Stanley Hydraulic Tools

[ProgressiveRescue]

I wanted to throw this out there and get some opinions from guys that I know use this equipment. When it comes to breaking, cutting, and breaching nothing seems to be better than harnessing the power of hydraulics . There are many situations however where my personal preference is electric tools such as a Hilti breaker. My biggest compliant with the hydraulic tools is the weight of them. Working in cramped areas, overhead breaching, and moving these tools with you as you progress brings on rescuer fatigue. We've made slings from webbing to help counteract the weight during these operations however it always seems to be a pain in the ....
I may just be a wimp here who knows, but for my own sanity I want to hear other opinions on this. With todays technology there has to be a way to reengineer these tools to be lighter.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
Mike Donahue

[PFDSquad47]

The problem probably lies within the fact that we tend to borrow from other disciplines and adapt them to our needs. The Stanley system was obviously borrowed from the constuction field. And as such they rarely had to operate these breakers in confined spaces while working overhead. Until the demand on our part meets the break even point financially for companies to build a comparable yet lighter weight piece of equipment I fear we are stuck with what we have. Besides using an improvised web sling I have a feeling that we will be using items like the TE-76 for a few more years.

[MG3610]

Mike,

I think one of the issues we will have with these tools is the necessity to have some weight behind them to accomplish the job. When we run our BR72 hammer, we often have one man cradle it in his arms while the operater fires the trigger. We have also used rope/webbing as a sling, but in order for it to be adjustable you need to add a pulley or two to either make a 1:1 or 2:1.

I've also found laying on my back with my legs bent, feet against the concrete im breaking and the breaker laying along my shins with a guy backing me up back to back works ok in a confined area.

[ProgressiveRescue]

PFDSquad47 your right regarding the TE-76 and also the 905. Both work horses that are a fraction of the weight. However like a double edged sword you can't beat the power of a hydraulic breaker. Like MG3610 stated we've gone the rout of creating 2:1MAS and webbing slings to make operations easier however I can only hope the manufacturer will see the benefit we obtain from their tools and can find a way to engineer them lighter. With hat being said there aren't many hydraulic tools I've come across that are light in weight. Whichever manufacturer can pull it off is going to rock the market.
MIke

[Trkco1]

I think the mass of these tools is what makes them work so well. Also durability and cost would be an issue with a lighter material. Aircraft Aluminum or Titanium would do the trick but not cost effective.