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I used to think more counterweight was always better until a job in Pittsburgh
For years I stacked extra blocks on every lift thinking it made things safer. Then a senior operator watched me set up a 50-ton Grove at a site near the Monongahela and pointed out I was risking a tip on the outriggers. He showed me the load charts and it clicked that I had been overcompensating for no reason. Anyone else have a moment where a simple stat or chart changed how you work?
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milap352mo ago
Oh man, "I used to think more counterweight was always better" really hit home for me. I had basically the same rude awakening out in western Kansas a few years back. Was setting up a 140-ton Link-Belt to set some grain bins and I just kept adding slab after slab because I figured more weight meant I could reach further. This old-timer named Dale walks by, looks at my setup, and just shakes his head. He pulled out the load chart and showed me how I was actually reducing my capacity at certain radii by adding counterweight past what the chart called for. I was basically making the boom work against itself. Now I always check the chart first instead of letting my gut pile on the weight.
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john_johnson752mo ago
That old-timer Dale sounds like a lifesaver lol. I had a similar moment working on a Grove RT in some tight spots near Dallas a few years back. My foreman just walked over and pointed at the chart with the load radius numbers all written out. It clicked right then how too much counterweight messes with your stability at certain boom angles. Now I treat that load chart like it's gold, no matter how much experience I think I have.
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