Chipper winch fatality

[Cobleskill]

I have broken my share of cables and chains. Never really had one do anything wild. I guess it does happen. I have got kind of complacent.

 

[jefflovstrom@sb]

Pretty sure the accident involved the winch cable being fed into the machine. In which case rope or steel would not matter

I have been running Amstel since chipper was new, broke it several times with no crazy recoil

I agree, and the video Bixler put up is not apples to apples. The video was hacks being stupid.
Jeff

 

[pantheraba]

hahahha...if I read all this right, it goes like this:

Bixler...you are a hack!!! (or at least you were running around with some)

(no bad there...I've done my share of dumb stuff, too...living thru it gains us experience. Some folks don't get so lucky.)

 

[Tucker943]

I forgot to follow up. The accident happened because the winch line was laid out and got dragged into the chipper by a limb and whipped like a monster

 

[Bixler]

I agree, and the video Bixler put up is not apples to apples. The video was hacks being stupid.
Jeff

Well Jeff, I can't say your that far off from the truth.

 

[Bixler]

hahahha...if I read all this right, it goes like this:

Bixler...you are a hack!!! (or at least you were running around with some)

(no bad there...I've done my share of dumb stuff, too...living thru it gains us experience. Some folks don't get so lucky.)

Thanks Gary, I sure have been lucky a few times.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Our Bandit 250 powers the winch or the feed wheel, changed over with a lever, though you can free spool out the winch line while the feedwheels are spinning. Generally speaking, we spool in the winch line fully every time. Too dangerous having it out when the feed wheels are feeding.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That sounds like it outta be SOP for everyone!

 

[Graiskye]

Amsteel blue for winch lines, being Dyneema, explains the lack of violent snapback.
So this is a case of the actual winch line being sucked into the chipper and then ensnaring the guys ?
Or was it actually a whipping cable that did the damage ? Perhaps being sucked into a whisper(chuk n duk)?
That is something I dont even want to think about happening.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Pulling trees will cause broken Amsteel to rebound due to the energy stored in trees. Knotting Amsteel is no bueno, but on already root pulled trees, sometimes its what has to happen. A double wrap then a running bowline is Bueno, aka tensionless anchor (a misnomer).

 

[flushcut]

Si senior!
Rope in general around a chipper gives me the hebejebies after reading a fatality were a guys head was pulled off by a rope getting caught by the chipper. (Tcia article about two three years ago in the injury section.)

 

[Cobleskill]

Let alone the mess to the chipper and the rope.

 

[flushcut]

Right!