climb line pulled into chipper

J

jpm

This incident recently happened on my crew: the climbers line wound up in the chipper, it didn't get pulled in, just damaged. The crew member chipping didn't see the rope until after it was in the feed wheels. The climber never did get pulled on, and we all had a sobering talk about the importance of keeping lines and brush separate, especially during chipping. My question, who has had similar incidences or knows of similar incidences, and are there documented cases of this actually pulling the rope to the extent that it has injured the climber or caused a fatality.
thanks
JPM
 
Welcome JPM! Ha. My initials are JPM. Jamin Parker Mayer
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I hate the idea of a rope accidentally being put into a chipper. Man that would be ugly.
 
Happened to me Aug 4....Bandit 250 disc. When a rope is pulled into a disc chipper, it probably will not be cut off, but get wound around the axle. As it winds, it fills the narrow space quickly, gets further away from the axle, and accelerates to a high speed very quickly. Reversing the feed wheels will have no effect. Stopping the chipper with the clutch engaged might...but it happens too quickly for anyone to be able to react.

I was working up a western red cedar, limbing for removal in log lengths. Working fast with my back to chipper, which was too close. My lifeline got sucked in, which was attached to my side accessory biner, as I wasn't up far, and hadn't bothered to set it above me. I was violently pulled upside down and backwards, with a sideways twist, while my left gaff stayed planted firmly. I braced myself against my steel core flipline, as I knew the line had to come taut before it would break...or cut...it broke..just past the feedwheels. Luckily, it was my Blaze, 11mm, and 5000 tensile. Reckon a 13mm line would have been going faster, and been harder to break. I wouldn't be surprised if my body (90% of the force was on my left knee) felt 2000-2500 pounds of twisting torque force. MRI showed lots of damage....small tibial plateau fractures, inner bruising, class 2-3 sprain of the medial collateral ligament...and lot of old damage to the ACL/PCL from whacking a tree at 20 mph on snow skis, back in 1980. Almost 3 months later, and I'm still far from normal...of course I've not given it the rest it deserves.

I was so farking mad that my screams of anger/pain (which wasn't all that bad, but I knew my knee was trashed) and accusation were heard across the street, and the police arrived shortly. By that time, I was getting in my truck to drive myself to the clinic and told them to get the heck out of my way. Later, I let the crew know that I was also partly responsible, for putting my line where it was.

On busy, close in removals, it's good to keep your lifeline off the ground, and not hard to do.
 
Wow! that sounds crazy and hella sucks!!! Sorry to hear that man. Bummer deal. I would have totally lost it. No reaction what so ever, just froze.... Happy to hear it wasnt worse-Ive heard of two incidents that occured. One was first hand from the climber and the other was from my brother who states he had read it in the paper-so both I believe.

First incident:

Climbers line got fed in and the groundy didn't notice, as the tail kept going in the climber started to get pulled up twords his tie in. Started to yell at his ground man and went about cutting his tail as quickly as he could with his hand saw. He got the tail cut, the rope went through, and he was stuck at the top with to short of a line to make it all the way down in on shot.

Second one isn't as lucky

Climbers line was fed in, and the ground man instanty left to go do something. Apparently the top was loaded and broke out sending the climber in a free fall down to the ground. after impact the chipper continued to suck the climb line in, dragging the climber to the chipper, into the feed tray and then through. It wasnt untill a noticable difference in the chipper was reconized and adressed by the ground man that all of this was discovered. At that time it was to late. Either the fall killed the climber, the chipper, or a complacent groundman....


Sad.
 
Here's a pic of the rope wrapped around the disc shaft. It would be surprising if the chipper housing could be straightened enough to have the disc run true again.
 

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I'm very conscious about where my rope is at all times, especially when there is ground operations going on. Twice I've seen my rope tangled in the brush that the ground crew was dragging to the chipper and had my knife ready to cut it if they didn't see it before it was too late. Very creepy feeling.

After those incidences, and other relating sorts, I just keep the end of the climbline up with me and don't leave the chance to fate. It's really the climbers responsibility.

Mind your lines!
 
I make it clear to everyone I work with that it's a top priority to not snag my line and drag it even a little ways from the tree. It's one of the few things that make me lose my cool in a hurry.
 
This is a real fear of mine. As a result I train my staff to carefully mind my lines and also reflect on my choice when purchasing. I use line such as verlocity hot and blaze which not only offer the performance but also sufficient visability within a brash pile
 
What drives me nuts is careless use of a chainsaw near the rope. All too often it's driven by haste. No time to move the rope so they take the chance of cutting it. GRRRRRRRRRRRR......

Gerald how do you carry the rope with you?
 
wow,sorry to hear about your knee Roger, and right before storm season to boot, ouch!
btw, ever develop those pics of the cedar takedown in Issaquah?
Seriously, I really appreciate the responses so far, keep em comin! The picture from Tom speaks volumes.
Has anybody had any experience with drum chippers? so far it seems that all the accounts have been with disc chippers.
Joe
 
I coil it and hang it off a snap sling on the hip. Been one of the best things I ever did. Of course in conifers it works good. I preset the line and add the coils as I limb my way up. Hang the works on a branch sometimes. Though in a broad tree where you're moving around a lot it could be a pain.
 
ok,

i'm a climber who started as a low groundie, and i know as a climber i care for my line. but as a groundie the first priority was the climbers line and needs. i think there has been less stress on all proper grounds requirements. now its all clean up! clean up! but the ground man should also be a huge!! part of the safety. Knowing when, how and where crucial parts of the job are taking place. keep keen, keep safe, keep aware
 
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Here's a pic of the rope wrapped around the disc shaft. It would be surprising if the chipper housing could be straightened enough to have the disc run true again.

