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My swing ladder chain snapped mid-run last Tuesday - here's what happened | Dredge Operators - Free To Speak

My swing ladder chain snapped mid-run last Tuesday - here's what happened

I was running a 12-inch cutterhead on a project near Baton Rouge and the chain on my swing ladder just gave out around 10 AM. No warning, no weird noise beforehand, just a loud crack and the ladder dropped. I shut the pump down immediately and pulled the whole assembly to check the sprockets. Turns out the master link had been worn thin for a while and I just missed it on my pre-shift inspection. Cost me about four hours of downtime and a new chain from the parts truck. Has anyone else had a chain failure like this or do you guys run a different inspection routine for your swing ladders?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie8043mo ago

I started checking the master link with a flashlight every morning after mine failed too.

blair_nguyen3mo ago

Good on you for catching it early. That failure is honestly terrifying, I still get a knot in my stomach thinking about that day on the trail. It's wild how something so small can just snap out of nowhere. I've started doing the same thing with a little mirror on a stick, makes it easier to see the clip without having to lay down in the gravel. Makes me feel a little less paranoid each time I ride.

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jamie_adams3mo ago

Hear me out on this one. I know @blair_nguyen and jamie804 both swear by the flashlight and mirror method, but in my experience that can give you a false sense of security. I used to do the same thing every morning and still had a chain fail on me a couple years back. The thing is, those master link clips can look fine from the outside but be worn on the inside where you can't see them. I'd rather pull the chain off and physically stretch it out to check for tight links or rust pitting around the pins. Your mileage may vary but that extra five minutes has saved me more downtime than a quick glance ever did.