Why does nobody talk about the weight of a wet rigging sling

I was out on a job at a lumber yard in Portland 3 weeks ago, had to lift some treated beams in the rain. By the end of the day I was dragging those slings around and they felt like they weighed 50 pounds each just from soaking up water. Last month I was on a dry job and didn't think about it at all, but now I'm wondering how much extra load I'm really dealing with when the weather turns. Has anyone else factored wet sling weight into their picks or am I just overthinking it?

2 comments

2 Comments

clairen851mo ago

Buddy of mine works up in Alaska on a dock crew. Told me last winter they had to swap out a set of 1 inch wire rope slings because the ice buildup made them too heavy to even heave up to the crane hook. Said it added a solid 80 pounds to each leg from frozen rain and snow alone. He did the math and realized they were losing like 5 percent of their safe working load just from the sling weight alone. That got me thinking anyone doing a lift in bad weather should really account for that extra weight before they pick. Nobody wants to be the guy who overloads because his gear turned into a sponge.

kellys781mo ago

Does that mean crane operators up north have to do a whole separate weight calculation just for the frozen stuff on their cables? I guess it makes sense, water weighs a lot and ice is just fancy water. But now I'm picturing some poor guy trying to explain to his boss why the lift is delayed because he has to wait for the slings to thaw out in the break room. "Sorry boss, the cables are too heavy, they're taking a nap by the heater." At least he won't be the one getting written up for a shock load when the ice all cracks off at once.