I’m not talking about SF and girl cooties today for a change. Instead, I’ve got something very big, very hard and very phallic for you today. Honestly, the subject of this post is masculine enough to satisfy even the most macho of hard SF writers (and maybe even VD).
I present you…
A Very Big Crane
This is a condenser unit. It needs to be installed on the roof. Unfortunately, it weighs roughly 60 kilos. So how to get it up there?
The solution: A truck-mounted crane. Here it’s still parked on the street this morning.
Moving into position on the conveniently empty meadow beside the house.
However, before the crane can do its job, it first needs to be stabilized. This is done via extending hydraulic supports on both sides of the truck.
A closer look at the hydraulic supports, already extended, but not.yet lowered. The wooden beams are supposed to keep the supports from sinking into soft ground.
Going up
Partially extended crane jib with foliage
The crane jib, still only partially extended. The chains and shackles dangling from the crane hook will be connected to the condenser unit.
Crane over rooftops.
The crane seen through a gap between houses. Note that it has swiveled around from where it started.
Hooking on the condenser unit.
Condenser unit in flight
Incoming…
Almost there…
Got it. Disconnecting the condenser unit from the crane.
Swivelling back over the rooftops
The whole operation took less than an hour, most of which was set-up and dimantling time. The actual transport took maybe five minutes. Through it all, the crane was never fully extended BTW. I wanted to ask crane operator about the outreach of the crane, but couldn’t remember the German word for “outreach” for the life of me. It’s a weird problem to have, knowing some technical terms better in English than in German.
On a somewhat unrelated note, I am sorely tempted to use one of the photos I took today for an erotica cover with the title “Look, it’s so big”. Of course, that would probably have to be a piece of Transformer erotica (I’m sure it’s out there somewhere).
Of course, if you’re a Transformer, those probably are exceedingly dirty pictures.
sending...
Heee ^^
Umm, Reichweite, maybe?
Actually, it’s “Ausladung”, a rather specific term that only occurs with cranes. Apparently, the outreach of that particular crane is 17 meters, the maximum height is 15 meters.
Wow. When you see it in the compact version you don’t expect to hear that.
It’s telescopic and has four extensions, though it only needed to extend one and a half for this job.
Cranes are awesome! I work at a manufacturing facility and one of my tasks is to put in requisitions for rental equipment–including cranes. I am always amazed at how expensive they can be. Also surprisingly expensive: pumps.
The rental price for this particular crane was quite reasonable, but then it was only needed for an hour (and the lion’s share of the costs was charged for the crane driving the approx. 10 kilometers from the rental company to where I live). If you need it for a full day or more, it would become much more expensive.
And yes, pumps can be very pricey. I’m a tech translator and I do a lot of work for the shipbuilding and environmental technology industry. A lot of what I translate are contracts and offers, so I see how much the equipment costs. Pumps and generators are usually the most expensive components. Lifting gear of any kind can be very expensive, too. I get lots of traverses and crane hooks.
The world of industry and the loading of different materials is apasionante. I do not work in it directly, but my husband works in construction and he always explains that they use a crane hook from a company called Elebia, operated by remote control. A very important development from years ago.
Lucy