Talking to a retired tower guy made me question my brake checks

Last Tuesday at the yard in Knoxville, I got to chatting with this old timer who ran towers for 30 years before he retired. He asked me how I do my load brake test before every pick, and I told him the standard, just lift a couple inches and see if it holds. He laughed and said he used to do the same thing until a near miss in 1987 taught him to also watch the drum wire spooling pattern during the test, not just the brake. That hit different because I've been doing this for 8 years and never once looked at the drum, I just trusted the brake. He said a worn or unevenly wrapped spool can cause the brake to grab fine in the test but slip under a real swing load. Now I'm second guessing how many times I could have caught a problem early. Has anyone else heard this or do you guys just trust the brake test like I did?

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1 Comment

fiona_clark1mo ago

That old timer just saved you a headache later! I had a similar moment a few years back when a buddy pointed out my spool had a few loose wraps near the flange. Never noticed it in the brake test, but it made me check the drum every time now before I even lift.