operating an aerial lift

Spellfeller

Spellfeller

Clueless but careful
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
637
Location
Arden, NC
Hi, all:

I'm working my way through this series of Genie videos and certainly will read the manual on the unit from cover to cover, but I'm wondering what else you'd recommend as best practices when using a lift?

I DO know enough to 1) make sure it is leveled properly 2) wear a vest, helmet, fall-arrest harness, and 3) NEVER to rig off of it! :|:

Thankfully, there are no above-ground power lines in our neighborhood. What else should I keep in mind?
 
They are heavy, time spent planning to keep them from getting stuck is better than time spent getting unstuck
 
I've used them quite a bit in factories, but never outside. The lifts that I have used (knuckle boom type) have a knob to adjust the speed of the hydraulics, and this speed varies depending on the function (which section of the lift you are moving). I recommend always starting at low, you can speed it up with one hand while controlling the lift with the other. If you accidentally leave it at a higher speed, your next movement be very jumpy/bouncy, which can be very scary and/or dangerous. Other than that they are pretty straightforward, and extremely useful. Remember, Low and Slow, then up you go!!
 
What kind of aerial lift are you using?

If it's the style without outriggers, like Willie said, they're heavy... like a 60' weighs 23klbs or so, a 120' weighs 46klbs. Be careful around the edges of driveways and the like... they can crack. They typically have a restricted capacity and an unrestricted capacity with a light in the basket to tell you what your capacity is. Unrestricted means anywhere you can reach... restricted is when you're closer in. The 120' below had a 500 unrestricted and 1klbs restricted chart.


My suggestion, regardless of the lift, is to get it set up properly, then take it all the way out and all the way up to build your trust in the lift. It's hard to be productive or safe when you've got a belly full of butterflies and a racing mind.


Why wear a high viz vest in a lift, for low flying planes?


Here's a 120' we used ~10 years ago.


Leveling up:


 
Good practice with a lift is not to hold onto the basket, cage, or whatnot. Keep those fingers out of the bite!

I've just seen a lot of guys running controls with one hand and 'holding on' with the other. When things get tight in around trees it's a stupid way to risk a crushing injury.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
woodslinger said:
The lifts that I have used (knuckle boom type) have a knob to adjust the speed of the hydraulics, and this speed varies depending on the function (which section of the lift you are moving). I recommend always starting at low, you can speed it up with one hand while controlling the lift with the other. If you accidentally leave it at a higher speed, your next movement be very jumpy/bouncy, which can be very scary and/or dangerous. Other than that they are pretty straightforward, and extremely useful. Remember, Low and Slow, then up you go!!
Click to expand...

Good stuff, thanks! And I like the rhyme!

lumberjack said:
What kind of aerial lift are you using?

My suggestion, regardless of the lift, is to get it set up properly, then take it all the way out and all the way up to build your trust in the lift. It's hard to be productive or safe when you've got a belly full of butterflies and a racing mind.

Why wear a high viz vest in a lift, for low flying planes?
Click to expand...

Thanks, man. Guess I'm wearing the vest because a safety video told me to! :lol:

We're using a towable 50-footer. Something like this:

50-towable-boom-lift.jpg

squisher said:
Good practice with a lift is not to hold onto the basket, cage, or whatnot. Keep those fingers out of the bite!

I've just seen a lot of guys running controls with one hand and 'holding on' with the other. When things get tight in around trees it's a stupid way to risk a crushing injury.
Click to expand...

Probably wouldn't have thought of that, squish. Thanks!
 
Ohh... I owned a TZ50/30 for several years, sell the TM50 from Nifty now (and run an SD64).

