Check out where this chain flies to when it breaks. Good thing the cage was there http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIpjVCjHrJs&feature=channel
This kids, is why we use cable
Cables are more dangerous than chains when they snap since they stretch further before they do. There's a lot more recoil stored in a stretched cable than a chain.
Ive seen what happens when a chains snaps and theres only glass between operator and chain. Guy was tryin to pull a front discharge crete truck out of mud fully loaded with a smaller cat d4 - 5. Chain went threw the back window and got him in the head, and the chain won sadly. Last wensday i was pullin an 18 wheeler out of snow with the backhoe and mt chain broke and it put a hole in his steel bumper. I have a d ring in side the bucket and i hook to that with the chain short as possible so if it come back my way it can only get my bucket, but it got the macks bumper instead. Either way you have to be smart about pulling stuff with chains or cables.
I have to go for the cable in this debate. I never recover anything with a chain. About 20 years ago I was recovering a Ford cabover truck with a chain. The chain broke and went into the truck so hard that it went through the grill and smashed the heater to pieces. A cable will part slower releasing it's energy (more) safely.
Hmmm..food for thought. I was always told chain was safer because it doesn't have the stored energy (stretch) of wire. The spiral wind of a wire definetly allows stretch, just ask any deck boss on a cargo ship. Trick I have always tried to employ is to rest a dead weight on the chain to make it drop, like a shot mat or a couple of sleepers. That said I've never broken a chain because the stuff I use for recovery has always been top notch...and probably overkill for the job at hand. I'd rather haul around a heavy chain than use something thats too light. Maybe chains don't break as often as the end comes adrift from attaching it to a point not designed for recovery????
well in my opinion cable and chains are both dangerous when tuggin heavy weight, both chain and cable require caution and attention. be safe.. 4digger
Personally I prefer a chain, mainly because wire ropes always seem to be too long for what I require which then adds the danger of recoil if it breaks, plus they are a PITA to store on the machine. I hang on to condemed 3t lifting straps as a first choice but they have a habit of growing legs and running away to a better home if not nailed down :beatsme The chain I use is only about 5' for the reason highlighted in the video. :drinkup
We do some pretty heavy duty recoveries here...think of a haultruck with an empty weight of around 310 tons. We use 2 1/2 inch steel cables, and nothing else......officially anyhow. Not allowed to use anything but steel cable here to tow with. Brian
bule
If you use a chain for towing hook a chain on the pulling chain so if it does snap it has more weight bringing it to the ground rather than allowing it to fly.
? Not sure what you mean there. Brian
There is a saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and every link has a join in it so there are plenty of places for it to fail. An old bushman told me that if you watch wire rope under strain it will start to unwind just before it will break, when it gets to that point its time to ease of. I have done a fair bit of dozer/winch work fishing out bogged machines and will never ever use a chain.
FIRST i will say if your don't know what your doing and the physics involved you can often times make things much much worse. a truck that would otherwise be stuck can easily be rolled over coming out of the ditch. I have PERSONALLY with my own eyes seen 4 people killed on separate occasions from chains or cables snapping and going through the glass. BOTH windshield and back windows. Their are different kinds of cable and chains. Any chain or cable that should even be considered worth more than scrap will have a S.W.L.L. (Safe Working Load Limit) this will be the normal working strength of the cable/chain. Their are factors for figuring the rolling resistance of mired vehicles but i will not get into that here. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER use a grade 70 chain where someone can be injured when it fails. They are for CARGO securement ONLY! as chains go Grade 80,100 and now 120 chain is the only thing that should be considered for vehicle extrication. ANYTHING more than a pickup should use a 1/2" grade 80 chains and if your trying to pull a stuck SEMI truck out with anything smaller than 5/8" grade 80 chains your playing Russian roulette with your life and the life of others. SO STOP! As For cables. They too have a S.W.L.L. but theirs so many different variants of wire rope even in the same diameter that unless you absolutely know what kind of wire rope your dealing with this is also Russian roulette. IF your going out and having cable made for pulling purposes then Fiber core wire rope is a bit safer if a cable does snap it seems to be a much less violent event. Steel core wire rope when it fails is much much much more catastrophic failure. IF you don't know what your doing call a REPUTABLE wrecker outfit to come out and with the proper tool for the job. To many people get killed every year attempting recovery's way over their heads. If your feeling ambitious and insist on doing these things then by all means look up the armys manual on vehicle recovery its a very good read and is easily found online.
Don't mind me, I'm just fulfilling my 3 post requirement so I can ask a question about an RD6.