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Pro tip: Stop guessing your swing cable tension and just measure it once
I was talking to an old timer at the dock last Tuesday after we wrapped up a job on the Missouri River. He said most guys run their swing cable way too tight because they think it gives them better control on the drag head. But he pointed out that if you can bounce a quarter off the cable, it's gonna snap on you when you hit a rock shelf. I took his advice and measured my tension with a simple load cell gauge I borrowed from a buddy. Dropped it from 2,400 pounds to 1,800 and my cable life jumped from 3 months to almost 5. Anyone else ever mess with their swing cable tension based on feel instead of numbers?
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lindal1325d ago
I used to be one of those guys who'd just crank it down tight and call it good, figuring more tension meant more control. But after snapping two cables in one season on the Mississippi I finally borrowed a gauge and realized I was running way over what was needed. Now I check the numbers every time I swap a cable and I'm getting way more life out of them and a lot less headaches.
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Ngl I did the exact same thing last year and got almost double the cable life.
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casey68225d ago
Huh, my friend tried that and his cable caught fire after a week. Lucky break on your end.
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