thickness checks on all our main hoist lines after a close call. It's not cheap, maybe a couple hundred per cable, but it catches that hidden decay. The report gives you a clear go or no-go on the internal wire condition.