Does this sound like a normal chain break?
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2009/05/08/tractor-chain-farm-death-123.html
“If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems.” – Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let’s get busy solving problems.
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Never heard first hand of it happening, nor witnessed it.
But Dad taught us early on the danger of a cable or chain snap. You stand way clear of anywhere near whaer it could reach out and touch you.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
Yep, a "well-known" hazard. I've had a tow strap come loose and put a pretty good ding in the back of the towing vehicle.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
But Dan, a tow strap reacts a lot different than a chain, doesn't it?
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
That's always been the rule I followed, Eric.
I can see a cable whip back because of streach but I didn't realize a chain would whip back that far.
I've never stressed a chain to the breaking point.
Yet."If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
I've never stressed a chain to the breaking point.
How about the clevis pin holding the hook. I was also learned that if you wrap the chain the wrong way around something or itself you can put a lot of stress on a link. It's not about the stretch so much with a chain as it is tension.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
Yeah. I always consider that pin. Never looks to be as strong as the links in the chain.
I feel best when using a cable or strap for a sling but it's never good to get too comfortable when pulling anything under tension.
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
Chains do not store the energy as has been noted. They have very little snap back compared to straps, cables or ropes.
Chains are dangerous because they do not give warning they are breaking, it is a sudden break. They can and do break , had it happen several times to me. Article doesn't say how long the chain was , nor how far the victim was from the break. Pulling an old timber barn down I had a 'Knuckle" from a logging choker reach out over the cab of my pick up and come right through the windshield. Missed my face by inches. We had two cables hooked together and attached to the Pintle hitch. Cable it was attached to snapped and the one piece was just long enough to reach out and come through the windshield.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
One of the best reasons for using a chain instead of a rope or wire or fabric strap is that there isn't much elasticity in chain so they don't usually spring much when they break.
Consider the possibility the reporter got it wrong. It's happened before.
Ron
Consider the possibility the reporter got it wrong. It's happened before.<<<
Exactly. That's why I'm asking.
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
Every link in the chain stretches when it's stressed. Think how much the links bow when a chain is stressed to its limit.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
I always thought a chain would release it's tension almost immediately and drop close to where it was. There might've been other issues involved in the accident like maybe he had a cable attached to the chain and the chain failed and the energy in the cable did the damage but that's not what is says in the article.
I'll add my voice to the nay-sayers. Chains don't spring (significantly) when they break. I've broken a lot of them logging & pulling stumps. Hard to guess what really happened without seeing the event, but I would venture that the report is inaccurate for some reason.
Depends on how much the chain is hardened.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
Towing chain is never hardened.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Well, yeah.....but pick any chain you want & compare the stretch and spring back under working loads to an equivalent wire rope/cable. The cable is orders of magnitude greater than the chain. You'd have to be standing right next to the location of the chain break to have any likelihood of being hit hard enough to be injured. Sure it can happen & may have in this case. But it's unlikely.
I was at a truck stop once and saw a big rig try to pull start another one. The chain broke right at the tow vehicle and shot back wiping out the drivers side of the windshield. Something I won't ever forget.
What we don't know from the CBC report is whether the load that parted the chain was a dynamic load or a static one. My guess is it was dynamic 'shock-loading' that caused the chain to snap.
If the pulling tractor couldn't get enough traction in the mud to haul the other one out by starting with the chain tight, the operator could very likely have tried to 'yank' it out by backing up a few feet and running forward at full pin in the hope the momentum of his tractor would be enough to pop the other one free.
If a chain snaps under those conditions, it will whip around a bit--nowhere near as fast or as violently as a wire or fibre rope, of course--but chain's much greater mass makes it a deadly weapon even if it hits ya in the head while moving very slowly.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
A guy I went to H.S. with wrecked a Ford PU and had ben the frame. He figured he could chain it to a tree and yank it straight.
Chain? Check.Tree? Check.Getin truck and mash it? Check.Seat belt? NOPE.
Died with his face stuck in the windshield, his wife found him a few hours later.
That is one cure for stupid.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"Jed Clampitt
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Yep....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
doesn't speak to well for the quality of folks your HS let graduate
but still....damn what a way to go
p
Now ya mention it, I'm unsure if he DID graduate.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"Jed Clampitt
View Image
I wouldn't say it's a commmon thing but I certainly have heard of it happening before. I'm with the others in thinking it could have been a strap rather than a chain. But who knows?I've never had a chain break and shoot back much. But I was also taught NEVER to jerk a chain - Always a steady pull. It could be that whatever the chain was attached to "gave" a bit. Then once the chain broke and the tension was released the piece snapped back into position and whipped the chain around. We'll probably never know, since none of us were on the scene. As others have mentioned, I wouldn't trust the accuracy of media reports.
A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]
Thanks for the replies, information and opinions. It looks like we may never really know why this accident happened but it's safe to say don't stand near a chain and don't yank it.
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
That's kinda what I thought may have happened.
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.