A slow evolution

The current use patterns of cable hoist and hook lifts are tied to the development history of the two container lift systems.

“They follow the same history,” says James Hanson, director of sales at Palfinger, which has its North American headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. “The hook lift and cable hoist were pioneered in the same era. I think the first hook lift was back in the late ’40s, early ’50s—the same as the cable hoist. The only difference is the hook lift was developed in Europe.”’

In many ways, hook lifts are superior to cable hoists, he says, but many North American companies are so deeply invested in cable hoists that transitioning away would take a tremendous investment.

One area in which cable hoists excel is lifting particularly heavy loads, Hanson says, which is the bread and butter of the waste and recycling industry.

“I’d say the most popular environment for cable hoists is definitely waste and recycling—it’s about volume and weight, and they can handle it,” he explains. “It’s kind of what drives that market … They’ve got to haul heavy material and a whole lot of it.”

While cable hoists are capable of hauling a bit more weight, geography tends to affect the choice haulers make more than the weight the trucks carry, Hanson says. Different states have different bridge weight rules, and waste haulers who run shorter trucks than over-the-road truckers have to pay particular attention to them.

For instance, while the federal single-axle weight limit is 20,000 pounds, New Jersey’s limit is 22,400 pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Hanson says other Northeast states also permit more weight on bridges, and, because of that, he says Palfinger has a cable hoist capable of lifting 75,000 pounds that sells particularly well in the Northeast.

Elsewhere, he says the company’s 60,000-pound cable hoist sells better.

“The 75,000-pound hoist can be used here in the Northeast—we can use them in New Jersey, and we can use them in New York for bridge law reasons—but there are so many states out there that cannot use more than 60,000 pounds.”

And at 60,000 pounds, hook lifts are an option.

“If a truck was longer; if you could have a cable hoist that was, say, 60 feet long instead of 40 feet long, then anybody could have a 70,000- or 75,000-pound hoist. But by the nature of it, it’s only 42 feet, so it’s very limited, and every state is different,” Hanson says.

Efficiency

While both hook lifts and cable hoists can get the job done, Hanson says hook lifts are, for those new to the industry, a better solution.

“New customers that we get coming in that are just starting in the business, 99 percent of them are getting hook lifts,” he says.

Hanson says speed is a major reason hook lifts are superior to cable hoists.

“On a hook lift, everything’s done in the cab,” he says. “So, your driver never has to get out of the truck. He can pull up to the load. There’s a remote control on the inside of the truck which is also tethered in case they want to get out of the truck. A lot of companies want you to get out and watch the load, so it all really depends on the company. But at the end of the day, they don’t need to get out of that truck unless it’s a company policy.”

Cable hoist operators have to exit the cab, hook up the cable to the container, get back into the cab and then hoist the container. The time saved by not having to walk back and forth to physically attach the cable hoist to the container adds up over the course of a day, Hanson says.

“We do internal studies here at Palfinger where we take a hook lift, we take a cable hoist and we run through the scenario of a truck driver … parking, getting out, doing their job, getting back in the cab, and we’ve timed all of that,” Hanson says. “And, at the end of the day, a hook lift’s about a minute to a minute-and-a-half (depending on the driver) faster than a cable.”

For a driver who collects eight containers a day, that means saving up to 12 minutes a day and 60 minutes each five-day work week.

Speed and safety

In hook lift trucks, all the speed gained comes from the fact that the driver can operate the hook lift from the cab. This also improves safety.

First, depending on where a driver needs to collect a container, traffic can be a factor as it is for residential haulers, landscapers and anyone else who has to park on the street or in a busy parking lot.

However, Hanson says it’s the repetitive stress associated with climbing in and out of the cab that is a greater safety concern.

“That driver has to get in and out of that truck a minimum of two times … for every can,” he says. “Just imagine getting in and out of your truck 16 times a day—and it’s not just one step down; it’s two steps down out of the truck. It can put some stress on your knees, for sure.”

Then the driver has to connect a 30- to 35-pound hook to the container. Once the cable hoist starts lifting the container, there is a small risk that the cable could break, he adds.

“If a customer does snap a cable, you have to think about the tension that’s behind that cable if it snaps the right way so that cable comes back at the cab,” Hanson says. “We’ve seen cables go through back windows.”

Maintenance comparison

As is the case with safety and efficiency, hook lifts win out over cable hoists on the maintenance front.

“The hook lift has a significant advantage when it comes to maintenance and expense,” Hanson says.

He says some hook lifts, such as Palfinger’s HT 160, are designed with easy maintenance in mind.

“It was designed to be a greaseless system, so there are no greasing points anywhere on our hoist,” Hanson says. “With a traditional unit with grease points, you should be greasing them once every week to two weeks.”

However, typical hook lifts have about eight to 10 grease points, roughly half that of cable hoists.

“Cable hoists, depending on the manufacturer, could have 15 to 20 grease points per truck,” he says. “When we did our study, we found it takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to grease the [cable hoist] truck.”

Cables themselves can sometimes cause problems, he says, adding that if they break, they cause significant downtime.

“To replace a cable, depending on how experienced the mechanic is, can take you anywhere from two to five hours,” he says.

The comparatively large number of moving parts in a cable hoist adds to maintenance time and expense, as well, he adds.

“There’s a lot of moving parts that people don’t really take into account on a cable hoist, but with a hook lift, it’s really the arm and two pivot points or three pivot points, and that’s all,” Hanson says.

Even with the advantages that hook lifts offer, Hanson says it will be a long time before the waste and recycling industry transitions to safer, more efficient hook lifts.

“The moms and pops would be easily convertible,” but larger companies may only adopt hook lifts very gradually, he says. “I would say you have at least another 20 years before hook lifts exceed cable hoists.

“The top waste companies are so heavily invested in cable hoists that they would have to make a great amount of investment to be able to switch over.” Hanson says.

The author is managing editor of Waste Today and can be reached at bgaetjens@gie.net.