Changing a bulb in a TV tower.............

[greybeard]

Not a case of wouldn't, but one of 'couldn't' even in my prime. Gravity is a wonderful thing and it's everywhere, but fighting it's effects for that long of a straight vertical climb would be more than I could endure.

 

[1982vett]

Not a case of wouldn't, but one of 'couldn't' even in my prime. Gravity is a wonderful thing and it's everywhere, but fighting it's effects for that long of a straight vertical climb would be more than I could endure.

Ain't it so..... besides, isn't the air is pretty thin up their their? :lol:

I walked red iron when in my 20's. Starting out, a 12 inch beam 20 ft in the air was to narrow. 56 ft tall was the tallest building I worked on. By then we were walking 2 1/2 inch iron with no problem. To old for that now.

 

[TexasBred]

Wonder how much that thing sways with the wind?? Been told you don't want it too rigid or it will snap. Gotta have some bend or sway to it....that would make me soil my laundry...again...and again..

 

[greybeard]

I did climb one many years ago at a Navy Reserve facility in Lafayette La--not nearly that tall.
"Maybe" 200', (tho probably shorter) and I was pulling a length of 1/2" dia coax cable up tied around my waist. It was all I could do to get up there and replace the old coax. I remember 2 things about that climb.
1. How much my feet hurt from placing them in the diagonal braces I was using for steps,
2. and the fact that even that short of a tower swayed what seemed like 3' each direction, and there was very little wind.

I worked derricks on lots of 100' drilling rigs, but that's a completely different thing.

 

[talltimber]

I ain't got to have none of that.

 

[Nesikep]

Where's Skyhightree??

I don't mind heights too much, but it takes me a while to get used to them.. Our hay shed is 30' at the gable and after working on it for a week it felt fine, but the first hour is murder.. We had a scaffold tied down to the deck of the 1 ton.. and that swayed a little from the suspension.. got used to it after a while.

I don't know if it's on Youtube.. but there's a movie out of a guy that sailed on a huge cargo sail ship around Cape Horn in the middle of a huge storm... *AMAZING* video (it was from the 1930's I think and narrated later in the fellow's life).. I think they had 80 foot waves, and the ship would roll nearly 45 degrees to each side, the masts were about 150' high... 8 sails high.. the fellow said there were 300 lines going up to the sails!! I think the thing would do 20 knots, and it's only wind power
very highly recommended to watch!

 

[Kingfisher]

You think they filmed that tower climb with a drone?

 

[SmokinM]

Don't think I have what it takes. I promise you that thing moves on a calm day. Those guys make good money I bet. Also 1500' gives you a lot longer to think about it than 50 does.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Don't think I have what it takes. I promise you that thing moves on a calm day. Those guys make good money I bet. Also 1500' gives you a lot longer to think about it than 50 does.

About 12 seconds! Would be an eternity.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Interesting link. In 1972 a woman fell 33,333 feet and survived to walk again. Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/wor ... parachute/

 

[Bestoutwest]

Can you image dropping the bulb? That's all I could think about the whole time.

 

[Rafter S]

I don't know if there's enough money in the world to get me to climb that thing.

 

[TexasBred]

I don't know if there's enough money in the world to get me to climb that thing.

I wouldn't even stand on the ground and watch you climb it. :lol:

 

[Cross-7]

I don't know if there's enough money in the world to get me to climb that thing.

I wouldn't even stand on the ground and watch you climb it. :lol:

I can't even watch the video
I get butterflies in my stomach

 

[cow pollinater]

I ran out of desk to hang on to just glancing at it.

 

[greybeard]

High Flight. Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
It's the very last few words there that bother me...

 

[backhoeboogie]

Back in my I & E days, I've been 800 feet up on a boiler stack and that was with an elevator most of the way. Yes TB they do sway and you nailed it. I was told it had a design basis ten foot sway and it felt like it was more than that. Also told that stacks sway more than towers because a tower has guywires. We were putting an electronic eye across the stack and who ever put the flanges on one holed them. We had two holed the flanges onto the receiver and emitter, before going up. We had asked about it before we welded them up. The superintendant looked at us like we were crazy when we asked about the flanges. Carpenters installed the host flanges and they one holed them. So we had to come back down and do it all over. Sort of like dropping the bulb someone mentioned only worse. Never seen any other pipe flanges one holed in my career. But they were one holed on top of that boiler.

Heights that extreme definately give you the pucker factor.

I have also been on top of the domes on a nuclear power plant but it was not as high as that boiler stack.

 

[TexasBred]

I'll let all you guys handle the high stuff. I'll keep both feet on the ground if at all possible. Had a cousin that use to build those things. He said they'd put two bolts in going up and two in coming back down. I just have desire to try out my wings.

 

[gimpyrancher]

The first time up, as soon as I was finished with replacing the bulb, I'd start thinking of my shortsightedness. A smart adventuresome type would have climbed wearing a parachute to get down. Once you look down and start thinking of each of those steps and each time you had to move the safety straps, I'd think a fun jump would start to look pretty good by now.

A better man than me for sure.