[rescue] Q: moving medium heavy things

[Chad Fernandez]

Tim H. wrote:
> They are only weak if they aren't tied together properly, and they have
> freedom to twist under load.  They actually will hold a lot of vertical
> load, but a relatively weak under side loads, if they are not tied
> together with proper cross bracing they twist and collapse.  If you have
> a way to distribute load across several of them you could pick up a lot,
> but you can't do it by looping a chain through them.  A 16 foot piece of
> 2 inch iron pipe laid through several of them and tied down would hold
> several hundred pounds easy.  After all, they do hang catwalks on them.
> 
> Tim


The stuff we have at work is heavy duty.  It's a factory, and all the 
hoists are suspended from the ceiling.  Many of these hoists are rated 
high enough to lift a car.  If the the building is just a warehouse like 
a Lowes or a Home Depot, the ceiling is considerably weaker.... not 
suitable for hanging anything but signs/adds.

The pipe idea may work to hold a only few hundred pounds, However.

Chad Fernandez
Michigan, USA