The hose tray is a weak point... be careful to not snag it with falling limbs, it's made out of thin sheet metal.
I carried some outrigger pads for super soft areas, but best I remember the max outrigger load is 2830lbs... not very much considering.
If an outrigger gets light, it will stop you from making any aggravating movements (reaching farther out or higher).
The basket has to be on the flap between the rear outriggers to enable outrigger function... raise/tilt the jib back up for transport or the basket can drag in rough terrain.
500lb unrestricted capacity.
Unhook the lift from your truck when you set up.
You want the tires and jack off the ground when set up... usually.
If it has the generator and batteries... unless the batteries are in good condition, run the engine as you can wear it down then it gets slow.
There is a rotary knob on the basket controls which slows the pump speed down and, correspondingly, all the functions.



Here's a video from 5 years ago of me taking an oak or some such down:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1G0_su287sw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
squisher said:
Good practice with a lift is not to hold onto the basket, cage, or whatnot. Keep those fingers out of the bite!

I've just seen a lot of guys running controls with one hand and 'holding on' with the other. When things get tight in around trees it's a stupid way to risk a crushing injury.
Click to expand...

Oh so true... I will look for some pictures of my finger that got smashed, there should be a sticker near each tire with the amount of pressure that each tire is applying to the ground below,usually ALOT of pressure(non outrigger type at least)
 
What they said, plan your route in and out, use extra cribbing if the ground is soft
Understand how to set the outriggers and what indicators will tell you it is level (spirit bubbles, lights etc.)
Operate the full range of functions from the ground first.
Figure out how to operate the override to get down if you get stuck
Make sure you have room to slew (turn the knuckle from side to side) without hitting anything.
I like the ditty, 'low and slow, then up you go'
Yes put the knob on slow speed!
Get a feel for how much pressure to use on the controls to make the movements you want, only use the minimum pressure, if you push everything to the stop, when you let go especially up higher, things will wobble and it can feel most peculiar!
Always look in the direction of travel, above you, beside you and below you when coming down, Swivel your eyeballs, trees have a knack of poking a branch in somewhere you don't want it, you can be going up and all of a sudden you get a lurch when the unseen obstacle lets go...makes for a 'what the....' moment!
Have a spotter on the ground in case you forget about a branch you passed on the way up and it gets hooked behind something on the way down, they can tell you to stop!

They are super useful, fun to use, just be careful!
 
Getting your out riggers and the controls for such so as to level it seems to be the hard part of the learning curve. I had to take the controls over from the owner on the last one I ran. Can't run the boom until you get it level anyway. Just takes some getting used to which rigger down and up sort of thing. Should have a bubble level to watch as you set them. You'll figure it out.
About all the rest of the advise has been said. Make sure you are tied in. Have some fun.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13
Thanks, everybody.

I'll try to document this adventure well. May be able to borrow a GoPro from school...
 
Jeff the tow behind I rented was self leveling so you might get lucky on that part. Don't hit the boom with anything. Those smaller machines shake like mad anytime you move so I small bump can be scary.
 
As you say, a full body harness is standard PPE in a lift or bucket. I was acquainted with two guys with the power company that got launched without harnesses on. One lived.
To reiterate what the others said, where and how you set up is very important Jeff. Set up where anything you drop will clear the machine. Cut what you can reach and move if you have to, wouldn't want you to have to buy one at this point in your career. It'll spoil you working out of a bucket.
 
On those small lifts I think you could overload the basket pretty easy by man handling a piece of brush that is stuck in the tree. As in put an additional 2 or 3 hundred pounds of force in play by jerking on something.
 
I never got scared/nervous on my TZ50... it has a 500lb unrestricted capacity and it wasn't uncommon for me to lift 150-200lb pieces with it, although that's smoothing you should never do!
 
Well I found the visual remembrance material from when I smashed my digit off with the bucket ... I will post it up if someone is interested,i just don't want to go fkn up this thread
 
Let's see, he is just starting out even friggen climbing. Maybe he should learn more before he does any work near lines. Maybe get used to the friggen piece of equipment.
Since he is asking for advise, especially about safety.... Lets seeeeeeeee......
 
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