Crossed lines on Hobbs

[Tom Dunlap]

Last week I was working with our wrecking crew. We had some problems with the rope crossing on the spool. I'm wondering what solutions there might be.

Look at the spool straight on. The rope normally goes across the fairlead hook to the left, around 9 o'clock. The works fine unless the groundie needs to be over to the right on the 3 o'clock direction. We tailed the rope off the spool, around the fairlead and then under the spool to keep the groundie out of the drop zone. Every time we lowered a chunk, the rope crossed itself and got jammed. I think this happens when a bit of slack gets pulled into the spooled coils. The slack in the outer coils crawls up and over the inner coils that are under more tension. Does that make sense?

Any solutions?

Tom

 

[Mark Chisholm]

Tom,

I agree. If you have one too many wraps, you give it slack and it hops over the next wrap. You have to be really good at watching that.

If I'm not mistaken Ken Johnson has added a part that won't allow the rope to do that anymore. Am I wrong?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

The added part is a tab with a sealed roller bearing located at about 9 o'clock on the baseplate end of the spool. From what the guys tell me the wrapping only happens when the rope is tailed in any direction than the 9 o'clock direction.

Tom

 

[Mark Chisholm]

Hmmm , I'd ask Ken about that at TCI Expo. BTW, I hear that a new lowering device may be ready for the show.

 

[TreeCo]

I've had that happen many time on a Hobbs(got my Hobbs in 1990). I think what happens is that as the piece being rigged is in freefall for a slight moment the rope on the Hobbs drops below the spool and when the rope pulls tight it is over other wraps.

My solution has been that just as the peice enters it's short freefall is to pull on the rope and take up that slack(rotates the bollard) and then instantly give slack to take some of the shock load out of the system and to of course get the piece below the climbers feet.

It's a quick move and not one that most groundmen get the hang of quickly.

Dan Nelson