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That wasn't the first time a rope has been pulled through my Bandit. In neither instance was there any damage at all...The first time it was a 13 mm Yellow Streak....we were on the ground...and I forgot as I grabbed a load of fir duff and threw it in. the line followed, and boy, was it flying. About the time the end whipped around a branch at 20 feet up a couple times, and broke, the chipper bogged and stopped...prolly took ~5 seconds for 110-120 feet to zing through...good thing it didn't catch a leg on the way....

but years ago, I heard of an incident involving a 1250 Vermeer.....$1800 later, it was usable....


Ir's finally raining here, and the snow level is s'posed to drop....maybe the lifts will spin in a few weeks...now my knee has to keep improving...dang it!!!
 
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wow,sorry to hear about your knee Roger, and right before storm season to boot, ouch!
btw, ever develop those pics of the cedar takedown in Issaquah?
Seriously, I really appreciate the responses so far, keep em comin! The picture from Tom speaks volumes.
Has anybody had any experience with drum chippers? so far it seems that all the accounts have been with disc chippers.
Joe

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Joe, unfortunately, I lost close to 200 gig of photos, about 16 months worth, that weren't backed up..when I had a catastrophic hard drive failure......some "geek" I am, I even had one or two more hard drives, but was the data put reduntantly on them the way it is now?? Nope.
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I sent the drive to a place that woulda gotten the data for max $595, compared to up to $2000 at other places...but it was toast.....kaput..fried.....

and not green tomaters....

A drum, either self feed or whipper, would cut the rope off as soon as it comes taut...I'd think, as long as the cutter bar/knife gap is tiny.....I recall this happening maybe 25 years ago....don't recall if I was the culprit or the clamberer.....

storm season,,, uhh, yeah, but skiing is what I live for...heck, I got my Alpental season pass way back in September, not long after the injury....which includes 5 days at Crystal...will I be on the hill, you bet, but ripping the gnar? dunno bout dat......
 
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This incident recently happened on my crew: the climbers line wound up in the chipper, JPM

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Hey, did you get kicked downstairs, fella? Time to keep that roll off your middle!?

Was Edwin there? He's a number one cool guy, eh?!!

Or is he working for Mark in Parks?..uh, I can't recall. Seems he was hanging with other parks guys and Mark at the Boise ISA.....
 
Rog, good wishes on the healing bro.

One thing I try to do when man power allows is divide the brush operations into a "dragger" and a "chipper". The dragger(s) haul the brush to the single person running the chipper. By doing so, the "chipper" man can focus more of his attention on what's being fed, as opposed to a bunch of robots just dragging and chucking into the machine. He's almost like a quality control person, making sure everything is up to snuff before it enters the machine. He's also operate the feed wheel reverse and lift when the wood starts getting bigger.

I know this may sound silly or inefficient to some, but we've caught many accidents waiting to happen this way. Chipper deaths are so preventable, and it's a shame how many tree brothers we've lost that way.

And I'll re-iterate a longtime opinion... the old chuck'n'ducks were statistically safer machines.
 
That they were, Eric! And the Mitts and Merril, which I had for 5 years, is still on the market, and the best ever old style chipper.....relatively slow feed, and makes the best chip.

I have yet to mention another detail....

My main climber had backed up the chipper too close. I had thrown my rope bag through a maple fork to keep it away from the cedar branches that I was cutting. Now the chipper was mere feet from that bag. A few branches were being dragged around the side of the tree which required a bit of direction change to get to the infeed. One of those would have been what snagged the line. Further issues were this: Dave is usually in the tree...and likes to go fast, in or out. But the main thing is this, we had hired (just an hour ago) the homeowner's grown son (an out of work fella with plenty of chain saw, and excavator operating experience) on the spot, as we thought a 3rd groundie would speed up the multiple tree job. He was new and hadn't been briefed on all the things to watch out for. So, it was hard to blame him, even though it was he who fed the branch in with rope snagged in it. I felt that my main guy was more responsible, as he should have either moved the rope or watched like a hawk. Plus, for the 5 minutes I'd been working in that tree, Mickey was raking up from the last tree. He should have been grounding for me.

And, I'd protested that the chipper was moved too close, but not hard enough to get it moved. Plus, my back was to the action, and I was flying as usual.

AS I said before, I should have had the rope bag attached to my belt.
 
I seen a new england 1/2 line go through a 1250 vermeer about 7 years ago. It ended up rapping itself so tight between the disk and bearing it broke both bearings and shut the machine down almost instantly. Luckily it was a rigging line and not the climbers line. Even being a rigging line the potential of it whipping some one or dragging some one in is a scary thought. We actually had a close call last year clearing a lot. I was about 100' away base cutting some smaller trees and the other two guys were running the winch line out and dragging the whole trees into the Bandit 1890. Well aparently one of the guys hit the free spool lever before the previous tree had gone completly through. A branch snagged the hook and sucked 120' of braided steel cable into the chipper. Luckily it snaped the cable off the winch and wrapped itself around the center of the drum so the damage was kept to a minimun. a new set of blades, bolts, 120' cable, and a new hook & clip. directly after there were some new rules put in place to avoid that ever happening again.
 
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